Ben carried Rey through the doorway of their former place of residence. As Ben shut the door behind them with the Force, silence encapsulated them. Ben set Rey down on her feet in front of him.

Rey tilted her head slightly as she blinked up at him, studying his dark hair, his mouth, the stirring in his eyes. She felt a paralyzing tension, the air between them seeming to shake. Her heart thudded so hard in her chest she wondered if Ben could hear it.

Ben raised his hand, gently brushing the hair out of her face. His fingers slid gently down her face, a seriousness in his expression. Rey let out a quick breath just before his mouth pressed down to hers. She slid her hands to his upper arms, his lips brushed against hers. Ben's hand held the back of her head as the other pulled her body closer to his.

Rey reached her hand around Ben's neck, sliding up through his hair, her fingers intertwining with the thick strands. Ben kissed her more deeply, his tongue sliding sliding through her lips, his arms keeping her ever closer to him. Rey began to feel dizzy, savoring the feeling of his lips against hers.

Ben pressed her against his body, gently moving her backwards until the back of Rey's legs were stopped by the side of the couch. Their kisses grew quicker, more urgent, Ben's hands gripping at her waist. Rey hopped up unto the armrest of the couch behind her. Ben's hands moved down under her thighs, pulling her legs around his hips.

Rey sucked in a surprised breath, overwhelmed by the passions and urges burgeoning within her. There was a burning in her chest, a surging fire in her veins. She felt a nervous excitement, overwhelmed by the feelings Ben brought to her.

Ben's mouth traced from her lips to her jaw. He slid lower to her neck as he pressed his mouth against her sensitive skin, and Rey's head tilted back. Ben's hand rose to the back of her head as a soft sigh escaped her mouth. He pressed his lips along her neck, sending shivers down her body, and she struggled to remain still. She gripped at his hair, taking in his familiar musk, her fingers sliding down and pressing along the dried blood on his cheeks as he kissed just below her ear.

Ben jolted backwards suddenly, wincing. He pressed at his temples, obviously in pain. Rey felt a faint stinging feeling in her head, seeming to emanate from him through their bond.

"Ben, are you okay?" Rey asked concernedly, her eyes flickering over the bloodstains that remained on his sallow face. He blinked slowly, his eyes shifting wearily to hers.

"I'm fine," he said flatly, furrowing his brows and lowering his hands from his face. Rey sensed that he was not.

She stood up clumsily from the couch, feeling dazed. She stood in front of him and pressed a hand up to his cheek, looking up into his brown eyes.

"You need to rest, you're in a lot of pain. I can feel it," she said. She lightly brushed a finger across the faint diagonal scar on his cheek.

Ben stared heavily down into her eyes for a long moment, then leaned down, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"I'm fine," he repeated, softer this time. He tilted his head as he observed her, a smugness tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I should probably wash up."

Following his gaze, Rey rubbed her own cheek, seeing his dried blood caked on her fingers. "As should I," she said, wrinkling her nose.

He smiled at her, but his smile faded as his gaze traced over her face again. He abruptly turned and made his way to his room, Rey's eyes trailing behind him.

….

After Rey toweled off and pulled her clothes on again, she stood in her room, staring through the small window at the far wall at the sparkling snow outside. She sensed Ben's calm presence in the room across from hers.

Rey pondered the pain that she had felt in him earlier, and she wondered what all had been done to him on Snoke's ship. Maybe I shouldn't ask, just yet, she thought.

Exhausted, she moved towards her bed but suddenly froze, remembering what Snoke had told her—how Ben had wiped her memory of her earliest childhood. It can't really be true, she thought, shaking her head. Could it?

Rey tip-toed out into the hall, pressing against Ben's closed door. Are you awake?

After a moment, she heard yes.

Rey gently pushed open the door as she saw Ben outstretched on the too-small bed, his feet nearly hanging off of the edge due to his long stature. Ben sat himself up against the pillows behind him, brushing his wet hair out of his clean face. He watched her expectantly as she moved forward to the side of the bed, folding her fingers apprehensively.

"What is it?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Back on the ship, the Empire's ship, I...I was brought to Snoke," she said, meeting his eyes.

Ben sat up straighter, his brows furrowing. "You didn't tell me," he said, concern rising in his voice. "What did he say—what did he do?"

Rey hesitated to speak, sensing his sudden flare of temper, and shifted her gaze. She sensed Ben calm down, and he scooted farther from her on the bed, patting the empty space between them. She climbed onto the bed, sitting next to him against the pillows as she stared down at her lap. Ben watched her face as he waited for her to speak.

"He spoke of when you and I both trained under Luke, which I already knew about—Leia told me," she said, glancing over at him quickly at the mention of his mother. She shook her head slowly. "But I don't remember...any of it, Ben," she said, meeting his eyes again.

"I know you don't," he said flatly.

"Snoke said...that you wiped my mind."

"I did," Ben said. He leaned towards her. "But I did it to protect you, Rey. I didn't know we had a Force bond, at the time, but Snoke was in my head—always in my head—he kept saying that I had to bring you with me when he came to the Jedi Order, that you couldn't be killed with the others…" he trailed.

Rey watched him as he stared away from her, his expression detached, distant. "You were so small, so young...I sensed that it was wrong," he continued. "I knew that Snoke was...I didn't want you going to him. I thought he was in your head, too, so…" he trailed, his voice strained. "I thought it was best to wipe your mind, so you wouldn't follow me to him...I'm sorry, Rey. I didn't know what else to do."

Rey turned onto her left side, facing him. "It's okay, Ben," she said, moving her right arm forward and resting it on his. He wore a thin short-sleeved shirt, and Rey's eyes surveyed the bruises and red splotches that marked his bare arm, tracing them with her fingers.

