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Ben immediately froze, not even daring to breathe out of fear. Writing and then burying the letters to his parents and uncle was supposed to have stopped the voices that he heard inside his head, not invite new ones to take up residence there.

Go away, he thought. I don't want to hear you anymore.

Propping himself up on his elbow, Ben peered out through the cabin's small window, searching for anything that might indicate what or who he had heard. But aside from a few tree branches swaying in the pre-dawn breeze and a handful of illuminated insects buzzing around, he saw nothing.

That's right. Leave me alone.

He had just decided to try and go back to sleep, and in fact was in the process of lying back down when he heard his name again. This time, however, it was from Rey, who had obviously awoken and was looking up at him with wide, concerned eyes, made even more so by the fact that he had startled so hard at the sound of her voice that he'd made her jump as well.

"Ben, what is it?" Rey asked as she brushed the loose hair from his forehead. "Another nightmare?"

Catching her hand, Ben pressed his lips to her palm, closing his eyes as he breathed in the glorious scent of her skin. Honey and lavender, and something else, something a bit more earthy that he couldn't quite put his finger on but loved anyway because it was her.

"No, it wasn't that," he murmured, because truthfully, it wasn't a nightmare that woke him. "Actually, I don't remember the last time when I slept so well."

Rey smiled widely, bringing out her dimple, and Ben's breath caught in his throat. When they first arrived on Naboo he had attempted to keep track of Rey's smiles, but quickly realised that it was a lost cause when only a week later he had already lost track.

He had noticed, however, that while Rey smiled at pretty much anyone who was kind to them, which from their experience had been almost everyone they had met so far—on Naboo at least, Coruscant was another story altogether—the smiles she gave Ben were for his eyes and his eyes only.

"I thought so," she said softly, tilting her head up for a kiss. Ben responded eagerly, curling his arms around her gorgeous slender body as he laid them back down, pushing all thoughts of voices on the breeze out of his mind as he rolled on top of her, pulling back just enough to see her nod before diving back in. They were both still naked, too tired and sated after the previous night's activities to bother with any sleeping clothes, and she was ready for him only a couple of minutes later. He moaned as he pushed inside her, pleasure burning across his body like an electrical charge when Rey's eyes fluttered closed and her teeth caught on her bottom lip. He slipped one hand underneath the small of her back, holding her as closely as possible as Rey's tiny fingers combed through his hair and scratched along the tops of his shoulders.

"Ben," she said on a gasp as she threw her head back, exposing her beautiful neck. Ben quickly took the hint, raining kisses all along the column of her throat, showering her with the adoration he felt for her with every single fibre of his being.

"Be with me, sweetheart," he said, squeezing his eyes closed as his climax came racing towards him. "Rey, come with me!"

The sight of Rey's angelic face twisted in pleasure as her climax overtook her combined with the feel of her fluttering around him pulled Ben over the edge, and he came so hard that his vision went white, barely having enough presence of mind to not collapse directly on top of her as all of his strength completely left him.

I am with you, he heard across their bond as Rey's fingers trailed up and down his back and sides. I'll always be with you.

She held him in her arms afterwards, with his head on her shoulder and her fingertips tracing down his right cheek to his chest, along the scar that was no longer there. Ben knew Rey still carried a lot of guilt for being the cause of that old scar, as much as he had tried to convince her that it was unnecessary. She had only begun to realise her own connection to the Force during their duel on the collapsing Starkiller Base, and yet she had still managed to hold her own against him, someone who'd had years of training as both a Jedi and Sith apprentice.

A fact that Snoke then proceeded to throw in Ben's face shortly thereafter.

As it was, as much as Ben wished he could just make Rey's burden disappear, he knew it was something that she needed to work through on her own, in her own time, just as his own guilt was a burden that Rey couldn't help him carry, no matter how heavy it was or how much she wished that she could.

Besides. Ben was never going to complain about the way Rey's perfect hands were running along his body, leaving goosebumps and tingles in their wake. He had been deprived of physical contact for so long, years of his life, that he hadn't realised how much he had missed it—craved it, even—until the first time he and Rey touched hands.

And he knew it was the same for Rey. All those years spent alone on Jakku, surviving completely on her own and starting from such a young age… even all these months later Ben was still in awe of it, of her incredible strength and fortitude.

She was so strong. The strongest person Ben had ever met in his entire life.

Closing his eyes, Ben let out a contented sigh as Rey's lips brushed across his forehead and she reached for his right hand, cradling it between her own as if it were a rare or delicate piece of pottery, something to be treasured.

"I love your hands," she murmured a few heartbeats later, her voice filled with such reverence that Ben felt his throat tighten.

