The sun had risen, shedding light over the jungle and waking all the creatures who dwelled there. The indigenous birds of Ajan Kloss began to sing, their melodies harmonizing with one another. It was a sound which Rey had grown accustomed to by now and it slowly woke her from a deep and restful slumber. Opening her eyes, she was met by the most beautiful image she had ever seen. Ben was still fast asleep, his face bathed in golden sunlight. His arms were still securely wrapped around her, keeping her close and warm.

Rey took the opportunity to memorize every inch of his face; his cheekbones, his nose, his eyelashes. His lips. She lightly traced one finger over them, remembering the kiss she had given him right after he had drawn his last breath. She longed to do it again and was tempted right then and there, but she restrained herself. She wanted to do it when he was awake, so they could share the moment together. Instead, she began to play with locks of his hair.

He sensed her touch near his face, almost like a tickle, and the way her fingers gently ran through his hair. If he were a cat, he would have been purring.

Rey watched as the corner of his mouth slowly curved into a smile, letting her know he was awake. Sure enough, he opened his eyes. They were smiling, too. "Good morning," he said lazily.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" His deep, contented sigh told her he had.

"Better than ever." She knew exactly how he felt.

"Me too."

Although they wouldn't have minded staying in bed all day, they decided to get up when they heard the rest of the base starting to move outside and joined them for breakfast. Finn, Rose, Jannah, Poe and Zorii were seated in a group by one of the tables in the dining area of the camp, eating and chatting together. They stopped talking when the pair approached them and Ben knew why. Even if they had agreed to bury the hatchet, they were still wary of him. It would take some time to gain their trust.

"Maybe I should sit somewhere else," he said to Rey and was prepared to go find an empty table when she stopped him.

"Don't be silly. It's okay, you can sit right next to me." It was the deep affection in her eyes that convinced him.

Rey took the empty seat next to Rose and Ben next to Rey. At first, there was an awkward tension hanging in the air, but Rose, ever the benevolent one, tried her best to get a conversation going. "I hope you had a good night's sleep," she addressed the both of them. "You must have been exhausted after facing… you know who," she opted to say, unsure whether it was all right to use his name.

"You mean Palpatine," Rey said, chewing on a piece of bread. Her stomach was screaming for food. "It's all right, you can say it."

"Right," Rose said. "Palpatine." She frowned at the name. It left a horrible distaste in her mouth, but she quickly recovered from it. "Well, the two of you deserve a medal for what you did. You saved all of us." She was actively seeking eye contact with Ben to let him know how grateful and inspired she was. Rey gently nudged him in the side and he finally raised his gaze from his plate, giving Rose a timid smile of appreciation. Sensing that was all Rose was going to get from him, Rey took it upon herself to answer for both of them.

"You would have done the same."

The subject of the conversation changed and the rest of the group joined in once more. Meanwhile, Rey and Ben were both content to simply sit and listen, occasionally nodding and smiling. Gradually, Ben was warming up to them and began to feel part of their group. They seemed to be warming up to him as well. At least they were accepting of his presence and appreciated what he had done for them. But the truth was, he had done it for Rey. It was all for her.

After breakfast, they got a chance to wash up and someone was kind enough to give Ben a spare set of clothes so he could change out of the torn and dirty black shirt and pants he had worn. When Rey met up with him once more, he was donning a white shirt with a navy blue vest on top and dark, forest-green pants. It was so unusual seeing him in anything but black. Her open-mouthed expression made him feel self-conscious.

"Well?" he asked. "How do I look?" Rey realized she'd been staring with her mouth open and quickly closed it before approaching him with a glowing smile on her face.

"You look great," she said. "It's nice to see you in some colors. It suits you." He smiled back, his doubts swiftly leaving him.

"That's good to know. How about you?" She raised a quizzical brow.

"What?"

