Twenty Nine.

Ben was staring at the wild lights of hyperspace through the cockpit windows, seated comfortably in the pilot's seat. He was exhausted, his body hurt and he had no clue what was going to happen to him now-but he couldn't sleep. Because he needed to savour every moment that Rey was finally here and alive-even if she was fast asleep.

He sighed and stretched. His wounds from Mustafar hadn't been helped by his death experience and he had finally allowed an extremely grumpy and rough Tamini to patch him up with Rey offering to Force-heal him…but he was determined that she wouldn't waste any of her newly regained life force on him. In fact, the worry that she would try to covertly help him while he was asleep was another reason he just couldn't unwind enough to rest.

He had done it. Finally, Rey was saved and Hux was defeated. His ship was wreckage and the Rebels had allowed the Finalizer-along with the Rebel vessels-to rescue any survivors from the remains of the Eliminator. Peavey had negotiated for the safety of his crew and once he was satisfied, he had surrendered. The ship's navigational system was slaved to the Reunity and a skeleton Rebel crew transferred over to monitor the trip to Coruscant where the majority of the new Resistance Allies were meeting. Poe and Finn had reluctantly agreed to go as well but they were flying via Kineva to finally drop off Tamini before they headed to join the Resistance party.

Hux had been located. A large portion of Ben was disappointed because the man not only wanted him dead but he could positively identify him as Kylo Ren, a man who was supposed to have died. Fished from a damaged emergency bridge shuttle with a semi-conscious stormtrooper, Hux had been furious, arrogant and ultimately stubborn but when he had declared himself as Supreme Leader, the Resistance had laughed in his face-before shackling him securely and throwing him in the brig for war crimes and genocide. Ben had made sure they knew that he was the one who had developed and ordered the firing of Starkiller Base, killing fourteen billion sentients.

Idly, Ben flipped through the news net, scanning what was happening and he smiled as he caught the headlines.

"In Galaxy Eye tonight, our headlines are… Former Supreme Leader of the First Order Kylo Ren is dead. Verified footage by Resistance leaders Finn and Poe Dameron shows him dying in direct combat with Last Jedi, Rey of Jakku, on the planet Dathomir. His remains have already been cremated and scattered in space to prevent any resting place forming a shrine for former First Order supporters.

In a twist of fate, two hold-out First Order Destroyers were engaged by Joint Resistance-Council forces over Dathomir. One was destroyed and the other surrendered and will be returned to Coruscant for examination and demobilisation. General Armitage Hux of the First Order, the Butcher of Hosnia, was captured and will face charges of genocide.

The newly formed Interim Council has issued a statement:

'Today is a great day for Freedom. Both the leaders of the First Order are now removed. General Hux's trial will be scheduled as soon as he arrives on Coruscant. We regret that Kylo Ren has escaped justice but we accept that the Galaxy is a safer place now that he breathes no more.'

In other news…"

"So it's official," Poe murmured, walking into the cockpit and handing Ben a cup of caff. "You are dead. How does it feel?"

"Surprisingly achy and tiring," he replied dryly. "Thanks." He sipped the caff and returned his gaze to the chaotic streaks of stars. Poe sat and inspected him for a moment.

"I still don't like you," he said without preamble.

"I know." Ben felt himself tense slightly, not moving from his inspection of the stars.

"I still get nightmares about what you and your men did."

"I know."

"How?" Poe's voice was sharp. Then Ben turned and looked over at him, his eyes defeated.

"Because worse happened to me-much worse-on a regular basis," he said without expression. Poe's eyes widened.

"What?" His tone was a mixture of incredulity and pity, a combination that caused Ben to feel a surge of anger that was somehow comforting: an old friend, just like pain.

"I'm not seeking pity," he said, his tone flat. "Snoke trained his Knights-and me, their leader-like animals. Pain and reward, pain and reward. And he was a very cruel and intolerant master so there was much more pain, such when he granted you a word of praise, you were pathetically grateful not to be hurt. And I get nightmares as well. Because I have too much pain in my past not to get them. Both what happened to me and what I did."