"Oh, do you now, hmm?" he said, winking up at her. She rewarded him with yet another one of her precious smiles, the soft one she usually reserved for times such as these, pressing the back of his hand to her lips.

"Yes," she said, trailing her lips across his knuckles and down his middle finger. "I'll never forget the first time we touched hands."

Ben gasped, remembering all too well the jolt that he felt the very first time he and Rey touched through their Force bond. He had been in such a state of suspended disbelief as they reached towards one other that he was positive he had completely sweated through his uniform by the time they actually made physical contact.

"Me either," he whispered, clearing his throat. "Stars, Rey, you have no idea how much that meant to me."

"Oh, I'm fairly certain I have at least some idea," she replied, her beautiful eyes crinkling at the corners as she pressed a lingering kiss to the tip of Ben's middle finger. "Although they were definitely softer back then, I noticed that while we were on Coruscant. They've toughened up a bit since we've been here. You've even got some callouses now."

She was right, and it was something that Ben had noticed as well. Between their regular everyday chores, his copywriting assignments, and his training, his hands were nowhere near as baby-soft as they were before the battle on Exegol.

"It was the gloves," Ben murmured. "I never really did anything without them."

"Not even sleeping?" Rey asked, placing the palm of Ben's hand against her cheek.

"Not most of the time," answered Ben. "I didn't—I thought it would be unwise for me to be caught out of uniform if something were to happen." He didn't add that he never even allowed himself to sleep for more than a couple hours at a time while on the Finalizer. After he'd killed Snoke, Ben had had an entire army of commanders, generals, and foot soldiers at his disposal, not to mention a massive fleet of ships, but yet he hadn't trusted a single one of them to not try and kill him in his sleep.

After all, hadn't that been the route of ascension for the Sith pretty much since they had come to be? The apprentice killing the master? And since he had killed Snoke, Ben feared that it was only a matter of time before someone else came for him. He was still shocked that Hux hadn't ever attempted to organise a mutiny.

Rey was quiet for a moment, still pressing kisses all along Ben's fingers until she glanced down at him, the worried frown lines between her eyebrows.

"Something woke you this morning," she said. "Something that wasn't a nightmare, but it still disturbed you. What was it?"

Ben huffed, turning further into her so she couldn't see his eyes. He should've known that he couldn't hide something like that from her.

"I thought—I thought I heard something," he said, muffled against Rey's neck. "Or someone."

"Someone?" Rey asked. "But not someone you've heard before?"

"No. It sounded vaguely familiar, but not enough for me to recognise. But… it also wasn't threatening, I don't think." He shifted again, meeting Rey's beautiful hazel eyes. "Sounded more curious than anything."

"Hmm. Well, maybe next time you could ask their name?"

Ben pursed his lips. "I'm not sure that I want to. I've—I think I've had enough of hearing strange voices."

"I suppose I can understand that," Rey said softly. "But what if this person or thing is trying to help you?"

"Well, if that's the case, then whoever it is can come and talk to me face-to-face," Ben stated, a bit more firmly than was likely necessary. "Otherwise, I'm just not interested."

"Ah, spoken like a true Solo," Rey replied with a giggle. Ben instinctively frowned, his brow furrowing even more when Rey snorted.

"What? What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Rey said quickly as she tried to smooth his frown lines away with her thumb. "It's just… the face you made just now, you looked just like him."

"Like who?" asked Ben.

"Like your father," she murmured. "I noticed it yesterday too, while we were eating. You said something and then made a face, something about the way your eyebrow quirked, and it reminded me so much of Han." She leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to Ben's forehead. "You're so much like him, probably a lot more than you want to admit, and I think before… you must've been afraid to let it show."

Ben breathed in, exhaling slowly as he cuddled even closer, listening to the soft beat of Rey's heart beneath his ear, his blood running cold as he recalled the time when Rey's heart had stopped beating.

Be with me. Don't leave me here alone.

"You're not alone, Ben. I am with you," Rey whispered. She slid her tiny fingers down his until they were interlaced, bringing his knuckles to her lips. "See? I'm right here."

"I know," he said as he tilted his head up for another kiss, which Rey happily obliged. They lay there for awhile, exchanging soft kisses and caresses until Rey's stomach started to growl, causing Ben to chuckle.

"I guess that means it's time for breakfast," he said as he helped her up, handing her his crumpled tunic from the floor and chuckling again as she slipped it over her head. Ben was still amused by how much she loved that ratty thing, but he had to admit that she looked cute as hell in it.

Much better than he had looked when he'd worn it. In fact, ever since they'd arrived on Naboo, Ben had flat-out refused to wear anything black, preferring light, cream-coloured linen shirts and trousers of either brown or medium to dark grey. He had worn enough black during his years as Kylo Ren to last three lifetimes.