"Have you ever considered wearing something with a bit more color in it?" He looked her over and she realized he was referring to her all-white ensemble. She had never owned any colorful clothing. Had never owned much to begin with. The payment she had received for scavenging parts for Unkar Plutt had only ever been portions of food – not money. So she had never been able to buy anything of her own. All of her belongings on Jakku had been items she'd found and kept for herself. Things that no one else wanted or would pay for.

Rey looked down at her clothes and shrugged. "Maybe one day."

"I think yellow would be a good color on you," he suggested kindly and she smiled in agreement.

"I like that color." After a short pause, she changed the subject, asking him if he was ready to leave. But first, there was something they needed to do.

Ajan Kloss was a beautiful jungle moon, lush and green. It was where Luke had trained Leia to become a Jedi. Though she never finished her training, she was no less worthy of the title. Ben and Rey went into a deep part of the jungle, stopping only when they were right beneath the sun. They looked down at the sabers in their hands – Ben was holding Luke's and Rey was holding Leia's. She took out a piece of fabric from her bag and they laid the sabers down to wrap it around them. Rey then secured the wrapping with a string and, together, they buried the sabers deep in the soil. It was time to let go of the past, move on and start anew. Still, they lingered a few moments in silence before rising from the ground.

"Well, then," Ben spoke, breaking the silence. "I guess we'd better go back now." Ready to leave, he started to turn away, but Rey, not quite aware of what she was doing, tugged at his arm and he was forced to stop. "What is it?" he asked. Rey paused. What was she going to say?

"We're alone now," she remarked and he slowly nodded.

"I believe we are." Why was she so scared all of a sudden? There really should have been no hesitation. But there was a tiny voice inside her head that revealed all of her insecurities. What if she messed it up? What if he wouldn't like it? There was only one way to find out.

"There's something I've been wanting to… to do," she finally said, her eyes involuntarily wandering to his mouth while she felt a faint blush creeping up on her cheeks. Luckily, she didn't have to say more.

"Me too," he spoke softly and his eyes fell on her lips as well, as if he could read her mind. Could read her feelings.

She felt a wave of relief wash over her upon finding out they both wanted the same thing. His hand went to the back of her neck, but he didn't do anything until she began to move in closer. Placing her hands on his arms for support, she lifted her face, inching closer. In response, he leaned forward, tilting his head ever so slightly to the left and she did the same. At first, their lips merely brushed each other before Rey took the initiative to actually capture his lips with her own. The two of them closed their eyes and basked in the moment as it lingered on. The kiss was sweet and tender and unlike anything they had ever experienced before. So this was how it felt to truly be together? To become one – united by love.

It was several moments before they carefully broke apart and found each other's eyes once more. They were lost in a dream, unable to comprehend or even begin to understand how something in their lives could be so unbelievably wonderful. All they had ever known was pain and loneliness. But that was past. This was present. In the end, it had all been worth it.

A few seconds and then they were grinning from ear to ear as the jungle was filled with their innocent laughter. They couldn't wait to do it again.

Back at the base, their friends were waiting to say goodbye. "Are you sure you don't want to stay a little longer?" Finn asked as he gave Rey a farewell hug.

"I've stayed too long already," she said. "I want to move forward and see new places. Besides, Ben and I are going on a mission." Finn furrowed his brows at the cryptic smile on her face.

"What kind of mission?" Rey only chuckled softly.

"You'll see. I promise we'll keep in touch." After that, he had no choice but to let her go.

Meanwhile, Lando was having a conversation with Ben outside the Falcon. "You know this old ship has been through a lot and she meant a great deal to your father. He would have wanted you to have her." Ben knew the Falcon had been his father's most prized possession. Which was why he was so scared to fly it. And yet, at the same time, he couldn't remember the last time he had ever been this eager about doing something. He was like a young boy again, full of wonder and expectation. A distant memory of himself sitting in his father's lap by the control panel played out inside his head. He had been so curious to learn all about piloting and Han had promised he would get to fly the Falcon one day, when he was older. And now that day had come. If only his father could have been there to see it.

