A/N: I know I said I was done with this but... these kids won't leave me alone and I'm weak xD Hope you all enjoy!

Hopping from planet to planet, relocating to countless Rebel bases made it hard to keep track of the time. But here, orbiting Naboo on the swamp moon Rori, sixty revolutions had passed before she saw Ben again. He just sat there silently for the longest time, tall and proud and giving her a look that could cut through stone like it was nothing. She'd been laying in her bunk at the time, fiddling a piece of machinery when she'd felt that all-too-familiar snap of recognition. Looking up, she saw him as though her really was in the same room. Instinctively, Rey knew he was perched on the throne that Snoke had once occupied. The thought filled her with a putrid mix of disgust and desolation. But as he stared at her, unblinking and silent, the feeling melted away into passivity.

This was what he had wanted, after all. And the tiny spark of smugness that flared in her chest at recognizing his dissatisfaction was enough to make her smile a little. Slowly, Rey sat up in her bunk, setting aside her project and bracing one arm on the overhead storage compartment.

"I thought we'd finished with this." Her words were as cold as ice, but her voice remained level and quiet. Tilting her head slightly, she scooted to the edge of her bunk.

"Your guess is as good as mine," he replied, seeming to fight against the clenching of his jaw. His eyebrows pulled together in a scowl, and she watched as his fingers tightened on the phantom arms of the throne. To her view, he merely sat on the trunk that contained what few belongings she had. Ironically enough, the mangled pieces of Luke's lightsaber were locked within, right under his—

"Where are you?" he asked sharply, sitting forward a little bit.

Rey couldn't help the scoff that escaped her throat. "You really think I'm going to reveal that to you? When you're hunting as down like animals? Haven't you learned that you can't control me, Ben Solo? You lost—"

"I seem to remember the lightsaber split in two," he spat, suddenly standing with fists clenched at his sides. It didn't escape her notice that he wasn't wearing his trademark leather gloves. "A draw, if anything."

She snorted slightly and looked away from him, trying to hide the acknowledgement on her face. He was right... She knew that... But her pride would never allow her to admit it. Not yet, anyways.

Slowly, her gaze shifted back to his face. She stood up off her bunk and took a slight step towards him, feeling the energy of their connection crackle and spark at the proximity. Images of fire and unity and betrayal flashed in her mind, gone as quickly as they'd come. The urge to reach out and touch him was almost overwhelming, and she could feel her own fists clenching with the effort to resist. Was he feeling it too?

"Why are we still connected?" she said, repeating her earlier sentiment in a softer way. To her surprise, it wasn't difficult to try. Seeing him again... it reminded her too much of the life she'd thought was laid out before her.

The tenderness in her voice and in her gaze seemed to melt his resolve slightly. Rey saw his shoulders fall and his scowl disappear. "I don't know," he muttered, raking one of his hands through his dark hair. How she wished she could do the same...

"Snoke said he'd been responsible for the bond," she continued slowly, feeling her body lean slightly forward. It was like there was a magnet between them, drawing them together. "But if that's true—"

"He lied," Ben cut in suddenly. "He always had been, from the very beginning. I see that now." His bottom lip jutted out slightly as he swallowed a lump in his throat. "But we may never know why the Force is connecting us... It doesn't matter."

The stinging pain that spiked through Rey's chest was surprising. What was that supposed to mean? "How can you say that?" she uttered, taking care not to reveal any of the... rather complicated emotions roiling in her chest. Slowly, his eyes found hers. The sadness she saw there was equally as surprising. But she'd seen that look before, not very long ago.

Please.

That single, imploring word rang through her mind like a distant echo. Barely muttered, yet loaded with desperation. Longing pricked at her heart, tapping out a steady rhythm that was almost impossible to ignore... Almost.

"Of course it matters," she finally continued, her voice harder now. A hopeful expression passed over his face, but disappeared quickly. "The Force is about more than just you and I, Ben. There's a reason it keeps bringing us together, no matter where we are or what's happening. It wants us to do something."