Since their cabin lacked running water and a real fresher, Ben had built a sort of outdoor toilet building shortly after they arrived, promising Rey that once they finally decided that they were going to stay there permanently he would build her a real bathroom, with a real fresher. He also had tentative plans to double the cabin's size and add a couple more windows, so that the sunlight could stream in from more than just one direction.

He had told Rey of these plans just the previous night as they'd held each other after making love, his entire body tingling and his heart so full that it almost hurt.

How desperately he wanted it, wanted all of his wild dreams and desires for he and Rey to come true. Dreams of a real, permanent home, maybe even a family someday…

And yet, the fact that he was still the most wanted man in the galaxy haunted him, hung over his head like a steel veil, and as much as he wished he could just snap his fingers and make it go away, he knew that he couldn't.

Someday, he would have to face the consequences of what he had done.

Shaking his head, Ben quickly pulled on his own clothes and headed outside to start their fire, catching sight of Rey as she emerged from the makeshift fresher, tossing him another smile as she dipped back inside to fetch her tin of tea leaves and the flatbread and honey that they often ate for breakfast. They baked the bread every three days or so, depending on the weather, and that along with fish from the river and whatever animals they could trap and fruits they could find, comprised most of their diet.

"You know, I think I'd like to start a garden," Rey said as she set down their tea mugs and took the piece of flatbread Ben offered her. "It would be a lot easier to just grow the herbs that we use rather than have to forage for them. I could add some vegetables too, and maybe even some flowers. Maybe we can look at some seeds and plants the next time we go in to the city?"

Ben smiled around his own mouthful of bread, savouring the sticky sweetness of the honey on his tongue. His mother had always had a particular fondness for sweets, always keeping a jar of sugar handy to sweeten her tea and honey to spread on bread or crackers. He could remember his father coming home from one of his long smuggling runs; he'd been gone for months, and Leia had not been at all happy about it until Han pulled out a jar of honey nearly the size of Ben's head, and suddenly all was forgiven.

"If that's what you want," Ben said once he'd swallowed, curling his arm around Rey's waist and pulling her onto his lap, swiping a tiny drop of honey from the corner of her mouth.

"It is," she said as she cupped his face in her hands, kissing his forehead first, then the tip of his nose, and finally his lips, the taste of the honey on her tongue combined with the burst of flavour from the herbs in the tea nearly intoxicating him.

"I love you," he whispered once they broke apart, their foreheads pressed together and his thumb tracing along Rey's cheekbone. "So much."

"And I love you," she murmured in reply. She pecked his lips again, pulling back with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "But now it's time to start training."

"Yeah, I suppose," Ben said with an exaggerated scowl. He watched as Rey disappeared back inside the cabin, reemerging a couple minutes later dressed in one of her own tunics and a pair of cropped trousers, her gorgeous wavy hair pulled back to keep it out of her face.

Owing to Ben's promise to never duel with Rey again, he and Rey instead trained side by side, using thin branches shaped to resemble the bo staff that Rey used to carry, as well as trading off time with Rey's lightsaber. Ben had taught Rey several of the training exercises that he'd learned while studying at Master Luke's temple, and she had taught him a few things that she'd learned from Leia, including how to be more easy on himself when something went wrong.

Like trying to parry when he should have pivoted, and shattering his stick against the trunk of a tree.

"It seems as though you're still a bit anxious," Rey said after Ben had shouted his curse of frustration into the air, sending an entire flock of birds scattering into the sky, chirping their discontent. She caught Ben's hand, running her fingertip slowly along one of the creases in his palm, something they had recently discovered worked really well to help calm him when he got upset. "Why don't we stop for the day, all right?"

"But—" Ben started, his jaw snapping closed when Rey quirked her eyebrows at him, giving him her don't-argue-with-me look. He knew that look all too well.

"All right."

After spending a few minutes searching for a replacement stick of the appropriate length and weight, they headed over to the river, spending most of the rest of the day bathing and catching fish. They even stumbled upon a new fruit tree on their way back to the cabin, some kind of round fruit with a thick green skin, but so sweet and juicy once peeled that they ended up nearly gorging themselves on them, falling asleep full and happy.

Unfortunately, Ben's sleep was once again fitful, rife with images of Force ghosts and flashing lightsabers, of low, ominous voices interspersed with smaller ones crying and begging for mercy, and an underlying sensation of such deep, unrelenting fear and anger that it caused him to wake with a start before the sun had even started to rise. Ben gasped, clapping his palms to his temples as if to push the unpleasant thoughts from his mind. He had no idea where these new sensations were coming from as they weren't memories of his, but he definitely knew that he didn't like them.

Go away! he thought bitterly. I don't want you here!

