24 ABY

Takodana

Maz's Castle

One more night of work began at the Castle. Sara was happy for finally having convinced Maz to let her work there at night as well as during the day – after all she was already 18 years old. She loved to work in the Castle, it was noisy and crowded, full of the most interesting people in the Galaxy – she was never bored.

"Sara!" Maz called from the middle of the packed floor. "Big crowd incoming!"

"Ok. I'm on it!" she quickly prepared a tray with snacks and full glasses of flameout, meltdown cocktail and Geillian ale and left the counter towards the big crowd of masked guys that filled two tables.

"Night, guys." Sara greeted them, putting her tray on the table so that each man took his drink of preference. "First time here in the Castle?"

"Yes." one of them replied.

"If I knew such beauty worked here, I'd have come sooner." said another. "I'm Jon."

"Well, Jon," continued Sara, ignoring the last comment. "You can't really drink with your masks on and we have a no-masks policy here, we like to see our clients faces, so, please remove your masks. There are Demicot silk bags under the tables for you to store them while here." she took the empty tray back.

They all obeyed, removing their masks and putting them into the silk bags. All except one.

"What's wrong, Kylo? Doesn't want the pretty lady to see your ugly face?" joked one of the men.

Sara looked at the one who still had the mask on and her heart skipped a beat – she knew who was behind that black mask.

He slowly lifted his arms and disengaged the mask's lock on the back of the neck. With the mask in hands, the dark eyes she knew and loved looked at her, the shock of seeing him nearly making her drop her tray. Three years since she had last seen him; three years trying to understand what had happened that night at the Temple. Time seemed to stop as they stared at each other – all the noise in the Castle going unacknowledged by Sara's ears.

"Sara!" Maz called, approaching her carefully, noticing something was wrong. She touched her arm. "Dear, I need your help at the counter."

"Yes." Sara answered, as if getting out of a trance. "I'll go there right away."

She forced herself to look away from him and walked to the counter, holding on to it, trying to keep herself from falling. He was there, she was having a hard time believing it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. For the next hour or so she worked preparing cocktails, filling and washing glasses, not once lifting her head to look at him. But she could feel his eyes on her.

"Sara." she heard a familiar voice calling her by the counter.

She mustered up the courage and looked at him.

"Kylo, right?" she asked sarcastically. "What can I do for you?"

"I... Can we talk?"

"No." she kept on working on the glasses.

"I have some things to tell you."

"They didn't matter three years ago. They don't matter now." she looked into his eyes. "Kylo."

"What's the deal?" Maz asked her, three hours after Ben had arrived.

"None whatsoever."

"Do you know that boy?"

"Yes." She sighed. "That's Ben Solo."

"What?" Maz looked towards him. "That's the one who..."

"Destroyed the Praxeum. Yes."

"And your heart." Maz completed. Sara didn't reply, she just kept on pouring four tall glasses of Tatooine Sunset. "They are known as the Knights of Ren. I asked around. Your boy is their commander, only they call him Kylo Ren."

"I really don't want to know any of that, Maz."

"Mm. All right. I'll just leave you with your glasses then." And Maz walked away, knowing her young employee was hurting.

Sara saw when the Knights stood up, picked up their masks and left money on their tables. Her eyes met with Ben's before he put his mask back on.

I missed you. she heard his voice whispering in her mind.

She closed her eyes and replied: It doesn't matter.

A week later

"He's here, again." Maz said, walking into the kitchen.

"I know." said Sara, in front of the sink, washing the dishes.

"Did you feel his presence?"

"Yes, long before he walked into the Castle. And it sucks. I'm not going out there."

Maz observed her for a while.

"You're angry at him. But it's hurting you not going to him. I think you've even lost weight this past week."

Sara closed her eyes.

"Maz, this story is too complicated to be solved with a simple chat. He left me, destroyed the Praxeum, and never looked back. I don't think he even speaks to his mother anymore."

"I sensed a change in your powers when you were close to him. It finds balance. You're his balance and he's yours. Maybe your Light can..."

"Been there, done that." Sara interrupted. "While we were in the Temple, we were always together. I tried to help him every day, but nothing I said or did was enough to keep him from the Dark side; my love for him wasn't enough."

"You're right, this is too complicated, even more than you imagine perhaps. At least listen to what he has to say. Then tell him to never come back here."

Sara gave in. Maz could be right. Maybe Ben had had a reason to do what he did. She turned off the water and found a towel to dry her hands.

"I don't think I'll feel any better after hearing what he has to say though. It'll probably make me more miserable once he leaves again." she whispered.

Maz touched her arm. "But at least you will know why he left you. Go to him, dear. You two have a three-year delayed conversation that's eating up both of you inside."

Sara sighed heavily.

"Can I use the conference room?" she asked.

"Sure. Its empty."

Ben saw when Sara walked out of the kitchen towards him with anger in her blue eyes.

Follow me. she told him, silently.

Sara walked to a heavy door and opened it. "Get in," she ordered, he obeyed. Then she turned to the crowd of the Castle and said slowly: "You will all forget you saw me walking in there with him." Afterwards, she turned around, walked into the room and locked the door. Then she stared into the dark eyes of Ben Solo. "You wanted to talk. So talk."

"It's so good to see you after all these years." Ben smiled. "I've missed you."

"You've said it already. Anything else?" she had a battle of emotions happening inside of her in that moment. For years she had dreamed of him finding her, saying he loved her – that all had been a mistake. But right then, when he was finally there, in front of her, she just wanted to punch that beautiful smile out of his face.

Ben walked closer.

"Haven't you missed me?"