"Something..." he repeated, his voice monotone and dead. Where there had been sadness before, now there was coldness in his eyes. "It wanted us to rule together, Rey. But you spat on my offer like filth."

She felt her brow furrow in anger against her will. That spark of longing was suddenly inflamed into anger, consuming whatever other feelings might have been lurking underneath the surface. "You proposed the willful allowance of innocent people's deaths!"

"Innocent?" His own anger propelled him forward, barreling towards her in all his broad might. He stopped only a few feet away. "How many have the rebels killed? How many have they led to their doom?"

"Violence begets violence, Ben. The necessity of standing up to tyranny is not comparable to slaughter. But soon... there will be nothing left..." Rey let her rancor cool before uttering the only words she believed might get through to him. She inhaled deeply, steeling her resolve. "Though I can't pretend to understand your reasons, I know you felt you had to kill your father. But your mother..."

Rage, white hot and piercing, marred his face. "I had nothing to do with my mother's death," he seethed, fists shaking from the force of his grip.

But whereas Ben stood burning in anger, Rey found herself unable to move, paralyzed by the ice in her veins. The beating of her heart seemed sluggish, laboring in her chest as ringing filled her ears. All of a sudden, breath filled her lungs and her heart was beating too fast, drowning out the ringing with its frantic rhythm.

"Ben..." she whispered, choking on an abrupt sob. His demeanor suddenly changed at the inflection she placed on his name. All this time... all this time, he'd thought... "Leia is alive."

The only sound she could hear was that of his breathing, ragged and deafening. His mouth hung slightly open; arms, hanging limply at his sides. Suddenly, he seemed very small, where he never had before. Even with the scar across his brow and cheek, he seemed so childlike. Confusion and disbelief colored his features, the question resting unspoken on his lips. Almost instantly, the connection between them grew faint, sizzling out like a shooting star disappearing into the night.

In a moment, she was rushing forward, aiming to catch him as he fell to his knees. Rey braced for the impact of his unsupported weight, ready to hold him as the realization imprisoned his mind. His dark eyes stared past her at a fixed point of nothingness. Arms outstretched, she lunged forward, stumbling slightly when her embrace came up empty. A gasp seized her unexpectedly, filling the silence of her room like a hammer strike.

He was gone.

She was alone in her room once more, surrounded by gray walls and gray floors and gray furniture. The gasp turned into a sob, and a few, unbidden tears snaked their way down her face. That had been the very last thing she'd expected. To see him so broken and so vulnerable... It echoed the look on his face the last time she'd seen him on Crait. But the despair in his eyes... Had he finally realized?

The door to her quarters slid open with a soft whoosh, and she was faced with Finn, usual determined look set into his features. But at seeing her like that—sobbing with her hands still held out, kneeling on the floor—his face suddenly transformed into a mask of concern.

"Rey!" he said worriedly, coming into her room and dropping down as well. "Are you okay? What happened!"

"F-Finn," she choked out, still staring at her hands.

What would have happened, had they touched again? Would she have seen the same future as before? Or another, less savory one? In that moment, seeing Ben crumble under the knowledge that his mother still lived, Rey had forgotten every ounce of her earlier anger. She saw the look in his eyes that she knew well; it was deep, unfathomable regret. Luke had looked the very same way, when he'd finally told her the truth of what happened with Ben. But this time, instead of anger, she'd only felt sympathy.

"What is it?" Finn questioned, putting one hand on her face and the other on her shoulder. "Rey, what's wrong?"

Gazing at her empty palms once more, she sniffed slightly and closed her fists, laying them against her thighs. Slowly, Rey looked up at Finn, holding back the tears that threatened to overflow. There was no time for wondering now; she knew what she had to do.

"I need to see Leia."

Ooookay, that's all for now! This is taking a turn I didn't really expect, but I'm going to roll with it for now. Hope you all enjoyed! Please review! :D