"I'd have thought you could rationalise what you did as for the greater good," Poe snarked. Ben gave a humourless laugh.

"I did," he said forcefully. "Snoke had done his work well, making me believe in him with all my heart-I thought. Embracing his vision like an apprentice, a fanatic. Yet there were always doubts, whispers, things that called me back to the Light. To my family. But when I killed Dad, the action that should have eliminated all my doubts, it just tore me apart. Being Bonded to Rey worsened my conflict and in the end, I chose her over Snoke. I killed him to save her-and then I offered her my hand, to rule at my side."

"Yeah-that went well," Poe scoffed, sipping the cooling caff. Ben sighed.

"Every moment has its significance, a range of possibilities that may diverge from each action," he murmured. "The time wasn't right for us to join then. My pride and stubborn adherence to the vision blinded me to any other options. It wasn't the right time for either of us. Maybe if it had been, some would be alive now that aren't…including my Mom. And that is something I have to live with for the rest of my life." Poe clapped him on the shoulder.

"She kept speaking of you," he told the former Supreme Leader. "Right to the end, she believed that you could be reached. That her son would come home."

Ben turned away, blinking hard. A sudden surge of grief washed over him, more so because he had almost felt his mother caress him before he woke on Dathomir.

"Story of my life," he murmured. "I did-but too late. Too late to speak with Mom. Too late on Exegol to save Rey, too late to realise that I should have rejected Snoke and gone with Dad when I had to chance…" He swallowed. "Don't waste time. Don't hesitate to say what you mean, to tell the one you love that you do." Poe cocked an eyebrow.

"You proposing to me?" he asked dryly. Ben snorted.

"FN…Finn…" he said, correcting himself. Kriff! He had travelled across the Galaxy with the former stormtrooper. At least he could do the man the service of getting his name right! Poe frowned.

"You been reading my mind?" he asked angrily but Ben shook his head.

"Force aura," he said. "Everyone has one because the Force is everywhere, a living energy that derives from, flows around and permeates all living things. And for Force sensitives, it can reveal very obvious things-like the fact that you are in love with him." He paused. "And he's in love with you." Poe stared. "In case you had any doubts…"

"I am not getting relationship advice from you when I still haven't forgiven you for ripping my mind apart," Poe snapped and rose.

"You're welcome," Ben murmured as the General walked out, clearly with much on his mind. Then he turned back to the stars as he heard soft footsteps approach. "Sorry I woke you," he murmured as Rey walked into the cockpit, a blanket draped over her slender shape.

"I was listening out for you," she admitted. "And when you started talking about Snoke, I could feel your pain." He closed his eyes and sighed as she moved to sit in the co-pilot's chair, drawing her knees up to her chest.

"Sorry," he mumbled. She inspected him, glanced away then glanced back, inspecting his definite features, the expressive eyes, the sensitive lips, the tightness of his jaw and the dip of brows.

"It's been a busy day,' she said without any blame. "And I don't think I properly said thank you for saving me." He looked up then, his eyes shining.

"I think…you saved me more," he admitted. "You saved me from the loneliness that was my life, you listened to me without prejudice…"

"Oh, I had plenty of prejudice," she reminded him. "Monster? Creature in a mask? Murdering snake?"

"You were rather determined to see the worst of me-but then, I only showed you the worst of me," he conceded.

"I saw you in a vision, before I ever met you," she told him. "When I touched the lightsaber." They didn't need to say which lightsaber and he gave a grunt.

"It chose you," he admitted. "It came to your hand when you summoned it, even though I was calling it at the same time."

"I saw you there…hunting me on Starkiller, standing with the Knights in the rain, killing enemies…you were terrible and scary and I hated you for making me feel so helpless…" He gave a sigh.

