Chapter 12

"Kira Ann, are you ready to go?" asked Ben as he entered his shared bedroom. Kira Ann was looking through some boxes looking for her gift for Ben. It had been a year n a half since they had started to live together and one year since they had been dating.

"In a minute," she said quietly, "I looking for something." As she was shuffling through the stuff, she found an odd looking metal rod that looked very similar to a sword hilt. "What is it?"

"It's a lightsaber…my lightsaber." Said Ben hesitantly.

"So… you're force sensitive. Why didn't you tell me? I've never even seen you use the force."

Ben didn't say anything thing, he just looked down at the floor. Deciding not to push, Kira Ann just placed the old lightsaber back in the box and started looking for Ben's gift again. After a few seconds, she found her gift and quickly placed it in her right pocket.

"Alright I found it. Are you ready to go?" Kira Ann said as she stood up to face Ben. Taking her hand, Ben gave a small nod and started to walk out of the temple. Ben was about to say something, but Kira Ann already knew what she was thinking. "You don't have to tell me now, Ben. We have time. Tell me when you're ready." After hearing that, Ben lightly kissed Kira Ann on the cheek to show his appreciation.

With a basket of food in hand, the two headed to the top of the water fountain. At first Kira Ann wanted to celebrate after Bens shipment was delivered, but he had insisted on celebrating the day before, saying that it would be their day off. Kira Ann suggested that they'd fly their, but Ben thought the walk would be good for them. Hand in hand, the two walked through the jungle in the fresh midday air.

"Do you want me to do the shipments tomorrow? I was hoping I could give Kai his book." asked Kira Ann.

"Why? Can't you just leave it with the rest of the shipment?" Kai, was the one who picked up the shipments every six months. She also worked alone and was alway constantly in space. About six months ago, Ben was too sick to bring the shipment, so Kira Ann delivered it; that's how she and Kai became acquaintances.

"Well I haven't seen her in six months. Plus she's alone all the time in space. She's not like you or me where we have each other. I just want to have some small talk."

"You know for someone who lives on a remote planet you really love to socialize." said Ben as he dodged a hanging branch.

"It's nice to have connections, sometimes. Like where did you find this place," asked Kira Ann, "and why haven't I seen it."

"Well I didn't ask someone if that's what your asking, but I've only been here one or two times. The first time was when I was trying to find any other training grounds nearby. Plus, I wanted to save it for a good moment."

"Well this better be a…"

Kira Ann stopped mid sentence as her breath was taken away by the view. Surrounded by trees and vines, the waterfall stood two stories tall, the sound of the waves blaring like the battle cries of an army. The water was a fresh crisp blue and the trees were a vibrant green; everything reminded her of of her home in Hawaii. An island surrounded by the life of nature. Stunned, Ben lead her up on the edge, in order to get to the top. When they finally reached the top, the two settled down in a shaded area under a tree, in perfect position for the view and the river.

"Ben this place is perfect."

"Haha, I knew you'd like it."

Placing a blanket down, the two sat down and began to eat their food in their basket. Living with Ben had been nothing but peaceful; living with Ben made Kira Ann realize how stressful and how her life had been. There were no family feud, no hateful crowds, and no senseless drama. The only thing that she did miss was interaction. People aside from, Ben.

"Slow down, Kira. That's your third sandwich."

Swallowing her last bite as she gingerly placed the sandwich on the plate. It normally wasn't like her to over eat, but it had been an occupancy for the last few months.

"It's not like you to doze off, what are you thinking about?" Ben scooted more towards Kira Ann, placing his hand on hers.

"Nothing I was just wondering if…. Ben where do you see us in the future."

"You mean like in a year or five years?"

"Just any future."

The honest answer was that Ben didn't really think about the future. He knew from experience that anything could happen; he also knew that the future wasn't so bright for him, so he didn't think about it much. All he did was think about the now, which was being with the one person he cared about.

"I don't know. I've always been told that the Force would tell me the future, but... I haven't really been... Actively seeking to know. I just rather focus on the now. Focus on us."