Sucking in a deep breath, Ben swiped the sweat-dampened hair from his eyes and glanced over at Rey, relieved to find her still sleeping peacefully, her beautiful full lips curled into a contented smile. Ben brushed a stray hair off her forehead before carefully extraditing himself from her grasp, tucking the blankets up over her shoulders and leaning down to kiss her softly. Then he quickly got dressed, pulling out Rey's lightsaber and all three of their training remotes and headed out to the training area. He knew Rey didn't care much for it when he used all three of the remotes at once, but sometimes it was the easiest way for him to clear his head.

Pursing his lips, Ben activated the remotes, quickly losing himself in the electronic hum of the lightsaber as he attempted to dodge their relentless blows, gritting his teeth whenever he missed to avoid crying out from the pain. Remote blasts stung like hell, burning and marking his skin, and Ben absolutely hated them, but he hated jarring Rey awake from her sleep even more.

"Ow!" he rasped as yet another blast hit him on the small of his back, followed immediately by another to the top of his left shoulder. With a muffled curse Ben whipped around, the lightsaber nearly flying out of his grip when his eyes landed on a man standing about ten feet away, leaning against a tree and watching him with an amused grin on his face.

"Hello, Ben," the man said, and a shiver raced down Ben's spine at the sound of his voice.

It was the same voice he had heard the previous morning, calling out to him. The voice he'd told to leave him alone.

Deactivating the remotes, Ben raised the lightsaber and advanced towards the man, stopping short when he didn't budge a single inch, his rather smug smile growing even wider.

"Who the hell are you?" Ben demanded, the lightsaber still in the attack position. "What do you want with me? I swear, if you even think about trying to hurt her, then—"

"I'm not here to hurt you or Rey, Ben, I promise," the man said, raising his hands in surrender. "You said you wanted to meet face to face, so, I'm here to talk to you."

"What?" Ben said, his nostrils flaring. The fact that a perfect stranger knew both his and Rey's names was not okay with him at all. "How do you know her name? We've never seen you before!"

The man dropped his gaze as anguish fell across his face, clouding his eyes. "No, you haven't seen me before, but… you've both heard my voice before."

"Rey has?" Ben asked, incredulous. He lowered the lightsaber, but didn't deactivate it. There was something about this man that seemed eerily familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. He was dressed in a white tunic and long, light brown robes, similar to the robes Master Luke had worn while teaching at his temple, and his face… there was something about his face, the shape of his eyes, and his nose…

"When?"

"On Exegol," the man answered. "After the Emperor sent you flying over the cliff, many of us reached out to Rey, trying to give her the strength that she needed to finish the job."

"To finish… wait, what? You mean to kill Palpatine? He almost killed her! In fact, he did kill her! The only way she survived was because—"

"Because you saved her," the man cut in. "Because you, Ben Solo, pulled yourself out of that pit, broken and bleeding and in unimaginable pain, and crawled over to Rey to infuse her with your remaining life force. You were willing to sacrifice your own life to save her, and that right there was the very moment where I was convinced that you had completely turned from the Dark Side and embraced who you truly are."

Ben scowled, finally deactivating the lightsaber as he took another step forward.

"Who are you?" he asked, and once again the man smiled, a huge, toothy, cocky grin.

"Who do you think I am, Ben?"

"I don't know!" Ben exclaimed, his frustration threatening to boil over. He gripped the lightsaber, his thumb itching to reactivate it when he suddenly realised that due to the typical early-morning fog, he hadn't noticed the shimmering white aura surrounding the man, making it seem that he was almost glowing.

The man was a Force ghost.

Ben had heard stories of Force ghosts appearing to Jedi at various times, usually in a time of great need to offer counsel. Master Luke had even told him a few of his own experiences, namely whenever his old master Master Yoda appeared to him, usually right after he'd done something rather rash or stupid.

"Look at me, Ben," the man said gently. "Look at my face, I know you can see the similarities."

"Yeah, you look a lot like my uncle, but—" Ben broke off as realisation dawned. The man wasn't Master Luke, that much was obvious, but he had the same eyes, eyebrows, and nose as Master Luke. And his smile was also the same, based on the not-so-many times that Ben had ever seen Master Luke smile.

"You're—are you a Skywalker?"

"Yes, I am," the man answered, squaring his shoulders. "My name is Anakin, but I'm afraid that you'll only recognise me by my Sith name, as unless I'm mistaken, that's the only name you've ever associated with me."

It was as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water down Ben's back, and he let out a loud gasp as he stumbled backwards, his eyes wide as he shook his head.

"No," he said, raking his shaking fingers through his hair. "No, you're not. You can't be—"

"Darth Vader," the man—Anakin—said, practically spitting the words. "Yes, I am. Or rather, I used to be, until my son, your uncle, helped me find my way back to the Light."