"You made that clear on Starkiller," he reminded her unconsciously touching a couple of fingers to the place where she had cut his face open. The scar was long gone, healed in Kef Bir when she saved him for the first time, when she killed Kylo Ren for the first time, but occasionally the skin itched with the memory. She chuckled.

"Our timing has always been terrible," she conceded, "and our communication definitely worse." Then reached over and took a sip of his caff. His eyes widened.

"You want me to get…?" he offered, starting to rise but she grasped his arm.

"Sit," she murmured. He sat back down and stared at her, the look in his eyes a mix of wonder and trepidation. She frowned. "What?"

"You're here,' he managed thickly. "I never…I never expected to see you again. I had accepted that my life would be the cost for your life. And I was okay with that, because at least one good thing could come out of the disaster that is my life." She reached up and rested her hand on his cheek feeling him press against the gentle touch.

"I didn't want to be left alone," she told him honestly. "No one knows me like you do."

"No one ever knew me like you," he admitted. "No one ever will." He swallowed. "That was why…on the Supremacy…I asked you to join me. And I was an idiot because I didn't explain why. Not properly. And it was not because you were powerful or of any vision-though I thought so at the time. It wasn't as an Empress because, if I had dared to be honest with myself, that never mattered. And I told myself that because I couldn't allow myself to accept that I had fallen for you, for a scavenger from nowhere when I was supposed to be Kylo Ren, the First Order's enforcer, the Jedi Killer. Especially when Snoke had spent so long teaching me that attachments were a weakness. Yet I meant it when I said you were not 'nothing' to me. Because you are everything. And I would have spent my life to make up for my stupidity." He took a deep breath. "Because I love you."

"I think you did spend your life to make up," she said and smiled, her hazel eyes lit with joy. "And I love you too." She leaned up and kissed him, no less passionate than that first kiss but sweeter and longer-lasting. He finally pulled back and gave a yawn. She chuckled. "Am I boring you?" He started to laugh as well.

"I think I'm exhausted," he admitted. She rose and took his hand.

"Good," she murmured. "It didn't feel right sleeping without you." He stiffened, suddenly coy.

"Rey…"

"I promise that I will leave your virtue intact," she teased him. "And I won't heal you against your wishes. That would be a violation, maybe done for the best reasons but it would be against your will…and that's an abuse of our power. And whether to hurt or to heal, it is a violation of consent and bodily integrity. We have to be better than…" You were. Than Kylo was. The words hung unsaid but horribly loud in his mind. He nodded.

"I've done too much of that in the past," he acknowledged, rising and curling his hand around hers.

"I've been separated from you for too long," she said quietly. "I just want to feel you there with me, when I go to sleep and when I wake and know that you won't vanish in a blink." He wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm going nowhere," he promised.

-o0o-

The arrival at Coruscant was bittersweet, for Rey and Ben knew that this would be a time of partings. Tamini had been dropped off at Kineva, the Falcon docking only for long enough to drop the Healer off before shooting away and accelerating to hyperspace as soon as possible. Ben and Rey had been trying to work out what they could do next. They had spoken to Chewie and the Wookiee had graciously allowed them to take the Falcon, saying that he wanted to return to Kashyyyk to see his family and try to decide what to do next. He had been Han's friend and partner for over forty years and he really didn't feel he wanted to continue as a smuggler without him. Apart from Lando, all his old friends were gone and though he had made his peace with Ben, he admitted he couldn't see him without relieving that moment when he murdered Han. And though the words hurt Ben, he couldn't argue with the logic but had promised to come if Chewie ever needed him.

Rey had caught Finn and Poe kissing passionately in the passage to the main hold and realised that her friends had finally decided to act on their unspoken feelings that to her had been obvious for a long time. Her heart ached for Rose, who she knew had harboured some feelings for the former stormtrooper but when she approached her, the engineer had just given a smile.

