AN: Firstly I want to say how sorry I am for the delay. Over the past few weeks, anything that could go wrong in my life...has. I'm getting back into the swing of things and I hope that each of you enjoy this newest chapter.

Part XXXI

True to Irris' words, Tyris and Davin ushered them back into the speeder and then they ascended to one of the tallest buildings in the city where they were led into a private section of a restaurant situated on the top floor. The entire floor rotated, giving diners a three hundred and sixty degree view of the city world. They were so far up that Rey almost thought she could see the curve of the planet.

The conversation was light and Irris kept making insinuations between Arlan and Tyris, causing them both to blush and mumbled into their lunches.

Upon the Queen's recommendation, Rey ordered the quadduck from Irris' home world of Naboo and it was possibly the most tender meat she had ever eaten. The mashed turnips from Felucia, the yellow string beans from Tynna, and the fresh loaves made with wheat and rye from volcanic planes of Ryloth were a perfect symphony of flavors upon Rey's tongue.

She moaned around her fork more than she talked and for the first time in her life, Rey savored a meal, thinking that it would be a travesty if she was to spoil it with the ill manners of her childhood.

Irris' voice pulled Rey away from tart red sauce that adorned her plate. "So have you decided on an engagement gift?"

"A what?" Rey said as she patted her mouth with the white cloth napkin.

"It's tradition that when a couple gets engaged, that they exchange gifts. Now I don't believe there is any good shopping on Dantooine so I suggest you take advantage of your time on Coruscant."

No matter how much Rey thought she was starting to fit into this life in the Core, she still had so much to learn. She cursed Jakku. She cursed the parents who left her on that desolate hell hole. She cursed Plutt, her lack of education, her lack of any semblance of normalcy.

But instead of letting the tears that were pooling in her eyes fall, she took a deep breath and smiled while nodding at the Queen.

The building that they were in had a complex a few floors down of shops and the three woman walked together as the men kept in step a few paces behind them. Rey walked along the right edge, looking into the beautifully decorated windows of each storefront. Gazing around, Rey also noticed other groups of women doing the same, but also observed the same look of wonder on Arlan's face and Rey was once again reminded of the sheltered life of the trooper.

Rey was resolved to have even more moments like this but with the hope that one day Rose's arm would be linked on her right just like Irris was linked on her left. The wishful vision…the dream was so vivid that Rey told Arlan and Irris about Rose. "I want her and her husband Finn to come live on Naboo, just over the rise from Varykino. I want us to raise our families together."

Irris smiled softly and patted at Rey's hand. "That sounds lovely dear. I'm sure it will all work out."

Feeling as though Irris was just pacifying her, Rey felt a little dejected. Over the past few months she had been weening between two lives and she was starting to be unsure which was more of a fantasy. Was she the New Order Empress, soon to be wife of who the galaxy knows as Kylo Ren, or was she the untrained and misnamed Jedi of the Resistance, mechanic and freight shuttle pilot?

Time and continued frustration proved that she could not be both, but she was going to do her best to keep the people she loved, on both sides, safe, alive, and ensure that they were given as many opportunities at happiness as Ben had granted to her.

As they rounded another corner and Rey finally came out of her musing, thankful that Irris didn't allow her to run into any walls, pillars, or the numerous fountains that littered the shopping area, her gaze was drawn to a storefront.

Rey broke away, "I'll be right back."

Arlan eyed Ty and Davin, but it was Irris who spoke, "Davin and I will go grab some caf across the way."

Tyris watched Rey duck into a brightly lit store before he turned to Arlan, "Ready to play your part, bae?"

The female guard looked down at Ty's offered hand, then back up to the jewelry story that Rey had just entered and blushed. "Only if you promise to buy me something, muffin."

Staggering before he could even take a stride, Tryis looked back at his companion, partly in horror and partly in surprise. "Muffin?"

Arlan blushed further, feeling her palm become sweaty in Ty's grip. "You're an excellent cook," she shrugged with embarrassment. "I just went with food…"

Squeezing their clasped hands, Tyris grinned down at Arlan. "I like it," he whispered. When her clear eyes met his gaze and the coyest of smiles painted her lips he continued, "But for the love of the Maker, don't ever call me that in front of Cale."