"He… what?" Ben asked, internally kicking himself for sounding so stupid. He had always hated being blindsided by anything, whether it was an abrupt change in plans or an unexpected piece of information, as it made him feel unnerved and out of control.

"Yes, he did," Anakin said softly. "And judging by your reaction, I'm assuming that he never spoke with you about it, hmm?"

Ben could only shake his head, slamming his jaw closed when he realised it was hanging open like the hatch on a ship.

"No, he didn't mention it," he said once he was able to find his voice again. "Master Luke never talked about his… parents, he only told me he was raised by his aunt and uncle on Tatooine."

"Who were actually only his step-uncle and his wife," said Anakin. "Owen Lars was my step-brother, his father married my mother."

"And my mom, she never—" Ben broke off, his hand gripping the lightsaber hilt as his free hand clenched into a white-knuckled fist. "She never told me either. She never—she only talked about her adoptive parents, the royal ones." Ben's stomach clenched at the memory, of when one of his mother's political enemies in the new Galactic Senate decided to take it upon himself to reveal to the entire galaxy that Leia Organa-Solo's birth father had been none other than the notorious Sith leader himself, Darth Vader.

"And how old were you when you found out?" Anakin asked.

"Twenty-three," Ben said softly. He turned away, tears pricking his eyes at how angry, how betrayed he had felt at the shocking news. He had marked that day, that exact moment, as the beginning of the end of his time as a Jedi apprentice, as it was only a short time later that he woke up in his bed to find Master Luke leering over him, his lightsaber clutched in his metal fingers and so much fear and loathing in his eyes that it cracked Ben's heart right down the middle.

"That must've been a pretty difficult time for you," said Anakin.

"It was," Ben murmured, his brow furrowing as a thought suddenly occurred to him. "But then again, you probably already knew that."

Anakin shifted on his feet, awkwardly rubbing his nose as he let out a heavy sigh.

"I did, Ben."

"Yeah," Ben muttered as he scuffed the sole of his boot on a nearby rock. He was already tired of speaking in riddles, and it was getting harder and harder to control his temper. "And, oh, I don't know, you didn't feel that it might've been a good idea to show yourself back then? Maybe?" He wiggled his toe underneath the rock, launching it into the air where it hit a tree thirty metres away. "You did happen to know there was a war going on, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did," replied Anakin, far too smugly for Ben's taste.

"Well, then where were you?" Ben said, his voice rising with every word as he pointed his finger right in Anakin's face. "If you knew what was happening, the path I was headed down, then why didn't you show yourself to me then? Try and stop me?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth Ben wanted to kick himself, knowing that he had probably just woken Rey. No matter how hard he tried to shield her from his strong negative emotions she always seemed to find her way in, and she had never left him to deal with them alone.

Ben sucked in a deep breath, willing himself to calm down as he took a step back. "Don't you know how many people could've been saved? My father? My mother—?" Ben's voice cracked, and he again turned away, hastily scrubbing a tear from his cheek.

"Even Master Luke? They're all dead! All three of them are dead because of that war!"

Because of me.

"I know that, Ben," Anakin said sadly. "But try and think; if I had been able to reach you before you'd turned yourself over to Snoke, or even after you did, would you have listened to me?"

"I—" Ben started, once again snapping his mouth closed as his mind caught up. "What do you mean, if you had been able to reach me? Does that mean that you tried?"

"Yes," said Anakin, so matter-of-factly that Ben's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "I did try, and not only once or twice, but several times. But you wouldn't let me in. The Dark Side had consumed your every thought and emotion so completely that there was no way I could get through to you."

Shuddering, Ben hooked the lightsaber to his waistband and crossed his arms in front of his chest, remembering with shame the many times that he'd knelt in his quarters on the Finalizer, praying to the destroyed helmet of Darth Vader to show him what it meant to be a true follower of the Dark Side.

"The pull to the Light," he whispered. "That was you?"

"Sometimes," replied Anakin. "Other times it was your mother. She—she never really let me in either, I'm afraid, and Luke, he was far too consumed with his own guilt over what he perceived as his failure to want to listen to me all that much, so…" He gave what was supposed to be a nonchalant shrug, but Ben saw the intense pain in his eyes. "And then once you came into contact with Rey, it was her as well."

"Because of the bond?" Ben asked.

"Partially," said Anakin. "But mainly because of your compassion for her, even before you recognised it as such."

Ben flinched, the word, "compassion" recalling a particularly unpleasant memory from his past that he had tried very hard to bury.

"You have compassion for her!"

"Don't say it like that, make it sound like it's just some casual thing," he snapped. "What I feel for Rey isn't just compassion, I love her. I love her with my entire heart and soul and everything else in me. She's the most important person in the entire galaxy to me, and I'll protect her with my life."