"Love grows where it will," she said softly. "I still love Finn-but it's just going to be as a brother now." She gave a brave smile. "Out there, I will find someone. Or not." She clasped her amulet, the twin of one her sister had always worn. "But I will always have my sister, Rey." And then she hugged the young Jedi, feeling Rey wrap her arms tightly around her. "You are not to vanish from my life, okay? I need to hear from you regularly." Swiping a tear from her face, Rey nodded.

"You will be fed up of me calling you to update you on our daily boring routine," she promised as Rose nodded.

"You're going off with him then?" she asked.

"I have to," Rey sighed. "Ben is my other half, my soul mate. We are the balance and we need to figure out what that means. And Ben can't stay-someone in the Resistance will recognise him and then we'll never be safe. Now, with Kylo Ren officially dead, we have a chance to disappear and try to build something new. Out there, there are other people who are Force Sensitive. And just as I know Finn wants to help rehabilitate stormtroopers who were taken from their families and conditioned, I want to help others like me, who have the Force and who don't understand what it means."

"So you're setting up a new Jedi temple?" Rose guessed but Rey shook her head.

"I don't think other of us want to do that," Rey admitted. "Neither of us want to continue the Jedi or Sith division but promote a way of using the Force that embraces both Darkness and Light."

"Isn't that risky?" Rose asked, inspecting her friend. But Rey's eyes were shining with enthusiasm.

"All of us are a mixture of Dark and Light," she said passionately. "Despite this, we can choose the person we want to be. I wasn't conventionally trained as a Jedi. Ben was-and probably as a Sith as well-and we both agree that neither helped. One emphasised removing emotions and attachments, the other encouraged anger and lack of control. We don't know exactly what we'll do or what we'll call it but we do want to train those who are Force sensitive so they have the same choices as everyone else." Rose nodded, her smile genuine.

"I don't wholly understand-but I will expect to visit when you get it up and running," she said. "And all of this won't last forever…so maybe you may need someone to help?" Rey hugged her again.

"Oh definitely," she smiled as the woman finally released her and followed Jannah and Beau off the Falcon. Zorii had already gone to try to get a lift back to Donolos to collect her ship and only Poe and Finn were left. Ben had hung back carefully out of sight from the ramp, in case he was recognised and Rey walked to her friends. Finn immediately hugged her.

"You take care, okay?" he told her in a whisper. "You're like a sister and if you need anything…if he does anything…I'm there! Promise." Rey chuckled.

"You will have more things on your mind than me, what with being a General and co-head of the Resistance and having a new relationship…" she teased him. Despite his dark skin, he visibly blushed.

"I-I never thought…I mean I…" he managed as she pushed him back towards his boyfriend.

"Real smooth," she teased him as he looked to Poe for support.

"For the record, I think she can defend herself," he said, walking forward and gave Rey a warm hug. "You need anything and you call, okay? Finn and I will drop everything if you need us." Then he turned. "For the record, I still don't like you," he said to the taller man.

"Granted," Ben said quietly.

"But I respect you," Poe continued to Rey's surprise. "And you have done everything you promised to. You brought down the Eliminator when it could have blasted us apart. Are you sure you don't want to stay for General Hugs' trial?" Ben gave a small smirk.

"Amusing though it would be, too risky," he conceded. "You have all the proof you need to convict him and there is a real chance he or one of the other witnesses would recognise Kylo Ren. It's better I vanish." Poe granted him a nod and a wink before he grinned one last time at Rey and walked down the ramp. "Coming, BB-8?"

But there was a pause and then the little droid gave a small sheepish beep, followed by a few little noises that sounded incredibly sad. Poe turned and looked back to the droid.

"It's okay, buddy," he said and then he looked up at Rey and there was a brief flash of sorrow in his dark eyes. "Take care of my droid," he said. "I expect visits." And then he was gone. Finn gave her a last hug and followed, again nodding an acknowledgement to Rey. Finally, she hit the control and the ramp raised. Ben visibly relaxed.

