Hello. As always, thanks to everyone who's commented, favourited, and followed. It means the world to me!

This chapter hasn't really gone the way I wanted it to, it's been an incredibly rough week for me and the story just wouldn't behave! Saying that, I felt I needed to get it to a certain point for chapter 9, which is going to be a big chapter for Rey especially.

Let me know what you think!

3 years earlier…

The sight of Coruscant's upper levels was something Rey knew she'd never be able to forget. The whole planet was one giant city, teaming with life forms from all corners of the known galaxy, and some from even further beyond. It radiated energy, the force pulsing all around them, neither dark nor light, but seemingly at peace in a place where every kind of presence was pressed together as one.

Ben had switched their ship for a speeder once they'd arrived on the planet, leaving their own transport in an easily accessible garage, and the open cockpit allowed Rey to feel everything so much more closely. The city was flashing by them in a blur, so Ben slowed the speeder a little, giving her more of an opportunity to take in the world around her.

'Was it how you imagined it would be?' Ben asked.

Her response was quiet and distracted. 'I never could have imagined this.'

Despite the loss of prestige that had come with losing its status as the galaxy's capital during the fall of the empire, it was hard to tell that much had changed. The buildings still gleamed in the sunlight and an endless stream of ships still descended through the atmosphere to make port.

'How can so many people live here? Surely the planet isn't big enough to support everyone.'

They began to fly down between the skyscrapers that covered the planet, day turning to night around them as the light was chased out by shadows. It took them some time to arrive at their destination, innumerable levels extending outwards, seemingly into a whole other world beneath the shine and polish of the surface.

'The city reaches deep down into the planet. There are thousands of levels, I doubt there's anyone alive who knows exactly how many there are. The further down you go, the worse it gets.' He spoke as though he hated the planet, but how could anyone hate such a place? The force signatures of a thousand lifeforms pressed in on her from all sides, yet she didn't feel suffocated by it. Rather, it felt as though the planet was merely the starting point for countless adventures and opportunities.

'Will we be going all the way down?' Her voice was excited as she turned to face him. It was like looking at a pet, eager to explore the world with their owner.

'No.' He hated refusing her and feeling her disappointment leeching into his mind but keeping a low profile would be the key to their safety. He had no doubt that the First Order would find them at some point, but he planned to keep them far from their door for as long as he could.

From that point onwards, their journey was taken in silence, until Ben eventually stopped their speeder on a wide walkway outside a small store. They hopped out and onto the street, which Rey quickly regretted as she realised the walkway hadn't originally been grey, but rather years of grime and dirt had turned it so. She looked around, noting that much of the area was painted in the same filthy colour, and when she glanced up, there was no sun or sky to improve the view.

Ben's deep voice brought her back to the present, and his hand on her lower back pushed her toward the store, 'We'll get what we need from here. Put your cloak on and keep the hood up.'

They hadn't been able to acquire many supplies from Jakku with the money they'd earned from the sale of Snoke's much superior escape ship, but fortunately Ben had insisted that they at least had something to hide their faces.

And it was this train of thought that lead Rey to an important realisation, 'What about money?' Rey asked. Being a scavenger wasn't exactly a high paying career and she certainly had none to speak of.

'Don't worry about it. I have plenty.' His voice was guarded, and his words suggested that the conversation, in his mind at least, was over.

But to Rey it certainly wasn't.

'How do you have money with you? Where did you get it from?' Her voice was harsh and judgemental, as though she already knew the answer but just needed the confirmation.

Ben looked around before pulling her sharply into a doorway several stores down from their destination. 'We don't have time for this, Rey. We have half a galaxy looking for us, and right now my priority is getting us somewhere safe.' His breaths were coming hard, and his gaze was steely, 'Where the money comes from is not important at the moment. If you want to shove your morals down my throat, then do it later.'

'Fine.' She jerked her arm from his grip, knowing that she'd probably have a bruise there by the morning. She knew he was right, and it made her angry to admit it, 'But I don't like it.'

After that it didn't take them long to get the supplies they still needed. They could use their powers to deter anyone who might be overtly taking an interest in them, but Ben was still uncomfortable for them to be out in public longer than was necessary. Once they'd finished, their provisions including as many dehydrated meals as they could carry since neither had much clue how to cook, Ben directed their speeder towards their new 'home'.

He landed outside what looked like a large disused warehouse, built into the never-ending wall that made up the under levels of the city. The metal it had been fashioned from was stained and tarnished, and the door squealed loudly in protest as Ben pushed it to the side and rust rained down on their heads.

'Where are we?' She asked. Even her old AT-AT seemed as though it would be preferable to this.