A light flutter turned in Arlan's stomach and she hoped beyond belief that it was the nervous butterflies that she heard about on the awful holo-opera that Rey made her watch, and not gas. But all the same, she snorted out a laugh before pulling Ty towards the store.

They gave Ray her space, but walked up to a case of necklaces and a sharply dressed woman with long red painted nails came up to them. "Anything catch your eye?"

Arlan stammered for a moment as Tyris placed his hand on her lower back, "Can we see that one?" Tyris asked as he stepped up closer to his fellow trooper.

The saleswoman smiled and gave the strikingly handsome man a knowing smile and pulled out the delicate gold chain.

As the necklace was draped over Tyris' large and calloused fingers, he inspected it for a moment before looking up at the woman behind the case, "May I?" When she nodded, Tyris turned back to Arlan and asked a wordless question by raising his brows she lifted her arms and pulled her pale purple hair away from her neck and shoulders.

The gold chain didn't have a traditional clasp closer, but had two hand hammered rings, one just large enough for the three carat amethyst teardrop pendant to slip through. Arlan shivered, not only at the cool stone that hung low and rested upon her breast bone, but also Ty's warmth as his hands ghosted against the curves of her neck.

"Beautiful," Tyris spoke lowly, his dark eyes burning. He had never been this forward with his admiration towards Arlan but after seeing his Emperor find happiness with Rey, and Davin with Irris, and even Cale with his Knighthood, he thought perhaps it was time that he took a shot at something wonderful as well.

Just a year ago, when he was still just one of many, randomized letters and numbers were all he was known as, a nobody in white armor, just as replaceable as the trooper standing to his left and right. But now, he had a name, a position, friends… family, and in this moment Tyris felt like he was on the brink of something special, that he could have what he always dreamed of, but never thought was possible.

All of his hopes bore into Arlan with his unwavering gaze and he watched her small but strong fingers toyed with the brilliant pale purple stone. "We'll take it," Tyris said without taking his eyes off Arlan.

"Ty," Arlan tried to protest. "It's too much."

"You made me promise to buy you something…"

"It's still too much," Arlan unwrapped the thin gold chair from around her neck and looked at it longingly.

Tyris took the necklace from Arlan's fingers and handed it back to the saleswoman, "Nothing will ever be too much for you," he smiled down at the lovely woman standing so close that he could smell light floral notes of the perfume she only wore on their times off. "Can you please box this up for us?" He asked the woman behind the counter.

Arlan blushed, "Careful Ty…you are starting to sound as lovesick as Ben." Normally she would never call the Emperor by his birth name, knowing that Rey was the only one afforded that privilege, but she also didn't want to draw attention to who was truly in their company.

"Perhaps I am," was Tyris' answer to her teasing claim, somehow finding the confidence that his Emperor seemed to have when addressing the Empress.

Not fully understanding her feelings, Arlan was lost. She liked Tyris, trusted him, felt safe and happy around him, but as she had disclosed to Rey earlier, Arlan didn't know what love was, how to identify the feelings that were churning within her. She felt warm but her skin was overcome with goose flesh, she felt airy but grounded, and the most foreign feeling was her impulsive urge to throw her arms around Ty's neck and kiss him.

Rey was walking up just as she saw Tyris hand a credit card over the the saleswoman. "Did Ty find something he likes?" Rey asked Arlan.

"I think he did," Arlan answered with more meaning than she understood and gave her friend a small smile.

Tyris offered to carry the small black bag in Rey's hand, having an identical one tucked behind his back, but Rey declined his offer, not wanting to let Ben's gift out of sight. The speeder ride back to the apartment was short and uneventful. It was late afternoon and Rey still wasn't expecting Ben back a for a few hours.

"Ty," she called from the kitchen as the guards were making their way out of the apartment and back down to their quarter on the lower level.

"Yes, Rey?"

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Anything Empress," Tyris said with some apprehension, after the past few encounters he wasn't sure what to expect from Rey. He didn't want to upset Ren the way Arlan had after conspiring with Rey to surprise the Emperor, but he also didn't want to displease Rey as he saw what she did to Cale while they were on Naboo.

