Summary: Rey saw the darkness in him, but she also saw the light. She just hoped that when they met again, she would see Ben Solo and not Kylo Ren standing in front of her. Set after The Last Jedi.

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or any characters affiliated with it.
Cover art by elithien, permission for use was given by the artist.

"To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him. "

Buddha

Keep Marching On
08: One Day

Yawning, she woke up to someone jumping on her too-large bed. "Mama, wake up! Daddy's coming home today!" a high voice said from her left.

Rey just wanted another hour of sleep; was that so much to ask for?

"Mom," a voice from her right groaned. There were tiny hands shaking her shoulders while there was another pair pulling at her arms. "Wake up!"

Apparently, that was too much to ask for. "I'm awake," she muttered. Her eyes quickly opened as she forced the sleep away from her body. "I know your dad's coming home today – that's all you talked about since he sent the letter, remember?"

"I can't wait!" The little girl began jumping on the bed with her brother. "Kain, what time do you think he's coming home?"

"I dunno."

Yawning, Rey pulled her son into her arms and hugged him like he was a teddy bear. She felt a pang of annoyance at how fast he was growing and as a result, she snuggled him even more. "He'll be home before lunch." He told her this much through their open bond.

Not wanting to feel left out, Ami, the young girl, wedged herself into her mother's arms alongside her twin brother. "Are you sure?" Kain asked, looking at his mother.

"Am I ever wrong?"

The twins giggled and after Rey placed a messy kiss on her kid's heads, they both said, "Nope!"

Looking at her six year old children, she found herself having to hold back her large smile. In all sense, the two looked completely different – you wouldn't be able to tell they were twins just by appearances.

Ami, who was five minutes older than Kain, had jet black hair that was untamable like her father's with a temper that matched his as well. But there were hints of Rey in the girl – her love of tinkering and climbing things seemed to have passed down to her. Kain resembled Rey with his straight brown hair and calm interior., but the intelligence in his dark brown eyes were those of his father.

The two were a perfect balance in both appearance and personality – rash and stubborn, Ami found herself getting out of trouble by gentle and quiet Kain. However, the two were connected in ways Rey would never understand, no matter how long she meditated and consulted the force."Go get dressed, okay?" Rey, after letting them take another of the pushed her children out the door, only scolding them as the ran down the hall towards their joint room. "What did I say about running in the house?!" she yelled after them.

Then, a second later, "Sorry!"

Scoffing, she walked into the kitchen as she began to hear bickering from the bedroom. She knew that whatever the two were fighting about would somehow find itself resolved in a few minutes, so she didn't bother doing anything about it. She simply opened the small fridge and pulled out the basic ingredients for a small breakfast.

As Rey opened the package of bread, there was a gentle brush against her mind, telling her that her husband would be home soon.

Half an hour passed and as Rey pulled out the toast from the oven, her children's head shot up simultaneously. "I'm home!" a deep voice rang throughout the house, originating from the front of the small house. The steps that followed ended as a man stood by the entrance to the dining room with a medium sized bag in his hand.

The two kids, completely ignoring the meal they had been so excited for, shot past their mother as they jumped onto him. Their father staggered back a few steps from the impact as he caught them both.

"Daddy!"

"Dad!"

His laugh was so loud and filled the house with so much warmth that Rey smiled. Almost as if she was a teen, her heart skipped a beat at the smile that adorned her husband's face as he looked at the children.

"Welcome home, Ben." Rey walked around the counter as her eyes met his – they were full of love and light, there was no darkness in him. He was at peace with himself, with his demons, and he was no longer Kylo Ren. He was Ben Solo: a best friend, a lover, a husband, a father.

She watched as he greeted his children. "I missed you two so much," Ben muttered, placing a kiss on their foreheads. Ami and Kain glowed with joy at the fact that their father, who had been gone for the past month, was home.

Smiling, Rey reached him the moment he placed Ami and Ken back on the ground. "I missed you too, Rey." She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss – but they began laughing as there were sounds of disgust from behind them. The kids, a second later, rammed into their parents legs as Ami hugged Ben's legs while Kain was holding Rey's. "Mama just finished making breakfast and we're hungry – c'mon!" Ami urged, tugging on her father's shirt. "It's gonna get cold!"

"Go on ahead." Gently placing his unoccupied hand on Ami's head, he said to the twins, "Why don't you two set up the table? Your mother and I will be there in a second."

Eager to eat and please their father, the two ran off back towards the kitchen as Ben and Rey were left alone.

"Gods, Ben, I've missed this," Rey muttered as Ben's arms wrapped around her once more.

She felt the vibrations of his laugh as her husband kissed her. "Me too."

Hearing a crash and a, "I didn't do it," Rey groaned as she hit her forehead against his chest. She reluctantly pulled away as she muttered, "Those two are going to be the end of me, I swear."

But before she could rush to see what the kids broke, Ben quickly kissed her once more. "I love you," he whispered against her lips.

The fear that was once in his eyes were gone, replaced with tenderness that she never thought would be there.

"I love you too," she said in return.