"I'd like to think he would," he said, gazing longingly up at the cockpit. "I only hope I won't disappoint him." He felt Lando's hand on his shoulder and looked back into his face.

"You won't. Just make sure she doesn't get a scratch and you'll be fine." Ben couldn't keep from smiling at the comment. His father would be turning in his grave if he let anything happen to the Falcon. It used to be his home, after all. But now it was the home of his son. And Rey, of course. They would be travelling from one corner of the galaxy to another until they found the right place to settle and build a new academy for Force-users. That was their mission.

"I'll do my best," he swore.

Waving goodbye, Ben and Rey boarded the Falcon along with R2-D2. It would be useful having a droid on board and R2 had proven to be a loyal and persevering companion. He also wasn't prone to interrupting the moment with unwanted chatter, like another certain droid would. Rey was fond of 3-PO, but sometimes he could be a tad too much. She figured Ben wouldn't want to be stuck with him for an indefinite amount of time out in space, either. It was a little hard leaving BB-8, though. He had been there with her from the very beginning. She wouldn't be where she was today if it wasn't for him. But he belonged to Poe, so that was where he would stay. Rey wondered if she and Ben ever would have met if she hadn't found BB-8. Given they were a dyad in the Force, forever bonded, perhaps some way, somehow, they would have.

They entered the cockpit and Rey went to sit down in the co-pilot's seat, but stopped short and turned around when she realized that Ben was frozen by the doorway. He was staring blankly ahead, not daring to take another step, as if the cockpit was out of bounds for him. Rey had to take hold of his hand and guide him to the pilot's seat where she nodded encouragingly for him to sit down. Tentatively, he eased himself into the seat.

"Are you sure you don't want to fly her?" he asked. If she didn't know any better, she would say he was making excuses – anything just to avoid flying the damn thing.

"Ben," she said, forcing him to look into her eyes. Then she smiled. "You'll do fine." And she was right.

As soon as he let his fear go and took control of the ship, everything fell into place, like he had been doing it his entire life. He was born to fly the Falcon. Rey smiled at the way his face lit up as the ship slowly lifted off the ground. There was a spark of excitement in his eyes and it rubbed off on her. She was happy for him and she knew if Han could see him now, he would be beaming with pride.

Soon, the Millennium Falcon was soaring above the trees and the people below grew smaller and smaller. Ben turned towards his trusted co-pilot. "Ready?" Rey grinned.

"Ready." Behind them, R2 beeped, letting them know he was ready, too. With that, Ben hit the accelerators and they were off.

Upon leaving its atmosphere, the moon of Ajan Kloss soon shrank behind them and in front of them waited a black and starry space full of endless possibilities. "So…" Ben started, looking at Rey, "where should we go?" Rey didn't have to think twice about her answer. They could stay floating around in space for all she cared. It really didn't matter.

"So long as I'm with you… Anywhere." Ben thought it sounded like the perfect idea.

"All right, then. Anywhere."

A/N: And I'm back with another chapter! I really can't believe the fast pace at which I'm currently writing this story, but I suppose it's because I just have a lot of inspiration right now and I really want to finish this story as soon as possible. But don't worry, there are still several more chapters to go! Thank you once again to everyone who has followed/favorited or left a review. I'm only happy to make you happy as well (since TROS failed to deliver on that part). Also, about the kiss scene I incorporated here... I hope it didn't come across as cringey or out of place. I sort of struggled with where in the story I was going to put it, since I didn't include it in the first chapter when they were still in Exegol, like the movie did. I went with the theory that Ben was supposed to pass out after he revived Rey and then we would see Leia's body disappear (giving new life to Ben) and then they would kiss, but I made it my own thing when I included the Force ghosts as the ones who brought Ben back together. I don't know if that's possible according to Star Wars lore, but it's a fairytale in space, so I figured anything can be possible. (If it's possible for Palpatine to somehow come back from the dead, then so can Ben!) I think that's enough of a rant for this time. Stick around for the next chapter! ;)