Rey bit her lip, "Can you help me make dinner for Ben?"

Tyris was relieved and proud at the same time. He had once offered to teach the Empress how to properly cook in her own home and it was a task that he would happily comply with. So with a smile, he nodded and they set about going through what was already stocked in the apartment since there wouldn't be enough time to send out for groceries.

He showed her how to safely hold a knife. "You may know how to cut people in half with your saber, but in the kitchen one false move and you could lose a finger."

Rey watched with intense interest as the chef's knife moved as if it was an extension of Tyris' own hand and she thought back to Ben running through saber forms with her, gripping her hips and whispering into her ear, 'Keep your core tight. You and your sabers should move as one.' She mimicked the troopers movements, curling her fingers as the cool steel grazed across her knuckles, the small piles of herbs and aromatics were mounting on their matching cutting boards.

With a few pecks at Rey's datapad, Arlan joined them, brining up a bottle of wine from the Emperor's cellar and then got busy with setting two places at the table just off the kitchen. The pale haired trooper then took up a seat on the other side of the counter and watched Tyris being patient and kind to their Empress. All the while Arlan played with the amethyst pendant that hung against her chest.

After Rey placed the rib roast that was smothered in herb butter and surrounded with vegetables into the oven she wiped her hands on a dish towel and had a satisfying grin on her face.

"Let it cook for about an hour and a half," Tyris instructed. "The roast and the vegetables should be done at the same time. Let the meat rest before you cut it and everything should be perfect."

"Thank you," Rey rolled up on her toes and planted a quick kiss to Tyris' cheek causing the trooper to go red.

Arlan snickered and walked up to the Empress. "Should I be worried about this thing between you and Ty," she said playfully.

Rey balked, her eyes going wide, "Very funny, but please don't ever joke like that in front of Ben."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Arlan replied and was pleasantly surprised when Rey pulled her into a friendly hug. When they parted, Arlan wore a soft smile, "Enjoy your night with the Emperor…back to the real world tomorrow."

It appeared that even the troopers were becoming sympathetic towards the strife that the double life of their Empress was bestowing upon their little group. Arlan would never mention Ren's mood changes each time Rey left him, never confess that she could tell when the Force denied or afforded her Master access to Rey across the galaxy. As much as she kept hearing Ren say that it was Rey's decision, she also couldn't ignore the hours of training and almost self abuse Kylo put himself through each time Rey refused to stay.

For now, as Arlan took her leave, she could just hope that since her Emperor and Empress were engaged to wed and Rey had made a vow to bring a conclusion to her efforts for peace from the side of the Resistance, that perhaps some time soon she could see the unequivocal, pure, and earnest power of the Force as it works through Rey and Ren to unify the galaxy.

When the apartment was quiet and Rey saw the low and golden sun of Coruscant sinking low and casting long and warm beams of light through the walls of windows, she set a timer and then padded to their quarters. She had enough time for a relaxing soak in the tub with more of the oils that made her skin soft and smell like her garden on Naboo.

Her garden…Rey mused as she sank up to her chin in the borderline scalding water. She allowed her mind to wander, to dream, to desire. The grass was warm under her bare feet, the sun beamed down on her shoulders, and her heart was so full of joy that she could hardly stand it. Her legs worked harder as she crested a low laying hill and a laugh so light-hearted escaped her.

Among the wild flowers sat Rose as she supervised two toddling children as they showed off their newly acquired skill of walking and shrieking at the top of their lungs with sheer delight. Rey sat next to her friend just in time to see the pale skinned boy with dark curly hair and ears that stood out from his head trip over his own feet and topple to the ground. The girl, perhaps half a year older than the boy had her hair tied into buns at either side of her head and wobbled to the boy's side, helping him stand back up, petting his head, and saying in a soft voice for him to 'no cry'.

Rey came to with tears running down her face and into the cooling bath water. She prayed for her dream to be a solid vision of the future and not just some empty promise that her mind created in an attempt to placate her anxiety towards her pending decisions. Beyond making more Forceful pushes towards peace with Poe and the other leadership, Rey made it her new mission to also convince Rose and Finn to come with her, start a new life away from any dwindling influence of the New Republic refugees, to make her vision a reality.

