I adore this beautiful song by Wolf Larsen and now I know why - it suits them both perfectly and their now convoluted relation to Resistance. At this point, Rey is still unsure of where Ben is standing in the Force. And Ben was (is?) still heavily tempted to fall back on his old, dark ways. So, will it be the Light, or the Darkness?

In the end, the simple human emotions prevail on both sides, for better or for worse. This chapter leads to something as close to betrothal they'll ever come - in this story, at least. And the slightly tawdry bathing scene symbolizes purification and re-birth (no, it's not just another lazy writing tool to make them both undress ;)).

Hint: they change into clothes that are part Jedi, Resistance and part First Order stolen goods. War is raging around them - what can a rebel change into?

What if I'm wrong, what if I've lied
What if I've dragged you here to my own dark night
And what if I know, what if I see
There is a crack run right down the front of me

What if they're right, what if we're wrong
What if I've lured you here with a siren song?
What if I be wrong, if I be right
Let me be here with you tonight.

And I have been wrong, I have been right
I have been both these things all in the same night
So if I be wrong, if I be right
Let me here, with you, tonight.

Wolf Larsen, What if I be wrong.

They meet with Maz and the rebels on the landing dock. It doesn't need any Force heightened intuition to feel the air of resentment and utter disapproval, emanating mostly from Poe. He sees Kylo Ren and he sees Hosnian system, the fall of the New Republic, Crait, Leia's death and his own tormentor. His fists clench around his blaster, but Rey's presence prompts him to hold still.

The tension is of a new kind – dark, antsy, burdened with all sorts of conflicts and questions.

Rey can't be more grateful to Maz when the little female alien blinks at both of them and exclaims, putting away her blaster gun:

"Gods, what is that smell?"

It sweeps away the tension – for now. Poe frowns at Rey and by Finn's look, she can tell they've been arguing bitterly. Images of barely avoided fist fight come her way and her heart sinks.

Instead of being the glue and the strength of what has remained from the Resistance, she became its tearing point. She shudders. They are too dear to her to be tested like this.

Ben understands all of this – perhaps even more than Rey can realize – so he falters behind and remains at the base of the ship's ramp, all the while Chewbacca is making an incessant low growl. (Rey hears a current of expletives and curses from the creature.)

"Just give me some fuel and I'll leave", he says to her in a weak and hoarse voice (the Force bond demands the strength and focus he lost on Dagobah).

Poe overhears it, but the very fact he has no snarky comment is a testimony to the extent of his resentment and hate. He can't forgive, or forget – and why should he? His own mother died fighting the enemy whose greatest achievement was Kylo Ren himself.

You can't leave. You promised.

He looks at her – his eyes appear darker and feverish against the dehydrated, pale face.

Maz is there to intervene again – strange, whimsical creature with her eye-goggles and restless gaze.

"You two need a bath, now", she says. "Gods, I had rathtars who smelled better. And by the looks of you, young Solo –"

He flinches a bit and looks down at the alien woman.

"You need some food and water too. Come, I know a place where they have both".

"I can't do this right now", he says tiredly, with a broken undertone in his voice. His back turned to her, again. He reclines in that deep basin full of water in the underground tavern of Utai City. His wet hair glued to his neck.

They used the same water and the same basin to scrub off the dirt – life is harsh on Utapau, and only Maz can find a joint like this, where their very basic needs are met. She went first. Then Ben.

Rey feels uncomfortable because of this unwarranted intimacy. The water, even though it's cleaned and pretreated so that the surplus salt has been eliminated, smells with an odd, chemical smell. It's lukewarm, and it has an opalescent quality to it. But it still makes her relax her over-tensed muscles. She immerses herself once, closing her eyes tightly. It stings. But under water, she can pretend none of this has happened. She can pretend all is in good order. Jakku now looks almost like a safe-haven of dullness and peace.

She quickly jumps out of that place to change: loose open weave tabard, resembling Jedi tradition – the only spare one she has – the boots and pants stolen from the First Order and her old belt.

But the restlessness is nested deep in her heart ever since they left Dagobah in silence. Him, at the co-pilot's seat, weary and broken as she has never seen him before. Troubled. Gaze feverish. He's too weak to go back to that place mentally, but it visibly haunts him.

She can't have him in this state. Dark nexuses are difficult to decipher – when do they tell the truth, and when they tell a lie? But it doesn't even matter – what matters is, the effect they leave on her and on him. Darkness on Ahcht-to whispers scornfully the things she already knows. But darkness there is almost refined and subdued compared to Dagobah – its source hits like a hammer and roars like a wild beast.

What will he do?

Rey has to know.

"What did you see in that cave"? She persists, trying to retain that same consideration from Dagobah, but her voice betrays her apprehensiveness. "You must tell me. It's not only you and me now – it's my friends, the galaxy, everything".