"You sure you don't want to pick up supplies?" he asked her but she shook her head.

"Maybe later," she murmured, her voice, subdued. "In the meantime, I just want to leave…" He caught her arms and looked into her face.

"You can stay," he told her gently. "Rey, you don't have to separate yourself from your new family just because I am here." Looking into his face, she wondered how the murderous monster Kylo Ren had become this sweet, compassionate man and then she kissed him.

"I think…I want to actually spend some time with you. Together. In the same place, not halfway across the Galaxy. We both need to heal and rest and then, I can visit my friends again, once I figure out what I'm doing, what I need to be as 'the last Jedi'." He nodded.

"We'll figure it out together," he promised as she pulled away…then gave him a small shove and sprinted for the cockpit.

"Last one there doesn't fly!" she yelled and vanished round the corner.

"Oh it is so on," he growled and raced after her.

-o0o-

They approached from the nightside, coming in over the western desert as the pinkish light of predawn was warming the isolated, abandoned moisture farm. The domed above ground portion of the building was half-buried in drifted sands and the place looked long abandoned. The Falcon landed neatly a short way away and they walked forward. Rey remained in her standard outfit, though Ben had found a white shirt and clean pants in the Falcon that had almost certainly belonged to his father. It had astonished Rey that they hadn't been stripped by the scavengers on Jakku until she recalled that the ship had been in the possession of Unkar Plutt: no one would have tried to steal from him without possibly forfeiting their ability to trade and eat at all.

Slowly, Ben had approached the moisture farm, knowing the history. This had been the home of Owen and Beru, the couple who had raised Luke until the day he had met the droids C-3P0 and R2-D2 and had been drawn into the Rebellion against the Empire. Darth Vader's troops, seeking the droids, had found the farm and slaughtered the couple when seeking the droids, who were already with Luke and Obi-Wan Kenobi. As he looked, he could see the simple markers of the graves of couple, buried amid the sands and forgotten in all stories-except by the family of Luke Skywalker.

Rey took his hand, sensing his mood and he offered a wan smile that never touched his eyes. The couple had taken in baby Luke after the death of his mother, Padme, in childbirth and had raised him as their nephew on Tatooine though his eyes had always been on the skies. His twin Leia had been given to Bail and Breha Organa on Alderaan, raised as a Princess and a Rebel. There was no grave for her parents, blasted to atoms with the rest of the planet Alderaan by the Death Star as the woman had watched. It seemed that no one associated with the Skywalkers made it out alive…except him.

He released her hand as she moved forward, her scavenger's instincts prompting her to explore the place in case there was something here that hadn't been picked clean over the intervening thirty five years. It was an education to see her search, her eyes flicking expertly over anything that could be of value before finding a discarded rusting sheet of metal and sand-sledding into the main sunken courtyard of the home. The look of sheer innocent delight on her face had warmed his heart as he thrust his morbid thoughts aside, skidding unsteadily down the sandy slope to join her.

They had explored the rooms and he had been struck by the amount of space available-not so much in the bedrooms but in the central living area, the storage areas and the garage. Luke's home still carried faint echoes of his presence and he closed his eyes and felt for them in the little eddies in the Force, feeling echoes of happier times, of the Uncle he had idolised when he was a small child.

They had rolled up the two lightsabers-Luke and Leia's-in a piece of cloth they had found in the home, binding the sabers together as the twins had been. Finally, in the dawn light by the homestead, they had knelt, hands clasped, and buried them deep in the ground using the Force. And then they had stood, staring at the sunrise and feeling the warmth of the twin suns of their faces.