She was whole, and as Ami and Ken listened attentively to the story their father weaved about his adventures in the galaxy half an hour later, Rey felt ready to explode: from warmth, from love, and from happiness. The pain that was in her during her younger years on Jakku were gone as the love she had for her children and Ben healed her, healed him, making way for a great life.

When the day ended and the children were put to bed, Rey found herself in the large bed with Ben, her head laying on his shoulder while he traced lazy circles on her naked body. She glowed with contentment and as she fell asleep, Rey knew that this was home.

– And so, when the dream ended and Rey found herself staring at the dark ceiling, she was not surprised to find herself sad and disappointed – disappointed in the sense that what she saw wasn't quite real and that there was a chance that the twins she saw clinging to Kylo would remain a just a dream, a what if. That she would never become a mother and would be alone in the galaxy. The tenderness Ben had looked at her with was nonexistent in the real world as well – the man she saw in her dream was a man that may never exist.

Turning her head, she saw the alarm displaying the time: midnight.

Knowing that she wouldn't be able fall back asleep, she slowly sat up and took in her surroundings. For the first time in her life, Rey found herself in a hotel room that would have costed her years worth of scavenging to pay for. Instead, it was free, as the city they were hiding in was sympathetic to the Resistance cause. Nearly every member of the ever small Resistance had a room to themselves, a room that was luxurious and open, with a service droid in the corner of the room.

Yet, despite how open it was, Rey only found it suffocating. As fast as she could, she kicked off her blankets and rushed to the patio, ignoring the beeping that came from the service droid.

Inhaling the cool night air, Rey's anxiety began to calm itself as her mind began to wander.

She had imagined this moment, being in a large city, since a young child yet, when finally seeing it before her eyes...she was disappointed. It wasn't what she had expected. She found herself missing the silence of the desert and the loud creaks from her makeshift home in the AT-AT, or the uneven humming of the Millenium Falcon. Something about being in a city full of people unnerved her – a girl who grew up alone was not accustomed to the typical sounds of the city.

"I thought you hated Jakku."

Smiling to herself at the voice, Rey slowly turned around and looked at Kylo. "I do, but that doesn't mean I miss the silence," she returned, her mood slightly lifting.

Taking him in, she noticed that for once, she was the one who was underdressed – only in a thin tank top and shorts, she was the complete opposite of Kylo, who was dressed head to toe in his First Order Uniform. Although seeing him in it caused a small part of her pain, she pushed it down as Kylo walked over to her.

He hesitated the closer he got near her but by the time they stood shoulder to shoulder, his reluctance disappeared as he heard – although muffled – the sounds of the loud city she was in.

"I always hated the cities too, if that gives you any comfort. They were too crowded for my taste."

Rey leaned against the rails once more as she rested her cheek against her hand. "Stories always made places like this seem wonderful but I know now that they're just that – stories." She sighed. "I just wasn't made for cities."

There was silence between them and while the air was beginning to feel awkward, Rey found herself stealing slight glances at the man next to her.

She was not quite knowledgeable in what most thought were attractive, but after hearing stories and seeing holos from the other scavengers back on Jakku and the giggles of the Resistance girls when Poe or Finn walked by them, she figured that Kylo wasn't what most thought attractive. Yet, there were things about him that she just found exactly that – attractive. The way he would brush his hair back or the way his brown eyes would slightly light up whenever he saw her…

Rey found herself falling and not even knowing it.

Feeling impulsive, she turned to Kylo and turned him towards her. Then, without warning, she threw her arms around him, ignoring the way he froze. He stood still as a pillar with shock radiating all around him.

"W-What are –" She ignored him as she buried her face into his shoulder even harder as she stood on her toes – times like this, she cursed their height difference. It took a few more seconds until she felt his hands find themselves around her but she found that they fit her perfectly, as if they were meant to hold her like this. "Is...is everything alright, Rey?" he quietly asked.

Rey pulled her head away to look at him and what she saw nearly took her breath away. There was worry in his eyes, but hidden behind that was fear and affection...and it was directed towards her.

Just like in the dream.

...Should she tell him of what she saw? Of the possible future that they could have together?

But the First Order symbol adorning his uniform she saw from the corner of her eye answered her unspoken question. As much as it hurt her, she knew that Kylo wasn't ready. It wasn't the time and instead, it might unstabilize Kylo more by making him feel forced to leave No, Rey didn't want him to feel that. It would be his choice – never her's.

So instead, Rey opted for a small smile before shaking her head.

"Just a dream I can't stop thinking about."

Then, returning her head back to his chest, she tightened her arms around him as she kept her dream locked behind mental barriers that even he wouldn't be able to see.

One day, she would tell him of the little girl who had his hair and his heart. One day, she would tell him of the little boy who had his eyes and his love for knowledge. One day, she would tell him of their possible future together in a small house, full of warmth and of happiness.

One day, she vowed.

A/N: Sorry for the superl]

ate chapter! After getting caught up in life – college application, homework, time for writing – I haven't really been writing as much as I wanted too. But the moment I got free time, I discovered another ship from SW that will probably kill me – Obidala. I don't know what it is about this ship but I fucking LOVE it.

Anyways, this chapter's probably riddled with mistakes but for now, here ya go.

Thank you all so much for the reviews – I love you guys so much :)

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Until next time!~

IntoTheDeep27