And as she pronounces the last words, he stands up, quite abruptly. She doesn't have enough time to avert her gaze so she sees… most of him.

Rey is flushed.

But then again, it is she who persisted and stepped into something that was clearly acutely painful to him. She still can't trust him, and perhaps that's what's the most hurtful thing of all. Rey senses he shut her off, his strength slowly building up again in him.

"Many things, Rey. Haven't you noticed by now the Dark Side is sort of… chatty"?

She doesn't answer. When she dares to raise her eyes, he is changed into that mismatch of Resistance fighter's uniform and the First Order uniform they provided. Grey and tan: but that small change softens his appearance dramatically.

"Tell me", she lowers her voice, trying to sound as pulled-up together as possible.

He gazes at her intently. He was really deeply injured there, and it's not only about the physical injuries. He knew even Luke hasn't stayed there for too long, and for a good reason.

"I've seen many things", he repeats slowly, his voice altering to a low growl. "Visions of possible futures – three paths I can take. They say you're free to choose, but the options are dwindling".

A small, dark laughter forms at the base of his throat, in that moving protuberance.

But he doesn't let her in his mind, leaving her pleading for a simple communication.

"What was it, Ben"? She asks again, this time far less demanding. (Her own mind forms an unsettling question of how the water infused in her scent and her dirt affects him.)

He tenses, that dark humor leaving him altogether – he struggles to both answer and not answer at all. But finally he stands up to his feet. He has leverage that feels like a curse – that cave gave him insights she could only dream of.

"I can turn you, Rey", he utters and she shudders. "It showed me the way. I could destroy all the Jedi ways in you –"

He wants to make his point as clear as possible.

He is not lying. He is conveying to her exactly what that dark nexus told him.

So she tenses – and listens.

Ben continues and it almost appears like the old shadow is back again.

His voice is reduced to a low growl.

"It would go far more easily than you think. You would become my Empress. No one would stand in our way. With you, I would sire a powerful bloodline of Force users that would span over thousands of generations. We would restore the order and progress. The galaxy would tremble at our feet".

No.

The Force bond trembles between them anxiously, if even slightly ominously.

Her sheer determination to resist the Dark Side is terrifying, but his words reverberate at some level – she stepped into darkness at least twice. Shamelessly, recklessly, without a second thought. First on Ahch-to, then in the Throne Room – the pain she suffered under Snoke's influence and the despair that clashed against her defenses the moment she realized Ben Solo won't be the hero galaxy needs, but her own executioner, left her raging and howling. How stupid she was. How naïve. Snoke was right:

Pathetic child.

She clenches her jaws, but says nothing. She can tell the Dark Side was very particular in its instructions.

"And other ways"? She makes a whispering growl. "You spoke of other ways – what are they"?

But he flexes. The bond between them lightens again.

"I could've stayed on Dagobah", he says simply. "Finish my training with the Jedi spirits. Live the life of a recluse, like Wan Kenobi, Yoda or Luke. But under one simple condition – I can never leave the planet again. Not in a million years, not even after my death, not even if the whole galaxy around me was burning".

Rey distinctly feels he was pondering about this possibility all the way to here. It sounds reasonable – it even sounds like too light of a punishment for his crimes. But the last bit perplexes her.

He sits back again at the edge of the basin and rubs the last remaining moisture from his face.

His eyes turn soft and fill up with melancholy.

"What else have you seen"? She whispers and lowers herself slowly on a simple bench in that desolate room, so now she's at the same level with him.

"I could follow you", he says softly. "Not join the Resistance – they will never accept me, but I could simply follow you. Stay by your side. And I will follow you. Help you build your weapon. Fight alongside you. Help you pull the First Order down".

Her heart quickens at these words. She thinks there are parts of her heart that were unused all of her life up until that point: and now they're gorged with blood, pumping joyfully and strong.

"Ben", she utters.

At last - the Skywalker legend reborn: the hero galaxy needs. And so much more than that - a hero redeemed, a young boy saved from his re-iterating nightmare.

Rey can feel tears welling into her eyes.

He now looks at her. Not a quantum of that old threat, nothing of a sort – just soft eyes, pleading with her.

The strain of the previous days catches up with her – she doesn't ask anything else any more. The Force between them vibrates almost like a betrothal, like a promise.

She stands up to walk slowly in that vibrant Force bond with him.

She leans in and lands a small kiss at the edge of his lips. Even through the Force bond, he feels real, warm and present: brittle hairs against her cheek and his lips soft and salty from that chemically treated water.

No visions – only simple human touch. But somehow, that means so much more to her.

Rey.

"Rey!" Finn barges into her room without knocking. "The First Order. We're busted. We have to go, now!"