Resolute, Rey stepped out of the bath and with a towel wrapped around her flush body, she sat at her vanity, pulled her hair out of the knot at the top of her head, and ran Leia's silver-plated brush through her chestnut strands. With unhurried curiosity, she looked through some potted creams and bottled oils that no doubt Arlan had procured from her. Settling on a light weight oil that smelled like roses, it made her skin look supple with a radiant glow.

Next she ventured to her closet, almost wishing that she had asked Arlan to help pick out a dress before the trooper retired to her quarters a floor below. She fingered the garments, thinking that she didn't want anything too constricting or complicated. She wanted something alluring but demure, to give Ben a taste of what it would be like to truly come home to her.

Hands moving of their own accord, Rey pulled out a slip dress the same brilliant silver as Ben's first saber. The material was silk but the weave was slightly irregular, giving it an interesting texture. Unknowing if this dress was meant to function as undergarments, Rey couldn't find the energy to care. The thin straps connected to points of fabric that draped loosely over her breasts, her nipple already reacting to the coolness of the silk. The hem was cut on the bias, starting at mid thigh on the right and sloping down to just below her knee on the left.

Pulling open the opposite closet door, she appraised how the dress fell against her form in a full-length mirror. It showed just enough skin, giving just enough promise of what lays underneath. Padding back across the apartment, Rey checked the timer, forty-five minutes to go.

She set Ben's gift on the counter so that she could give it to him over dinner. Then she ventured into his office, running her hands along the old bound volumes of his collection and decided to bring the Jedi texts on her next visit, thinking that it was high time they started to collect items to teach the next generation of Force sensitive beings…and at the forefront of her mind, their children who would need sound guidance to understand the unfathomable power the Force would bestow upon them.

The timer went off in the kitchen and just as Tyris had instructed, Rey pulled out the roast and set it to rest. She started to become excited about Ben's return. The chrono on the wall read that it was 1826 and she expected to hear the ion thrusters of the shuttle coming to rest on the upper deck any minute now.

But time ticked on. The roast became cold. Rey opened the bottle of wine and poured herself a generous glass. She drank sitting at the table, looking at the clean and unused place settings. She filled her glass and walked onto the terrace, looking out over the now darkened city, she imagined all the other families out there who were sitting down for a meal, all the husbands that kept their promises to their wives, all the people who didn't have to worry if their loved ones would come home injured, or come home at all.

For a long time, she sat in the oversized seat on the terrace where she had curled up in Ben's warm arms many times before. She felt so cold, the dress providing no comfort but the deep and rich wine helped Rey to not care about the gooseflesh that pebbled her exposed skin.

When her glass was once again empty, Rey ventured back into the apartment and poured the rest of the bottle into her glass. Grabbing the small black box off the counter, it hung limply in her hand as she swayed across the living room and into the bedroom. She walked to her side of the bed and tossed the box down on her bedside table.

Turning to observe the quiet room, her chest felt hollow as she was surrounded by his scent. It was as if he was just there with her, just beyond her sight, just out of her reach. Crossing the room, she pushed at the door that was hidden within the panels of the walls. Just like the first time she had crossed into this room, the lights came up to a dim glow and she sat down in the rocker, letting her gaze roam over the mural with the two suns.

Rey pulled her knees up to her chest, sipped at her wine, and rocked the chair with the use of the Force. She wondered if her mother had ever rocked her, ever whispered soothing words of affection, ever hummed a lullaby into her baby fine hair. But each time she thought about her parents she just remembered being left on Jakku. She remembered their empty promise to return, to be a family once more. She remembered each and ever tick mark that she scratched into the corroding wall of the fallen AT-AT Walker.

Curling in on herself like she had learned through a lifetime of abuse, Rey tried to protect her core, the tender bits within her chest, her heart. She was not only worried about Ben's safety, thinking about their talk in the catacombs on Naboo and as her chest felt empty and hollow, she wasn't sure if she could live without him. But she also wanted to hate him for making her feel this way. He left in the middle of the night, going off-world with his Knights to do Maker knows what, and hours after he was to be home, Rey sat alone, unsure, racked with sorrow and anxiety.

