Author's note: Yes, I am fully aware I am the slowest updater in the universe.

Chapter 2

Not so good memories come to Luke's mind as he sees Rey, her back against a rock, her head buried in her knees, instead of doing her exercise of the day. It is hard to blame her. The bond still troubles her, and he knows she has trouble sleeping at night. She tries to contain her feelings, her thoughts, as she grows increasingly paranoid that he might see something she doesn't want him to see. Sometimes, she can't help but chuckle at that precaution, since anyway, he went into her mind once.

It had been terrifying. While he was searching for something that was obviously not a map, tugging at some strings of her memory that suddenly seemed extremely blurry, she saw images she didn't recall at all, but also images she knew didn't belong to her, but to him. They were invading her, and what she was trying to do was to keep him out of her mind, until she realized she couldn't do it anymore. It was then she ordered him to get out of her head. She was actually surprised, at that moment, of how authoritative her voice had sounded. She was certain no sound was going to be able to get out. And most especially, he had obeyed.

But she had learned. And Rey was a survivor, and had to live according to the good old principle of an eye for an eye. When she entered his mind, she saw weakness she never expected to see, and especially, what would hurt him the most.

She had thought at that moment that perhaps he wasn't bad to the core. There was a sentiment of wandering she couldn't help but compare to her own. After all, she had felt hers very deeply during the interrogation, just as much as she had felt his.

She had genuinely believed that he would reconcile with his father. Her gut instinct told her that it was what he actually wanted. She had been nervous, as she had observed the scene unfurl under her, but her optimism got the better hold of her and she quickly became positive everything would arrange for the better. Han Solo would get his son back, and she would find her parents one day as well.

When the lightsaber pierced Han, however, her first reaction was misunderstanding. She had been wrong, and she hated being wrong. In the past, she had never been the kind to hold a grudge against anyone, may it be those fellow scavengers who had left Jakku stealing some ship she had fixed and which she wanted to sell for portions, leaving her hungry self behind without a word of goodbye. There was also Finn who had lied to her about his involvement with the Resistance, but at the time, she was so scared that he would leave her behind she had been unable to get angry at him. She knew she should have been mad. But like every time, she wasn't able to.

With Kylo Ren, however, the betrayal was there, and it bit her deeply. This added to Han Solo's death, and he was definitely on the list of people she knew she would never forgive. Ever.

She finally breaks from her thoughts, as she noticed Luke had sat just beside her.

"Tell me," he says softly, "did… did Han ever tell you Ben had been my student once?"

For a moment, Rey is confused. Then she remembers. Ben, of course. It was Kylo Ren's… other name. She wants to turn away in frustration. She cannot believe people like Han Solo and General Organa can give birth to such a monster.

"I think he mentioned something like that," Rey finally replies. "He said something about an apprentice destroying everything you had tried to build."

Luke smiles sadly. "It is true. It's a bit more complicated than that, though."

He is glad to see Rey turning towards him, intrigued. He had feared at first she would chuckle and refuse to hear more. Luke can't help but think that while she has every reason in the galaxy to despise his nephew, such behavior is not at all the Jedi way. He has to try to extinguish such a feeling as quickly as possible. Or else…

"Ben was my first apprentice. Other came soon after him, but he was the first to arrive. Leia was planning to leave him under my responsibility for years. He is truly the most promising apprentice I ever had. The Force is strong in my family. But I doubt anyone has been as strong as he is. Not even my father. We have quite a legacy behind us. Our father Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader were one. The Republic didn't know about that for years."

"They didn't?" Rey asks in astonishment.

"Certainly not. It would have ruined Leia's career as Senator, and there was so much to do build a New Republic. She couldn't permit that to happen. We simply revealed we were twins, born form Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala. That's all. People thought my father had died during Order 66 like almost every Jedi and that my mother had died in childbirth. The Emperor was very careful to separate Anakin Skywalker from Darth Vader. It helped. We all agreed not to tell anything to Ben."

"Yet… he knows."

"Yes. We planned to tell him when he would be older and more… receptive. He already had so many expectations on his shoulders. But there was more. When he was still a child, he showed… rather worrying behavior. It didn't help that he was quite powerful from a young age, and that it often resulted in… accidents. Nothing too serious, but still. Han didn't know how to handle him right. I don't blame him. He's never been at ease with those things. Leia was busy and had a duty towards the Republic. They both loved each other, but their relationship has never been… let's say, stable. And Ben was a boy who especially needed attention."

"Why is that? I…" Rey is about to mention that she has grown without her parents, but she manages to watch her tongue. Luke, however, guesses the rest.