'A safehouse I prepared. No one should try and bother us, I doubt they'll think to look for us in a place like this. If we don't draw attention to ourselves unnecessarily then we'll be safe for a while.' The look he threw in her direction was pointed, and her only reply was a cheeky smirk.

She walked inside, noting that it wasn't that much more appealing than the outside had been. It was one huge room, with what she would guess was a refresher through the only other door. The ceilings were high, but with no natural light flooding in, it felt more like a prison cell than a home. The furniture didn't help her impression, it was sparse to say the least.

'What do you think?' He asked. She was sure he wouldn't want to know her answer.

There was little to look at, though one thing did catch her attention. To her right, the floor changed, going from a drab grey concrete to a large raised platform of wood. It was the only part of the old warehouse that looked even remotely new and inviting. Surrounding the edges of the platform and pushed back against the wall was all manner of training equipment; staves and staffs, basic armour, training dummies and much more.

They worried her as much as they excited her. Being trapped in such a small space would be difficult for even the most patient of people, and neither her nor Ben were well known for that trait. Adding weapons to the mix didn't seem like the best idea to her.

'To be honest, right now I'm more worried about us killing each other than being found by anyone. This place doesn't exactly look like it was built to keep two people caged up in close quarters.' She answered him honestly.

His own reply seemed almost cautious, and as she turned to face him she noticed that one of his hands had come up to rub fiercely at the back of his neck. 'No, well. When I arranged for this place to be made available to me, I wasn't planning on there being someone else with me if I ever needed to use it. That's why…'

He trailed off, his hand motioning to the room around them. She was confused for a moment, before her face began flushing a deep pink as she came to the realisation that the reason the room looked so bare was because it only contained one of everything.

She ducked her face, trying to hide her rosy cheeks from his view and asking another question in a poor attempt to distract them both, 'When did you have time to prepare all of this?'

Her distraction seemed to work though, as his hands dropped to his sides and his eyes glazed over, losing the shine that the fires of his emotions usually kept lit within them.

'After I left Skywalker,' He began, trying to keep any hint of emotion from his voice and his mind. 'I went straight to Snoke. I knew he'd always wanted me for my power, but I hadn't realised just how far his ambition extended. Once I'd learned to adequately shield certain parts of my mind from him, I began building a network of safe houses for myself. I have several such places spread across the galaxy.'

He looked over to see her expression. She wasn't judging him or even worse, pitying him, she was just listening to him. It was a relief. Her understanding was appreciated, but her pity would have been too much for his already broken pride to take.

'And you're certain that no one knows about them?' She asked.

'If Snoke did manage to learn of them, he never let on that he knew. And he won't be telling anyone now,' Ben chuckled darkly to himself. 'If the First Order had any knowledge of them then we would never have made it through the door. Besides, the credits I've been using would be difficult to trace, even if they did know where to begin.'

'Because you stole them from the First Order, who in turn took them from the people they've conquered.' She said matter of factly. He knew enough of her personality by this point to know that she wouldn't give up the matter until he'd answered her suspicions.

'Some of them.' He replied honestly. 'But not so many that they'd be easily traceable.'

His answer didn't appear to bother her as much as he thought it would have, especially given the reaction she'd shown outside the store. But he worried that his next admission may not go down so well, 'Rey, I'm a prince, a prince of what was once a very rich planet. If the decision hadn't been made for me, one day I would have been king of what was left of the Alderaanian people. I've always had wealth follow me wherever I went. That didn't change when I left to train with Skywalker.'

He paused to try and gauge her reaction, but both her face and the bond between them were quiet, 'Does this bother you?'

She shook her head, vehement in her denial and eager to assuage his fears, 'No, I just…forgot who you were before you left your family.' The difference in their statuses was stark, yet it surprised her how little it concerned her. 'I'm coming to realise how little titles matter. You're a prince, I'm a scavenger, yet we've both ended up in the same place.'

'As fugitives?' She nodded in response, and she could feel their bond humming in contentment. He liked it when she remembered how similar they were. Or at least, how similar he thought they were.

Rey couldn't sleep.

The buzz and hum of feeling so many lifeforms surrounding her had started out as something fascinating for her to explore in her mind, the feel of each a one unique thing that she wanted to never forget. Now though, all it was doing was keeping her from falling asleep.

Ben, of course, had fallen asleep beside her almost instantly, though she supposed that he was used to the feeling of having others around him. They hadn't spoken so much about his past, but she assumed he'd grown up in cities and planets just like this one and being in the First Order didn't exactly give one a sense of privacy either.