"Well, what do you think compassion is, if not unconditional love?" Anakin said, just as sharply. "You're assuming that I don't have any experience in these matters, but I assure you that I do."

Ben glared at him for a moment, which Anakin returned just as fiercely, his expression so similar to Ben's mother when she and his father used to argue that Ben's heart gave a lurch.

"Your experience was with their mother," Ben said softly. "Wasn't it."

"It was, yes."

"But then, why did you abandon her?" asked Ben. "If you loved her as much as you say, how could you turn away from her?"

Anakin's lips curled into one of the most melancholy smiles that Ben had ever seen, yet another identical expression to one that he'd seen numerous times on the face of his mother.

"You of all people should be able to understand the power of someone who's constantly whispering in your ear, feeding on your insecurities and obsessions and carefully cultivating every single fleeting dark thought that you might have until it blooms into fruition," said Anakin. "But while your voices were mainly inside your head, mine was flesh and blood, and staring me in the face, day in and day out. The master manipulator himself."

"Palpatine," said Ben.

Anakin gave a rueful nod. "Yes. And like a fool, I allowed him to manoeuvre me so well that by the end, there was hardly anything left of the old me that remained." He let out a morbid chuckle, shaking his head. "It was just as Master Yoda had predicted on my very first visit to the Jedi Temple: my fear led to anger, which then led to hate, which then led to more suffering than the galaxy had ever seen. I was so afraid of losing the woman I loved that in the end, my fear became the very thing that killed her."

Ben was quiet for a moment, desperately trying to contain his swirling emotions. There had been so many instances where his own actions had nearly cost Rey her life, and the thought of him even attempting to live without her was just too much for him to contemplate. He and Rey were a dyad. She was the other half of his soul, his Force mate, two that were one. Without her, he would just be alone.

Solo.

"But this isn't the reason why you called out to me yesterday," Ben finally said. "Or why you're here now."

"No, it's not." Tucking up his robes, Anakin sat down on one of the large roots of the tree, crossing his arms in front of him as though he was a teacher getting ready to give a lecture. He nodded in Ben's direction, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Would you like to sit down?"

"Do I have a choice?" Ben muttered as he plopped down on the spongy forest floor, the damp dirt and leaves seeping through the backside of his trousers.

"We always have choices, Ben," Anakin said. "Even when it may not seem as so."

"Yeah, sure," grumbled Ben. "Look, Rey's gonna be waking up any time now, so if you don't mind—"

"Okay then, I'll get right to the point," said Anakin. "You and Rey have been here now for almost a year, correct?"

"I guess, give or take. Why?"

"And yet I sense that you're still unsettled. Uneasy. Why do you suppose that is?"

Ben's breath caught in his throat, and he looked down at his hands, studying the various scratches and callouses that littered his once impeccably smooth skin. Rey had told him just the day before how much she loved his hands, said that she loved them even more now that they belonged to Ben Solo—a bit rough around the edges—instead of Kylo Ren.

"You're not the same person anymore, Ben, that much is clear," Anakin said softly. "Which is why you now understand even more what needs to be done."

Breathing in a deep, shaky breath, Ben gave a stuttered nod, clenching his hands into fists. He had tried so hard to keep from thinking about it, but he still somehow knew, deep down, that it would eventually become unavoidable.

"I need to turn myself in," he said, so quietly he was surprised that Anakin heard him.

"Yes," said Anakin. "You do. In order for the galaxy to finally be at peace, you need to turn yourself over to the Resistance. Right now they're trying to rebuild, trying to put some sort of government and trading systems in place that are both fair and honourable, but there's still that uncertainty hovering over them like a dense fog, making it impossible for them to see a clear path ahead."

"And you think putting me on trial for war crimes will clear their path for them?" Ben asked, a bit too harshly when Anakin winced.

"You fear that you won't receive a fair judgement," he said. "Is that it?"

"Yes!" Ben exclaimed. "It's the Resistance! I was the figurehead of the First Order, how do you know they won't kill me on sight?"

"Because Rey will be with you," said Anakin.

"No!" shrieked Ben. He scrambled to his feet, brushing dirt off the back of his trousers. "No, absolutely not! If she comes with me they'll just arrest her for harbouring me, and I'm not going to allow that to happen!"

Anakin smiled again, a wide, toothy smile that made Ben's blood boil.

"What could possibly be so funny?"

Instead of replying, Anakin jerked his head towards the direction of the cabin, his smile growing even wider.

"Well, why don't we ask her and see what she says, hmm?"