"The First Order is led by Snoke. I… don't know where he comes from. I have never even met him. I don't think so, at least. All I know is that he was strong enough to influence Ben ever since he was born, and Leia wasn't able to do anything to fight him off. She hoped I could do something about it. Meanwhile, I had built a life of my own. I got married, and we had a son. When the First Order made its first attack, my wife and my son were the first victims. That's when I decided to found a new Jedi Order, and when I was ready, I took charge of Ben. I encouraged Leia and Han not to contact Ben too much. I don't know if it was a mistake."

"Why not?" Rey shouts in shock. "Wouldn't he want to see his parents? That's…"

"I thought it was better this way. You see… I'm not fighting with the Resistance for a reason."

"Why? General Organa needs you. We all need you. That's one of the reasons why I've come."

Luke sighs. "I'll finish this story first. I was a busy man. I tried my best to help Ben, but I was as unsuccessful as Leia. Whenever he tried to lock Snoke out, he would get mentally tortured. Sometimes, he managed to resist. But the more the time went, the more it became difficult. Thing is, he became better and better at hiding it. And that's my fault."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I probably oversaturated him with serenity and all of that. What I tried to do to bring him peace didn't work. He managed to escape those speeches by hiding things from me. And I started thinking everything was starting to get better. There was something else that helped for a while. It didn't last long."

For a moment, she sees Luke glancing at her. She frowns, not understanding the meaning of it. He quickly turns away.

"Anyway, I had to leave. Ben was around nineteen at the time. I left him in charge with two other padawans his age. I thought everything would be fine. But Snoke had gone after another student, and had managed to manipulate him into searching some archives containing information about my family. The padawan told everyone about it and convinced them to go after Ben. He wasn't very well-liked, and Snoke probably just increased their paranoia. What happened is that Ben tried to defend himself, and… I don't know if it was him or Snoke. Padawans died."

For a moment, Rey stays speechless.

"Ben had done accidents before. He's never been able to fully control his powers. But he had never harmed anyone that severely… much less killed anyone. He ran off. I never heard of him afterwards for years, even though I searched for him with Han and Leia like crazy. Didn't help that we could feel he was alive somewhere. It was hard. There was so much damage done, because everyone knew about our father. The Jedi Academy closed since I couldn't be entirely trusted. Well, some people in the New Republic were looking for the first excuse to get rid of me and any Force-users. They had their share with Darth Vader. They were very distrustful. Leia kept her place in the Senate for years, even though it was hard. Then one day, about four years later, the First Order attacked some Senators. Ben was among them. Leia lost her place in the Senate that day. That's when she founded the Resistance."

"But how could he have turned against all of you?"

"I don't know. I don't know what happened during those four years. I'm not sure I even want to know. Sometimes, you have to turn someone to the Dark side through pain. And…" Luke pressed his metal hand against his forehead. "Imagining what he must have endured is already enough."

"And you? What did you do?" Her tone is accusatory.

"I looked for him. When he revealed himself as Kylo Ren, he made his intentions clear: he wants to finish what Darth Vader has started."

"And what's that? Rebuilding the Empire?"

"No. Turning me."

"You?"

"Yes. I am strong with the Force. My father saw it, and attempted to turn me to the Dark side. And I know I'm not immune to it."

"You're not? But… it can't be…"

"When I confronted Darth Vader for the last time, he threatened to turn Leia instead if I didn't comply. I got angry, and I gave in to the Dark side and lashed at him."

For a second, Rey wants to tell that he is right, and that he has every reason to react in such a way. All she can do at that moment is to imagine herself at Luke's place and imagining Finn threatened in the way Leia has been. But she controls herself, realizing with horror that just there, she has proven to herself how weak she is.

"That's one of the reasons why I hid here. No one will find me, and the galaxy is safe. If I joined my nephew, I don't know what would happen."

Rey closes her eyes during Luke's last sentences. It was a lot – no, too much information to swallow all at once. She has received the answer to many of her questions, but somehow, it has left her even more confused than before. About Ben, Kylo, whatever his name was. She doesn't even know, now. Both of them seem like two entirely different people.

"I may be the last of the Jedi, but I didn't even get the training one would usually get. Mine lasted barely a few months. I proved myself to be a terrible teacher. Now, I help the best I can. By staying away, and finding an answer for Ben."

"How?" Rey hears herself ask.

"I found out the first Jedi temple was located here, on Ahch-To. I came here for answers. Answers for Ben."

Luke gets up. "That's enough for today. But ponder on what I've said, Rey. The old Jedi forbid strong attachments for a reason I've learned the hard way. And don't keep any hate or resentment in your heart. It can only lead to no good."

The more time went by, the more Ben had trouble to sleep.