'No, no… don't.' His calls, at first, had been soft, barely audible, but now Rey could hear Ben's pleas clearly from the other side of the bed. His tossing and turning had not helped with her attempts at sleep, the bed shifting violently beneath her.

It hadn't taken them long to organise their sleeping arrangements, with each taking one half of the only bed in the room. It wasn't ideal, but they'd spent several days now in tight quarters on various different transports, and by this point it seemed almost trivial for them to share such a small space. Or at least that was what Rey kept telling herself as they'd both slipped silently into bed several hours earlier.

She turned over to see what was disturbing him, propping herself up on one arm. His face was covered in sweat, his hair hanging limply and plastered to his forehead. Occasionally his head would thrash to one side and his arms would jerk, but only slightly, as though attempting to protect himself but completely unable to.

Whatever it was, she could feel his distress growing inside her own thoughts as his mental barriers became unable to hold back his demons any longer and they began to shatter. He needed to wake up.

'Ben.' She whispered, but he didn't respond. She repeated his name, this time a little more loudly, but still there was nothing.

She reached out to him, trying to move his hair out of his eyes and hoping to wake him gently. But the moment her fingers made contact with his skin, he awoke with a sharp gasp, his hand rushing up to grab her wrist tightly.

His eyes darted around wildly, and his other hand shifted, almost as though it were reaching for the lightsaber normally attached to his belt. She'd seen him like this before, on their journey to Jakku, but at the time she'd passed it off as a nightmare brought about by the shock of what he'd recently done. But maybe these nightmares were more frequent than she'd originally believed.

Rey sat silent and motionless, watching him as he slowly returned to his senses. His breathing calmed and the hand not still holding her rose up from his side to rub at his eyes, wishing away the dreams that plagued him.

It took some time, but eventually she felt it would be okay to break the silence, 'Do you want to talk about it?'

'No.' He was used to dealing with his nightmares on his own, and the fact that she'd seen him so weak and vulnerable was already enough to agitate him. What grown man couldn't control himself to the extent that he was still at the mercy of his memories? It was as though he were a child again.

But he should have realised that it wasn't in her nature to just let things go, not when her misplaced belief that she could help everyone reared its ugly head.

'Was it Snoke?' She asked.

'Not tonight.'

'Then what happened?' What was with this girl, could she not take a hint? Maybe growing up on that backwater stink hole had made her oblivious to social cues such as knowing when to leave things alone.

He threw himself back down on the bed in a show of irritation. 'You know, you do ask a lot of questions. It's maddening.'

She chuckled to herself. He must be feeling better if he was back to insulting her as usual. 'I know, and it won't get better any time soon I'm afraid.'

He took the hint that she wasn't planning to leave him alone until he'd shared his thoughts with her and began. 'It was Luke. That night he tried to kill me. I see his face above me, and I can't… I'm helpless against him and I can't fight back against his power. During the day I can keep the memories at bay, but at night…' He trailed off.

Rey nodded solemnly. For all her badgering, she did understand how difficult it must have been for him to share, and that in return he deserved her comfort, no matter how likely it was that he'd fight against it. 'You know he can't hurt you here.'

'Of course, I'm not a child who needs to be coddled.' He replied, resenting the way her words made him feel just a little better.

But Rey chose not to rise to his taunting, they were just the words of a man who had been badly shaken by his nightmares. Instead, she decided to do the one thing he really hadn't expected.

She scooted her body down the bed and pressed herself closely against his side. Her head and one arm came to rest on his chest, and she was glad she couldn't see the expression of shock that was no doubt on his face. His bare chest radiated heat against her cheek, hints of sweat still remaining on his skin. She closed her eyes, hoping above all things that he wouldn't push her away.

He didn't, though at first neither were able to relax their muscles or calm their minds enough to actually fall asleep. This kind of contact with him wasn't something new for Rey, after all she had woken up on Ahch-To in the same position against him. The difference was that this time he was conscious too.

'I won't let anyone hurt you again. I swear.' She whispered to him. She turned her head and pressed a small kiss to the centre of his chest. Their bond flared with both apprehension and happiness, though neither could tell from which side the feelings originated.

But by morning, everything had returned to how it was before. Their days continued in much the same pattern, an endless cycle of waking, eating, doing chores, and sleeping. If Ben had any more of his nightmares he certainly didn't share them with her. She knew that he'd appreciated her efforts to help him, but he was still unused to any human contact that didn't involve pain. It would take him some time to process this new step in their relationship, and if she was being honest with herself, she appreciated the time apart as well.