Rey had become so reluctantly used to waking up to find Ben gone from the bed that while she hadn't been surprised to find him gone yet again, she had been more than a bit disappointed. She had very much enjoyed the time they'd spent cuddling and lounging in bed the previous morning—especially the sleepy morning lovemaking—and she'd had hopes of enjoying it again.

At least he hadn't had another nightmare, or at least not one that he hadn't been able to keep from her. They'd had yet another discussion about Ben's tendency to try and hide his dark thoughts from her, and while she hoped that she had actually gotten through to him this time, she wasn't yet convinced.

So far, though, what she'd sensed from Ben that morning had been mostly frustration mixed in with a bit of physical pain, and, seeing that both her lightsaber and all three of their training remotes were missing, she could easily guess why. As often as Rey tried to tell him that he didn't need to push himself so hard, she had to admit she admired that he did so. Ben was so determined to prove himself worthy of a new lightsaber that he was willing to push himself above and beyond the limits of traditional Jedi training, and while Rey knew that part of it was because of his ever-present compulsion to atone for his actions as Kylo Ren, most of it was simply because he was Ben Solo, and Ben Solo wanted to be the absolute best.

So it was a bit unusual, as she approached their training area, to see Ben sitting cross-legged on the forest floor, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hand as though he were listening to a teacher, and then suddenly shoot to his feet as though the very same ground had burned him.

"Ben?" Rey said as she trotted the final steps over to him, grabbing onto his hand and following his eyeline towards a nearby tree. "What's wrong—?"

She jumped back in surprise at the sight of the man, her eyes narrowing as he pushed himself up to his feet.

"Hello, Rey," he said politely, bowing his head slightly in her direction. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"What?" Rey said, frowning as she looked up at Ben, who wrapped his arm protectively around her shoulders. "Ben, who's this?"

"Sweetheart, this is Anakin Skywalker," Ben said, his voice thick. "My… grandfather."

Rey's head jerked back in surprise; out of all the millions of obscure possibilities she might've thought of, that one hadn't even crossed her mind.

"Your what?" she exclaimed. "You mean—?"

"Yes, Rey," said the man—or rather, the Force ghost. "I was once the Sith Lord you knew as Darth Vader, and Luke and Leia were my children. Shortly before my death on the Second Death Star, my son, Luke, was able to successfully turn me from the Dark Side so that I could die as Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight."

"I didn't know of Darth Vader, I've only heard stories," Rey said quickly. "And I've definitely never heard that one."

"Yes, well, I'm sure most of the others weren't exactly very flattering," Anakin said, and Rey's eyebrows knitted together. There was something else going on, something that was making Ben uneasy, and she needed to figure out what it was.

"Well, I suppose that's beside the point now, don't you think?" she said. "Why exactly are you here?"

To her annoyance, Anakin smirked as he glanced over at Ben.

"She's direct, hmm?"

"Yes, she is," Rey stated before Ben could even open his mouth. "And she can also speak for herself, thank you very much. Now, I would very much appreciate it if you could answer my question."

"Rey," Ben said as his fingers stroked the back of her neck. "Sweetheart, Anakin and I were having a… discussion."

"Okay, very good. About what?"

"About—"

"About the next step that Ben needs to take," Anakin cut in. Rey's frown grew even deeper as she took a step forward, noticing that the Force ghost seemed to be almost as tall as Ben.

"And I suppose you're here to tell him what that is?" she demanded.

"In a manner of speaking," replied Anakin. "You might say that I'm here in more of an advisory manner."

"I see." Rey could sense that the delicate fibres of her temper were starting to fray, which Ben could likely sense as well, if his fingertips digging into her shoulder were anything to go by.

"So if that's the case, may I ask where in the hell you've been? If you're here to advise Ben, then why couldn't you have done it earlier? You of all people must've known how hard he was struggling!"

"I did know, Rey," said Anakin, and Rey was pleased to see that he at least had the decency to look chagrined. "And that's exactly why I'm here now."

"But—!"

"Sweetheart, please," Ben pleaded as he touched her cheek, running his thumb along her cheekbone. "Please, just listen to him."

The wobbly tone of Ben's voice did nothing to quell Rey's unease, but she nodded anyway, curling her arm around his waist.

"All right. But make it quick."

Anakin's lips twitched and he inhaled deeply, which Rey found rather odd, him being a ghost and all.

"I never had the opportunity to truly repent for what I did," he began, his voice low and tight. "Over the course of a few of our… meetings, my son told me he could sense that there was still good in me, but of course I didn't listen. I believed it was too late, that I was too far gone, irredeemable. But, he persisted, and during the final battle of that war, what came to be known as the Battle of Endor, my son and I dueled on the second Death Star directly in front of Emperor Palpatine. The duel ended with Luke cutting off my artificial hand, and I collapsed to the floor, unable to continue." He paused, scratching nervously at his nose. "After that, Palpatine began to taunt Luke, telling him to kill me and take my place at his side."