"But Snoke told me something else," Rey continued. "He said that he forged our bond."

Ben looked at her solemnly for a moment, then dropped his eyes. "I know," he said quietly.

"Why didn't you say anything, then?"

He hesitated. "I didn't want to frighten you. Snoke never told me, but I felt—I figured it out on my own."

"How did it happen, then? When was the bond formed?"

Ben sighed, looking away from her. "I remember...Snoke once told me to heal you, when you were hurt one day. I didn't know how to do Force healing, Luke hadn't taught me, it was too advanced...but his voice...Snoke's...he kept telling me to try, just try."

"He said that he forged it because of our bloodlines, because we're a Skywalker and a Kenobi," Rey added, confusion in her voice.

Ben lowered his brows, nodding his head as he looked away from her. "Well. Yes."

Rey sensed that he knew more, that there were other thoughts running through his mind, and she waited for him to continue. But he didn't, his gaze still turned away from her.

"Ben?" She prompted gingerly.

He turned his head back to her, looking at her with a hesitant look in his eyes. "Yes?"

"What did they do to you, back there?" She asked, eyeing his pallid complexion. "You just don't look yourself."

Ben's face twitched. "Well, I wasn't exactly treated as an honored guest," he said bitterly. Rey studied him with concern, and Ben's face softened. "I'm fine," he assured her, running his fingers through the ends of her hair.

"If you're not fine, you can say so," Rey said softly.

Ben gave a small sigh, his eyes flickering away from hers. "I mean, if I'd have been there much longer…" his jaw shifted, his face growing serious. He shook his head, looking at her placidly. "I'll heal."

Rey continued tracing the bruises on his arm, her fingers coming to rest on two purple and red burn marks just below his sleeve. They appeared to be fairly recent.

"Did I do that to you?" She asked quietly, remorse surging through her as her eyes moved from the burns to the scar that marked his face. Ben didn't answer as he looked back over at her. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. "I did do that, didn't I?...I'm sorry, Ben. Look, now we're even, aren't we?" She breathed, a smile playing across her lips.

Ben's eyes flickered over her face, his expression warming as a small smile formed on his mouth. He leaned slowly towards her, brushing the hair from her face as he placed another kiss on her forehead, sending warmth through Rey's body.

Yawning, Rey turned to lay on her back, her eyes blinking ever more slowly, exhaustion overcoming her as she gradually drifted off to sleep next to Ben.

….

Rey awoke in soft yellow sunlight, laying on her right side. She couldn't help but smile to herself as she realized Ben's arm was draped over her waist, and she felt his deep, even breathing on the back of her neck. She had never before felt so comforted, so secure. Rey stretched her legs, and she sensed Ben rise to consciousness as she stirred.

She heard Ben take in a deep breath, his arm tightening around her as he pulled her body flush against the front of his. She felt a surge of warmth course through her as she lay against him.

Is it morning? She asked telepathically. She felt Ben's mind stir.

Maybe, we slept a long time. It was much needed. Ben groaned softly as she felt him stretch his long legs. Rey wrapped her arm around his as he held her, enjoying the warmth of his body, his soft breaths on her neck and shoulder.

After a few minutes, Ben slid his arm from her and climbed off of the bed on his side. Rey stared across at him, disappointed, and watched as he made his way into the wash room across from the bed.

Rey reluctantly got out of the bed, yawning and stretching as she made her way to the kitchen. She grimaced when she saw that the remaining snowfruit that Ben had collected during their previous stay on the planet had begun to rot. She stared at the fruit, feeling a strange sadness at the sight.

As Ben came into the living area, he looked curiously over at Rey, who was pulling on her cloak and boots. She look ardently across at him as she raised up slowly, feeling a tug in her chest. "Ben," she said earnestly, "let's go home."

Ben opened his mouth to speak, then shut it, staring at her silently for a moment. His gaze shifted to the ground as she watched him grind his jaw, lost in thought. After a few moments of silence, his eyes rose to hers once again.

"Okay."

….

As the loading platform descended down into the snow from the cargo ship, Rey caught Ben looking back across the snow at the wreckage of his former command shuttle. One of its black wings was crumpled, and the whole thing looked like some sort of giant crashed animal.

Rey patted Ben's arm in mock comfort. "It's okay, I'm sure you can have a new one built one day," she said, smiling up at him.

Rey took a few steps up the cargo ship's platform, but Ben remained in the snow behind her, continuing to stare across at the ship forlornly. "It's a shame," he said, shaking his head down at the snow. He squinted his eyes against the sunlight as he peered over at Rey. "Well, at least you made it," he said, walking up the platform. "But I'd be happier if you had both survived," he added under his breath, and Rey laughed softly.

As they walked into the control room, Rey saw Ben heading for the main pilot's chair, and she pushed past him, making a mad dash towards it. She hopped into the chair, looking back smugly at Ben, who frowned. He let out a breath, the hair on his forehead lifting up.

"Fine, you can pilot it first," he said, moving into the chair next to her.

Rey ignited the engines and lifted the ship up from the snow beneath. As she soon afterward steered the ship out of the planet's atmosphere and orbit, Ben remained silent, and Rey looked over at him. She was surprised when she saw that he had fallen back asleep, his head resting against the side of his chair. Compassion flooded through her as she realized just how drained he really was.

Poor baby. Thanks for reading and commenting, guys! I appreciate all of your feelings and criticisms-I take into mind all of what you guys say, and it's nice to get your different reactions and perspectives on the story as it moves along. I'm posting as often as I can, and don't worry, I'll never abandon this story, no matter how long it takes. I have it all planned out anyways.