For two people so used to freedom, or at least the twisted version of freedom they'd both had before leaving, being confined did not sit well. Ben had taken to pacing the room for hours on end, rolling his shoulders occasionally when the tension became too much. Whereas Rey had taken to doing whatever she could to ignore his pacing, knowing that telling him how irritating she found it would only spark another argument.

They rarely left the warehouse, only occasionally doing so to replenish their supplies and take in the atmospheres of the cantina and bars around them. It was only from these visits that they could find out any information about the First Order; with its previous rapid expansion it was a hot topic for the bounty hunters and pilots who frequented such establishments. Yet even these outings were becoming fewer and further between as Ben's paranoia at being found only grew with his mounting tension.

After three weeks of the same routine grinding her down and breaking her spirit, Rey had finally had enough.

'I want you to start training me.'

Ben looked up in surprise from where he'd been meditating on the floor of his practice area. He hated meditating, but the strain of being almost constantly trapped in their warehouse for the past several weeks had taken its toll on him.

Rey stood up and walked over to him, her body creating a long shadow that grew over him as she moved closer. She took out her lightsaber from where she'd clipped it onto her belt and began bouncing it up and down in her hands. It felt good to hold it again, and if the pulsations it sent to her through the force were anything to go by, the lightsaber was just as happy to be of use again.

However, upon seeing his grandfather's lightsaber in her hand and understanding exactly what it was she had planned for them both, Ben's answer was unequivocal.

'No.'

Rey's mouth fell open, 'What?' She really hadn't expected that response.

'What happened to wanting to be my teacher. You were determined on Starkiller, and now that I'm the one to suggest actually do something about my training, you say no?' She shouted in astonishment.

'Exactly. Besides, I thought you had been training.' In her free time Rey had been practicing some of the skills she'd learned on Jakku, she knew that with the First Order following them it was a good idea not to allow herself to be complacent. Ben had thought it to be a good idea, and the only reason he hadn't joined her was because he hadn't wanted to encourage her and cause himself an awkward conversation. A conversation it seemed he was going to have regardless of his caution.

'By myself, yes. But it's not the same as having someone who knows how to handle a lightsaber and can point out your mistakes' Rey replied.

She could sense his reluctance, and it pleased her to know that even with a lack of training she was becoming much more adept at picking out and interpreting his moods and feelings, seeing as they were her constant companions.

And so, when she spoke, it wasn't a question, but a statement of exactly how she knew he felt about her training, 'You don't want to train me with a lightsaber.'

Ben sighed in response, rubbing at his forehead as though she were a headache he needed to get rid of, 'You're asking me to train you because you're bored, and you're tense. You hate being cooped up here.'

He spoke to her like a child, and her response was sullen. It didn't help her case, but it certainly made her feel better.

'You know I don't like you reading my thoughts.'

His response was terse, 'I know you feel like that because I feel the same, not because I'm inside your head. Do you really think that us fighting is the best idea? Are you in the right frame of mind right now to control yourself? Just look at yourself.'

She looked down at herself and saw exactly what it was he meant. Her whole body was stood tense and rigid in its position in front of him. Her hands were clenched, one tightly wrapped around her lightsaber and the other grabbing her thigh tightly in an unconscious attempt to keep her emotions from boiling over. She took a small breath and hoped he wouldn't notice when she allowed herself to relax a little. It was too embarrassing when he was right.

When she spoke, her voice was quiet, knowing that she probably wouldn't be able to convince him now, 'I think it could help relieve some of the stress.'

'And cause some serious injuries.' He responded quickly.

She considered his position. Maybe them just going at it with lightsabers wasn't the best idea, but that didn't mean that they needed to sit at opposite ends of the room doing everything they could to avoid provoking each other. She wanted to find a way for them to communicate, and he seemed to prefer that the method she chose was peaceful.

'Then how about you teach me some less… violent techniques. Luke wasn't able to teach me much before I left him, but you can.' She suggested.

She could tell he was curious, her proposition had clearly peaked his interest, 'And what exactly did you have in mind?'

A smile grew on her face, she had him. 'You know, meditation, controlling things…' Her mind went blank, and it scrambled for something, anything, '…floating rocks, that kind of thing.'

'Floating rocks?' Now he was the one smiling.

'You know what I mean!' She said, clearly exasperated with both him and her mind's inability to speak basic in any way more complex than a child. 'Is that a yes or a no?'

He sighed. 'Sit down in front of me, facing me, and cross your legs.'

She did as he instructed, noting that his seeming aloofness and attitude to training her reminded her a lot of his uncle. But she would keep the comparison to herself, he wouldn't appreciate hearing it.

'Close your eyes.' He said calmly.