She was once again the small girl who was left behind, given broken promises and left to wait.

Tired of crying and tired of lamenting in a room that in her inebriated mind felt like another broken promise that was being dangled before her, Rey walked back into the bedroom. Moving to her side of the bed, Rey brashly pushed Ben's gift back on her nightstand to make room for her almost empty wine glass before she aimlessly flopped down on the bed, again pulling her knees to her chest.

Two more gulps of wine and there was only a thin rim of deep maroon liquid at the bottom of the glass. As she twisted the stem of the glassware between her fingers absentmindedly, she heard the door to the apartment open, shut, and then heavy boot falls moved towards their quarters.

Rey wasn't scared, knowing his lumbering gait just by sound but she relaxed her posture, now sitting cross-legged on the bed.

He entered the room in full regalia. Truthfully he was so anxious to see Rey that he didn't even give a second thought to his appearance. He could feel her through the Force, her signature fuzzy with a mix of emotions.

"You're late, Kylo."

Ben could only see the faint online of her figure as she sat in their dimmed room, made darker by the tinted visor of his helmet. Her tight and accusing tone, let alone the fact that she called him Kylo felt like more of a beating than he had just received on the battlefield. With quick movements, he clicked the release and his mask was discarded to the floor with an echoing clatter. "Rey…" he said in a breathless whisper.

Rey rocked up on her knees, hefting the empty glass across the room before she could think better of it. Unlike how he had smoothly dodged the saber on the Supremacy or the measuring cup in the kitchen weeks ago, Ben barely had time to duck his torso away from the incoming object, only made known to him as the city lights gleamed off the rounded glass.

There was a shattering sound behind him as the glass made contact with the wall, shards scattered around his boots. Surprise, concern, confusion, and fear surrounded him and he tried to triage his feelings and assess Rey's state. He tried again, holding out his gloved hand in a reassuring gesture, "Rey…"

Reaching next to her, Rey grabbed the gift box and sent it on the same trajectory as the wine glass, "You're late!"

This time Ben was ready, calling the object to his hand with help from the Force, but he couldn't care about the square box, tossing it gently onto a tufted chair by the window, his focus was completely on Rey. "I know…I'm…"

Rey was now off the bed coming towards him all balled fists and eyes afire, and Ben reached out with the Force, holding her in place before she could get to him. "Let me go," Rey seethed.

"The glass," Ben tried to excuse his Force hold on her, his tone soft and reassuring, and he moved to meet Rey instead, shards crunching under his boots.

When Rey was finally released and Ben stood close to her…too close for Rey's current mood, her dark and somewhat hooded gaze looked up at him. His brows were pinched together and his eyes roamed her face trying to reconcile the swirling of emotions that churned within the bond. Ben reached out his gloved hand once more, attempting to stroke the cold leather along her cheek, but Rey planted both of her palms firmly on his chest and pushed, "You left me!"

"Arlan should have…"

"I didn't know where you were or what was happening," Rey yelled up at him, her voice raw and thick with tears that were streaming down her cheeks.

"I had to take care of…"

"I waited for you!" Her voice broke and she sniffled, "I didn't know if you were coming back…"

Realization washed over Ben. His poor abandoned, wounded girl. His delay was unavoidable, it had taken them an additional six hours due to unforeseen unrest within the government of the world that they were providing aid to. But he knew to his beautifully broken bride, those hours may as well been years.

"Where were you?" Rey demanded.

"Horuz," Ben answered immediately. "The Resistance…"

Rey's gaze narrowed, "What did you do Kylo Ren?"

"What I had to," he said between clenched teeth. The last thing Ben needed was Rey questioning…judging his motives when it came to protecting their Empire.

Her hand moved before either of them could think better of it and a sharp slap sounded in the hollow room as the pads of Rey's fingers struck hard against Ben's cheek. "You promised," she seethed.