"That sounds rather familiar," Rey said, and she felt Ben's fingers twitch on her shoulder.

"Yeah," Anakin said with a chuckle. "He had all that time, decades, and he never came up with any new lines, hmm?"

"No, I guess not. Please continue."

"Well, as you can probably imagine, Palpatine didn't take Luke's refusal very well, and he began to torture him." Anakin paused, swallowing hard. "Luke cried out to me, begging me—his father—for help, like any child would when he was being hurt, and I—it was that moment when I realised that I had to make a choice. So I chose him, and by doing so, I was able to renounce my identity as a Sith and reclaim my name."

He paused then, shifting on his feet as his eyes flicked between Rey and Ben. Over the course of his story the sun had moved overhead, with a single beam of light filtering between a few of the higher tree branches to shine directly on the back of Ben's head.

He was quite literally standing in the light, and the sight of it was enough to both fill Rey's heart with joy and cause it to sink at the same time, as she now had a strong suspicion as to why Anakin Skywalker had chosen that particular moment to appear to Ben.

"All right," Rey finally said. "That's all well and good, for both you and Master Luke, but I still want to know why you're here now. Why now?"

Anakin, who had been busily studying the ground while Rey thought, now flicked his gaze back up to Ben, quirking an eyebrow.

"Anakin believes that it's time for me to turn myself over to the Resistance," Ben said, quietly, but still so clear and strong that tears welled in Rey's eyes, spilling down her cheeks before she could stop them.

"No!" she cried, clutching Ben's arms, the frightened yet determined look on Ben's face hitting her like a blaster shot to the heart. "Ben, please, don't do this now! It's not yet time, you wanted your new lightsaber first!"

"I know that, sweetheart," Ben murmured, his chin quivering. "But what Anakin's said here—"

"And what exactly has he said?" Rey demanded. "Because to me, all it seems is that he's expecting you to repent for your sins only because he never had the opportunity to properly repent for his!"

"That's partially correct, Rey," Anakin said, and Rey whipped around, shooting him a glare that would've splattered him all over the tree if he'd been real flesh and blood. "After everything I did as Darth Vader it would've been pure chaos if Luke had had his wish and brought me back with him to his Rebel camp, which likely would've resulted in both of us being shot on sight. But, my death also deprived me of a way to truly make amends, which is not something that I want for Ben."

"And yet again, I fail to see why we should care about what you want?" Rey snapped. "This is Ben's life we're talking about—our lives—not yours! You had your chance!"

"Rey, we knew this day would come," Ben said quietly. "We talked about it, we knew that someday—"

"Yes, but not now! It's not the right time!" Rey cried as Ben tucked her into his arms, his long fingers weaving into her hair as he kissed the top of her head. Tears rolled down her cheeks in hot, salty rivulets as she sobbed into his chest, Ben's strong, steady heartbeat thrumming beneath her ear.

Please, don't do this! she thought desperately. Not yet!

I'm not ready!

"Neither am I, sweetheart," Ben whispered. "I know what I have to do, but I don't know if I have the strength to do it."

Sniffling and hiccuping, Rey swiped at her nose and pulled back to look into Ben's eyes, dark, glassy and frightened, but also proud.

"But it needs to be done, Rey," he said. "We both know it."

"Ben will never truly know peace without it, Rey," said Anakin. "And as selfish as it might make me sound, I don't want that for him."

Rey gave a stuttered nod, tipping her forehead against Ben's chest and holding him as close as she could. As much as it hurt to admit, she could understand where Anakin was coming from because there was nothing that she wanted more than for Ben to be at peace. They had been slowly chipping away at all of his remaining layers of darkness during their months there on Naboo, and now it was time to peel back the only layer that remained.

"You won't be alone," she said. She reached to cup his cheek, biting her lip when Ben leaned into her touch. "I'll be with you."

"Rey—" Ben started, but Rey pressed her fingers to his lips, silencing him.

"No," she said firmly. "We're two that are one, correct? So that means where you go, I go as well. We'll go together or not at all, and I won't hear anymore arguments about it."

Ben huffed out a sharp breath as he stared into Rey's eyes, finally blinking in agreement.

"All right."

"That's a good choice, Ben," said Anakin. "And it won't just be the two of you either. For as how the Jedi were with Rey as she fought against Palpatine on Exegol, we will all be with Ben during his tribunal as well. He has more than earned our support."

"All right then," Rey said. "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow," Ben replied, his lips pursed in determination. "We'll leave for Ajan Kloss tomorrow."

I can't wait to hear what you think! Please don't hesitate to leave me a review! :)