'Now, reach out…'

Their uneasy truce lasted a week.

'That's it, I'm done. Take out your lightsaber.' Ben said suddenly one day.

Rey had been sitting on the floor against the bed, flicking through yet more news stories on her holopad. She'd read them before, but it'd been preferable to speaking to Ben. She'd felt his tension growing over the bond for days, and she'd purposely been staying out of his way in case he broke. Now she could feel that it had reached its peak.

'What?' She asked, both surprised at the abruptness of his request and yet unsurprised that it had come to this. He was pacing in front of where she sat, like a predator stalking its prey, and it struck her how much their positions had reversed over the week.

'I'm done with this. We're both going crazy being locked up here, and if we don't do something to address this situation then one of us is going to crack.' He growled.

Part of her agreed with him, but with how he'd made her beg for training, she wasn't going to let him off that easily.

'I'm sorry, but what was it you said? I won't train you with a lightsaber just so you can let off some steam.' She'd tried to imitate his voice, but the attempt just left her coughing and spluttering by the end, her vocal chords unused to making such a deep sound.

But he was too wound up to be amused by her attempts at levity, 'While normally I would stand by that, I think we both need something a bit more stimulating than… floating rocks. If we don't do something soon then I worry we're going to do more damage to one another than a few training scars.'

'So, you mean fighting?' She asked.

'Sparring.'

He looked her in the eyes. Maybe if he was able to convince himself that this actually was training, he wouldn't feel so guilty at giving into the temptation of fighting her to release some of the pressure in his mind.

She chose to ignore his correction, 'I may hate you Ben, but I'm not going to fight you.'

She wished she could take back the words as soon as they'd left her mouth. This was what he was worried about, the wounds he knew they'd inflict that were worse than training scars. His body stiffened, and his response was almost beseeching, 'You don't hate me.'

She was silent for a moment, guilt washing over her in waves, before replying quietly, 'No. But I still won't fight you.'

Rey saw his point, she'd made the same arguments days before, but something felt different now. She looked away from him, hoping it would put an end to the conversation.

The crackle of his lightsaber filled the air and she couldn't help herself. She rose to the challenge.

Their fighting styles were similar, even if Rey's was a much rougher version of that of her partner. She'd picked up a lot of her knowledge from her short time in Ben's mind on Starkiller, unintentionally absorbing parts of his training and augmenting them with her own fighting techniques learned on Jakku.

They were well matched in the beginning. When he struck out at her with his superior strength, she found it difficult to parry, but her own blows were landing perfectly. His large form made him an easier target to strike against, and it was taking much of his concentration to defend against her attacks when they came.

But as the fight went on, it was clear that the tides were turning in his favour. The anger and frustration of being on the defensive mingled with dark memories of his defeat on Starkiller. The humiliation he'd felt and was still feeling fuelled his rage, which in turn fuelled his powers. He was acting on instinct now, his moves coming before he even had the chance to think about them. This was the power of the darkness, channelled through him, and he had become merely a vessel of its will.

He landed blow after blow against her saber but she was just as stubborn as him, hated defeat as much as he did, and she refused to give up yet. If only she could centre herself, focus and channel her energies…

And in her moment of weakness, with him lost in the heat of the fight, the darkness inside of him took its chance to strike.

His mind threw itself into hers, dark tendrils reaching deep inside and latching on tightly. The pain was secondary to her emotional turmoil as they sought out any darkness they could find and dragged it violently to the surface. Snatches of memories and thoughts she'd hidden away rose unbidden inside of her, and her heart felt as though it was shattering with every single one she was forced to relive.

Her knees buckled beneath her and she fell to the floor, hands clutching at the sides of her head. She screamed, her eyes squeezed closed as though desperate not to see the images flashing through her mind, and it was this that finally made Ben realise what he'd done to her.

He instantly drew back, his face a mix of shock and horror. It took Rey some time to realise that the grip on her mind had disappeared, but when it did her instincts kicked in and she scrabbled back across the floor from him. She continued until her back hit the wall and she couldn't move any further, but even then, her nails began clawing at the walls, desperately searching for a way out.

'Rey.' She could sense his intentions.

'NO!' She screamed at him. 'Don't come near me!'

His eyes flashed wildly, barely able to believe what he'd done.

'Rey, I…'

Impulse made him take a step towards her, hand outstretched to her as it had been in Snoke's throne room. But this time, she didn't take it. A sharp fear drew across her as she saw him come closer and her instincts kicked into overdrive. She got to her feet, still shaken from their fight, and ran straight past him, making sure that her body didn't brush up against his as she did so. She wanted no part of him to remain on her.