"I promised to keep you safe," his tone was low and warning, "and you will be relieved to hear that no harm came to your friends." Rey had struck him down in a fight for her life, she had charged at him during their spars, used the Force to disarm him, but her simple strike, that felt no worse than a sting on his rough cheek, cut him to his core. Through all of the fights between his parents, he had seen his mother slap Han more times than he could count, but his father had always shown restraint and for all of Han Solo's misgivings, he never laid a hand on his wife in anger.

In this fact, Ben respected his father, so he closed his eyes and attempted to tamper down his growing frustration. "You may call me Ben Solo, may have resolved me back to the light, and are the reason that I have found balance. I understand that Kylo Ren is the name of the monster that caused you so much pain, but I cannot go back to being the scared, self-hating, neglected boy of my past. I will always have a need for Kylo Ren." His hands clenched and then relaxed, the well-worn leather of his gloves creaked under the pressure of his balled fists as he opened his eyes again and looked down upon Rey, her gaze still alight.

"Each time you call me Ben, it gives me hope that you would have loved the man I was before my family betrayed me. But you did not fall in love with him, you fell in love with Kylo Ren. He is the one that will protect you, love you, give you a family and a home, and he is the man standing before you now."

At this moment Rey hated Ben and his way of spinning such pretty phrases. She wanted to believe him, that her friends were safe, but she still felt so hurt. She sent her pain and anguish across the bond and gaining some satisfaction from his sharp intake of breath and the tears that started to pool in his eyes.

What he sent back to her in return left her stifled. How he had wrestled with the desire to lay aside the needs of his people just to stay in bed with her for a few more hours, how he threatened his guard's lives should anything poorly happen to Rey in his absence, how he had shown mercy to those he fought against, knowing that he wouldn't dare bring his Empress any more pain by striking down one of her friends.

He showed her his benevolence, his sorrow of being away from her, that her light was what guided him and stayed his hand when needed. He had paced and raged against a rock face with his saber when he realized that he would be delayed in getting back to Coruscant, how he desired to be at her side…how he desired her.

Rey felt foolish, she had once promised him that she would never doubt their love, their bond, their commitment to each other. She bit at her lip and thought about the many times in the future that he would be called away from her, how many time she would warm their bed, waiting and wanting. Her body heated and as she let some of her strife flow back into the Force, her wine-soaked mind was now screaming for her fiancé's touch.

She blinked slowly, gazing up at him through her lashes. When she moved her hands again, it pained her to see the worried anticipation ghost across his features as if he was preparing himself for another strike.

Instead, Rey slid her index finger under the thin strap of silk that sat upon her shoulder and pulled it down her arm, the slip dress shifted to expose one of her breasts. As she moved to lower the remaining strap and she watched his expression shift to confused excitement, she taunted through a pleasing haze of lust and drink, "Well then Kylo Ren…do your worse…"

Ben's posture changed, the anxiety in his shoulders dissolved and his back and hips swayed in such a way that could only be identified as the Solo swagger that he inherited from his father. His brow quivered and then his gaze became dark. He took a step forward just as the scrap of a dress that Rey wore flitted to the floor. Reaching out his hand again, she didn't recoil, but he still cupped her throat, digging his thumb and fingers into her jaw as he tilted her face up towards his.

He dipped his head forward, almost hesitant but also let his eyes wander, studying her face. Her expression was still guarded, hurt and longing rested in her dark honey colored eyes, defiance set upon her parted lips. Instead of bringing her into a kiss, he ghosted his cheek against hers, nuzzling his nose into her temple and inhaled the floral oils that coated her skin.

With his hand still gripping her jaw, his lips finally brushed against the shell of her ear and Rey took in a gulping breath. She could smell the soot and singe of a day spent on the battlefield and while she wished to know the fates of the Resistance members that had crossed paths with Kylo Ren that day, she found in this moment she could have cared less. All she could focus on was his warm breath and the way that their racing hearts seemed to fall into sync.

Finally, as his large form seemed to envelop all of her senses, Ben thick and raw voice whispered into her hair, "I'm going to take exactly what I want…"

AN: I'm sure most of you can guess where the next chapter is headed and I'm super excited to write it. I'm not above begging for some love, so drop me a line and make my heart happy.

Also, I have gone back and edited Parts 1-28. Bless you all for putting up with some of my errors and not raking me over the coals for them.