That was the moment, surrounded by calm and serenity, that they felt it, the wash of warmth and pride. In a second, they had turned to see the faint Force ghosts of Luke and Leia, standing by the homestead dressed in white Jedi-style robes and smiling. There were no words, only the approval of their actions that both the watchers secretly craved. Ben's hand enclosed Rey's and he closed his eyes as the warmth of the suns hit his skin. She nodded once to them and sent a silent goodbye.

I'll be there for him, she promised as they vanished into the brightening day. Then she looked up to see tears streaking his face and as she blinked, she realised that her own face was wet. Quietly, she rested her head against his shoulder.

"Thank you," he said roughly. "She's finally gone, isn't she?"

"I think so," she said softly. "Do you want to stay longer?" He turned his head to look at her, knowing there was nothing here for him.

"Do you?" he asked her gently, giving her the choice. She pulled a face.

"Kriff-I've had my fill of desert planets to last a dozen lifetimes," she told him with feeling. "I want to go somewhere green, somewhere blue, somewhere filled with life and absolutely no sand…"

"Not even a beach?" he asked her teasingly. She frowned.

"What's a beach?" she asked him as he supplied a memory from his childhood, of Leia and Han and a very young Ben, playing by the sea on Chandrila under a cloudless sky. Her lips lifted in a smile of wonder. "I would very much like to see one," she said eagerly and he gave in to the temptation to kiss her once more.

"Okay," he said indulgently. "I literally have nothing on my schedule…ever…except being with you. So a beach it is…" She sighed, pragmatism prodding her conscience.

"We'll go find Kyber crystals first," she said practically, "so we can make new lightsabers. So we aren't defenceless if we go to a beach…or anywhere else."

"And then a beach," he said.

"Maybe more than one," she agreed. "And then we can decide what we want to do." He nodded, his hand closing around hers and fingers twining together.

"Whatever we do-training young Force Users, helping the New Republic keep the peace or just living our lives to atone for the evil I have done-then I am certain that it will be perfect. Because I have you. I'm no longer alone-and nor are you." She smiled at the sincerity in his words as they turned back to the Millennium Falcon.

"What are you going to call yourself now?" she asked as they reached the ship. He sighed as they closed the ramp and headed to the cockpit to prepare for takeoff.

"Good question," he admitted. "I guess…Ben."

"Ben what?" she pushed him, laughing at his dilemma. The bounties had taken away all the names he could legitimately claim and though he was officially dead, they couldn't risk using one in case someone put two and two together. So in fact, he was almost in the same situation as she was. The Force still enjoyed toying with them, it seemed.

"I can't use Solo or Organa…" he reminded her, taking the pilot's seat.

"What about Skywalker?" she suggested and his eyes widened.

"As in Luke?" he asked, the irritation still leaking into his voice. No matter that he had made his peace, there was still a tiny corner of him that hung onto the resentment of that night. Then he closed his eyes and forced himself to be calm, breathing deeply. "Sorry." He felt her forgiveness and reassurance flood down the Bond.

"Maybe...as in Anakin?" she suggested, seeing the creases in his brow settle a little at her words. He nodded.

"I-I could consider that," he conceded. "But why does it matter?" Eyes drifting to her as she flipped the switches in the co-pilot's seat, he noted a small smile lifting her lips. She glanced up, feeling his intense inspection.

"Well, I can't use my own name so I was just wondering what name I could use when we married," she teased him lightly. "And it would be fitting, after all, since all three of them, in one way or another, were my mentors or teachers."

BB-8 beeped a query.

"Yes, I think she just did," Ben murmured. "You did, didn't you?" She chuckled.

"Maybe that is something for the beach," she laughed as he slammed the lever forward and the Millennium Falcon soared up into the brilliant, cloudless sky. "We have all the time we need, a lifetime to work it out…together."

The End.

A/N: So here it is-my reimagining of the end of TROS. The Happy Ending we all wanted (by a slightly circuitous route). Hope you enjoyed the story. BW-hp

A/N 2: Ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent eating its own tail, symbolising a cycle of life, death and rebirth.