His mother had always told him that not sleeping would definitely be a bad thing if he wanted to become a Jedi one day. They always had to be awake and alert.

But it wasn't his fault. It was those nightmares again. And the Voice would come and soothe him, tell him everything was fine, and that they would protect him.

It didn't put him back to sleep quickly, though.

At those moment, he would always head outside and go stargazing. He only hoped Uncle Luke or anyone else wouldn't find him and ground him for not being in bed in the middle of the night.

He had found a little spot outside, just beside a small tree. Uncle Luke had planted it with him when he had arrived at the Jedi Academy. Ben was quite tall for his age, and the tree barely reached his shoulders at the time. His nine year old self had trouble believing it would become taller than he was, but now, despite its still skinny trunk, the tree was indeed higher. It reminded him of himself. He was now a tall, awkward, gangly pre-teenager, and he felt incredibly clumsy for a future Jedi. The tree would eventually grow into something strong and resilient. And that was what Uncle Luke hoped for his nephew.

Ben, however, wasn't too sure he would succeed.

He sat down, curled up in a ball and took a few deep breaths, trying to relax. But barely a few seconds later, he smelled something burning near him. As he lifted his head up, he felt heat and saw smoke coming right behind him.

Was his tree burning?

He didn't hear the usual crackle that came with wood burning. What he heard was a heartbeat. It was a faint sound, but it grew louder and louder until he finally gathered the courage to look behind him.

There was no tree burning. It was at its place, its leaves swinging softly with the wind. There was only Rey.

"What are you doing here?" he asked quite roughly. "You should be in bed."

She crossed her arms and scrunched her face. She was quite fond of that facial expression whenever she was going to prove him wrong. "You should be in bed too, Big Stupid. You're going to get grounded too."

"Hey, Shrimp, you're not going to tell Master Luke?" Ben did his best to look as standoffish as he could. But he was admittedly genuinely worried Rey would go and prattle about his nocturnal sprees to Uncle Luke.

She shrugged. "I get up at night too. I can't sleep. I'm never tired enough." This didn't surprise Ben. Rey was such a ball of energy, and she was always the first one to be awake in the morning and to run everywhere, rushing through ranks of half-asleep padawans, including Ben himself. She collected either annoyed groans or tired yet sincere laughter as she chattered to each of them, but always to come back to Ben and hug him tightly. He was always the grumpiest of them all, but every morning, Rey always managed to pull a smile from him.

"That's why you're such a grumpy head in the morning," she pointed out, despite Ben glaring at her. She giggled. "Why can't you sleep?"

Her childlike innocence didn't notice how uncomfortable Ben suddenly seemed. "I do nightmares. That's all."

"Oh." Her voice sounded very flat. It was a rarity. For a second, it worried Ben. She twisted her hands together, in a way only an old woman could. For some reason, such a sight brought a shiver down Ben's spine.

"Do you do nightmares too?"

She hesitated before answering. For someone usually so spontaneous, this made Ben's concern increase. "I did one. It came back… three times." She signed three with her fingers.

"Are they really scary? Do you want to talk about it?" he asked softly. He remembered how his mother used to do the same with him, when she was present, of course. Every time, he hoped finding some sort of comfort, only to see his mother seem just as, not to say even more terrified than him while he would tell her what he would see. She did her best to hide it and reassure him the best she could. Someone less sensitive than Ben would have found peace. But he could feel his mother's fear, and this most deeply.

She sat down, crossing her legs together. She bit her lip. "I dream that I'm really, really high, on top of a cliff," she started, gesturing up with her arms. "And there's no one around. Well…" She took a deep breath. "There's someone mean in the dream telling me that there are people down the big cliff." She let out a small sob. "And he tells me I pushed them. I don't believe him, but it's really mean of him."

Impulsively, she jumped on Ben, hugging him tightly, while all he could do was to hug her back.

"I don't think you'd push anyone down a cliff, Shrimp. I think you'd rather save them."

Rey immediately got up, straightening herself like a soldier. "Of course I would. I'm going to be a Jedi one day. And you'll get in trouble and I'll have to save you because you're a Big Stupid."

In another circumstance, Ben would have been annoyed. But he was so genuinely happy of seeing Rey smile again, and so quickly, all he could do was laugh.

In the meantime, Rey was looking at the ground, seemingly hesitating. "Do you want me to sleep with you?" she asked. "To chase the nightmares away. And you'll chase away mine."

It started that night. And for the nights afterwards, Ben didn't know what kind of special power Rey held, but as long as they slept in the same bed, the nightmares never came back.

Author's note: Happy to announce we'll be seeing Finn in the next chapter! Of course, this is a Reylo fic, but expect Finn to play a big part in this story! ;)