"Is that all that matters to you, really?" she was furious. "I have no idea what happened the night you blew up the Temple and all you have to tell me is that you missed me? Three years, Solo, and not a word from you."

"I was training. I had no way to find you."

"Training." she scoffed. "With the owner of the strange voice, I bet."

"Yes."

"Feeling special enough now? With your own knights to command?"

"You're mad at me. I get it! But I had no way to find you! I tried!"

"You probably didn't look hard enough, for I've been here ever since that night. Master Skywalker brought me here before going into hiding. Maz Kanata took care of me. I'm an orphan, remember?" she looked at him, angrily.

"Luke tried to kill me!" he blurted.

"What?" that stopped her venting.

"I woke up in the middle of the night and he was standing there by my bed, lightsaber in hand ready to strike me, I saw it in his eyes..."

"Why would he do that?"

"He was afraid of my powers. He thought I had made my decision."

"And you hadn't?"

"You know I hadn't; I gave you my reasons once. And even now, after all my training, the conflict is still there."

Sara tried to sense his powers. And she felt it.

"Yes, it's still there. Just as it always were."

"It doesn't matter what I do." he sounded frustrated. "It never goes away. Except..." he walked closer to her. "Right now, I feel no conflict, only certainty." he touched her face. "When I'm by your side everything else vanishes."

Sara took his hand off her face.

"I've listened to your explanations about that night. Now you have to stop coming here. It's only hurting us both."

"Coming here is the only thing that doesn't hurt me. It fills me up with joy to know that I'll see you at once a week. It makes my duties bearable." he took a step closer.

"I don't want to know about your duties or what makes them unbearable. I've heard enough stories about the Knights of Ren since the last time you were here. Is this all you had to tell me? The reason you blew up the Temple was because Master Luke was confused and tried to kill you? You freaked out. I get it. Although I don't think that's a good enough reason to join the Dark side. Maybe to run away from the Temple, yes. But not fall into the Dark. You had me to help you. We promised to be together. You broke that promise, you lost my trust and..."

"I broke your heart." he murmured.

"Yes." she replied, trying hard not to cry. "And it took me years to mend it. Now you must stop coming here."

"That's a promise I can't make, for it's doomed to be broken."

"What do you want from me, Ben? I've given you everything. My love, my friendship, my patience and comprehension. I accepted you as you are." she closed the gap between their bodies, touching his chest. "The pull you feel towards me, because I balance your darkness and stop your conflict, has it never occurred to you that I feel a similar pull to you?" his eyebrows rose in surprise. And Sara continued: "I love the darkness I can feel inside you, I want to get lost in it, to never be found again." she touched her nose to his chest, scenting his perfume. "When we're close, like this," she slightly rubbed her body against his, "There's no pure-light in my mind," she closed her eyes. "I can sense our powers mingling, finding balance." she sighed in pleasure. "It is so good to feel this again after all these years."

Ben didn't waste any time, his left hand quickly found her waist and held her tight. He caressed her face with his other hand, his thumb over her lips, the rosy lips he was dying to taste. She looked lost in the feeling of their powers mingling, her blue eyes unfocused, lips slightly parted, her long wavy brown hair cascading down her shoulders, she looked sexy and innocent – but he knew she hid wild fire under that sweet façade. And that only made him want her more.

He took her lips in a dominating kiss, his tongue invading her mouth without asking for permission; she tasted just like he remembered, the feeling of her soft curvaceous body rubbing against his hard one making him want nothing but to rip out her clothes and make love to her right there on the table. He pushed her up against the wall and drove them both mad with desire, touching her body, making her whimper on his mouth.

Sara's hands fisted in his hair, going down his neck, caressing his chest over the thick layers of clothing he was wearing. She could feel his erection poking her belly, so she moved against him, creating friction between their bodies, increasing their desire.

Ben's lips on her neck, teasing her skin, while his hands tried to open her buttoned up blouse.

"No. Ben, stop." Sara regained a bit of her conscience and pushed him away, making him take a step back. "We can't do this." she was breathless. "You'll leave and I'll be left behind with a broken heart to mend. Again. No." she shook her head. "Just go, Ben." she pointed to the door. "We already talked. Please stop coming here."

He hesitated, he wanted her, he loved her and he knew once he left that room her Light would stop holding his darkness at bay and he would feel all that anger and frustration he always felt when they were apart.

"I don't want to go."

"So I'll leave first." And she did. She walked past him and left not only the private room, but the Castle as well. Ben walked back to his table where the Knights were, they didn't seem to notice that he had been absent for the past thirty minutes.

Notes

1. Flameout was an alcoholic beverage spiked with spice. When R2-D2 was briefly forced to work as an ambulatory bar aboard Jabba the Hutt's sail barge Khetanna, he notably served flameouts. (Canon)

2. The Meltdown was a alcoholic cocktail, said to be a more "sophisticated" version of the Reactor Core. The drink mixed Spice Liqueur with Lum and had no need to release the narcotic agents that the Reactor Core did. The Meltdown was also more expensive than the Reactor Core, typically costing ten to twelve credits. (Legends)

3. Geillian ale was a drink served at the HyperDive Cantina (in the Fathoms Resort located within Wildwater City on the world of Dac). (Legends)

4. Demicot silk was a brown fabric used in formal wear. Obi-Wan Kenobi had a formal robe made from it. (Legends)

5. Tatooine Sunset was an alcoholic beverage made of fermented fruit. It was available at Chalmun's Cantina, in the city of Mos Eisley, Tatooine. It was named after the sunsets of the planet Tatooine. (Canon)