Though it wasn't the answer that she was looking for, Kira Ann had to admire his honesty, but it did make sense. She always liked it when Ben referred to them as a couple, it showed how much he cared about their relationship. Perhaps it was best not to put all her hopes to the future and just focus on the present. However, that didn't mean that Kira Ann did not want to make goals for herself in the future.

"Ben I've been thinking," she began as she turned her body to face him. Ben, still resting his hand on Kira Ann's, observed her as she talked. "I know I can't live on Wa-sta because of my conviction and you can't really live in to many places in this galaxy, but why not find another place to live."

Bens face paled while hearing this. All these questions started popping up in his head like: where would they go, why would she want to move, does she not like it here? Seeing Bens distress, Kira Ann attempted to calm him down.

"Just hear me out. There are some places in my galaxy where we would be safe. We could get jobs, have a house in the suburbs, start our own free life. We could even..."

"No." Said Ben quickly before Kira Ann could finish. "I don't think that's a good idea. We should stay here, where it's safer."

"But Ben..."

"But nothing! I'm not changing my mind."

Kira Ann's blood began to boil. How could he be so reclusive! "Surely you don't think we can liver here forever? Ben we maybe safe now, but we can't live here forever. What happens when you run out of books to record or we get attacked? I know you want to stay here because of what you did in the past, but you deserve to live your life."

"Can't you see? I've never had a life. I've never had friends, or been to a party, or even had a job that doesn't involve hurting people. I don't belong out there! No one would want to hire a man whose worked for the First Order; no sane person would want to have a neighbor that helped draw the galaxy into chaos; and no government would want to keep an ex criminal alive. If people found out I was here they would kill me for the crimes I've committed. Not everyone is lucky as you, where you get to be under house arrest for the rest of your days."

"Lucky?" yelled Kira Ann as she stood up in front of Ben. If she wasn't mad before she was furious now. "Sure I was 'lucky' to not get executed, but living we your family who despises you, having constant threats come at your door, and everyone who you ever knew abandoning me like I was some piece of trash. You were the lucky one Ben, you were able to escape and run away from all of it."

This time Ben stood up, ready as ever to fire back a response. "I never escaped it, it's always present. The nightmares, the visions, the force sight, all of it is a constant reminder of what I did. And I hate myself for it. I hate that I would be such a burden to others. I hate the fact that I was foolish and gullible enough to destroy the happiness I could of had. I hate that no matter what I could do now there is nothing I can do to make up for it. If you hadn't shown up that night I was about to..." Ben stopped himself from what he was about to say, as if a brick wall blocked his thoughts. Ben tried to speak again, but from the look on his face, Kira Ann knew that he couldn't say it. And she knew exactly what he was talking about, because she had been down that path before (but not as extreme as Ben).

"Ben I... I didn't know. I'm sorry."

"Why, you didn't do anything." And then it hit him; This wasn't Kira Ann's problem -it was his. Though Kira Ann had demons of her own, Ben could already tell that she had already come to terms with most of her demons. Ben hadn't faced his at all. Turning from her, Ben knew what he had to do. "I think you should leave and go to the next transport tomorrow."

"I don't think I should." Said Kira Ann defiantly. After hearing what Ben had told her, which was all news to her, she didn't feel it was safe to leave him alone. "Ben I can't help you unless..."

"I don't need help because there is no hope for me. You'll just be sucked in. Since your so set on living a happy social life, then you'll have to leave without me." said Ben firmly.

Kira Ann couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her heart didn't want to leave, but her brain told her that she needed to. Tentatively, she reached out to try and comfort him, but Ben just brushed her off.

"I don't want to be with you anymore. Your not welcome here." said Ben coldly.

"I would appear so," Kira Ann said as she tried to hold back her tears. "I guess... this is good bye." Rushing off into the forest, hot tears began to stream down her face as she headed back to the temple.

Ben, still at the waterfall, was shedding tears of his own. After doing the hardest thing he ever had to do, he knew now in the long run that him and Kira Ann couldn't work out. Unlike her, he didn't have that many options in his future, and there were only two that seemed very likely.

"It's safer this way," he said to himself, "I couldn't keep her trapped here forever. She deserves better than that."

No matter how many times he said that it didn't help him his broken heart.

Note!

Alright I know how this looks, but trust me they will be back together because they're going to have to work as a team to solve their problem.