Luke appeared the next day quite late in the afternoon. Rey and Chewie had been preparing the Falcon for the Wookiee's return to the Resistance, which mostly consisted of getting rid of the porgs that had found their way in and repairing the small damages their attempts to nestle onboard had caused.

She saw him first as he stopped at the top of the steps leading to their improvised airstrip. Her eyes quickly skimmed over him – even from the distance between them she could see he looked awful but was unharmed. Upon making sure nothing bad had happened to Luke, Rey smiled brightly, her whole face lighting up. She had been worried and waved with as much enthusiasm as the animals she was carrying allowed. The armful of porgs squealed with delight at the motion. "Hey, Luke! Come help us!"

He raised his hand and returned the gesture with more moderation, making his way down.

"Hello, Rey. Hello, Chewie. What exactly are you trying to do?" There were deep shadows of exhaustion under his red-rimmed eyes, and the lines in his face appeared deeper as if someone had carved them with a blunt knife last night.

"Aaarghh, aaargh."

"Oh, I see." Luke nodded. His eyes darted between the two of them before settling on Rey, something unrecognizable flashing in them. He took a breath before asking, "When are you leaving?"

Rey frowned at the detached tone and thrust the porgs at him. "Chewie has to get back to the base as soon as he can. Now, I need to see to the hyperdrive. I think one of these little fellows somehow managed to squeeze in."

He was doing it again, of course; the look in his eyes, the tone of his voice. He heard the ship was going back to the base and assumed that Rey was going with it. Of course, he expected to be tossed aside at the first opportunity. She didn't have the patience to deal with that right now – not after spending the better part of her waking hours worrying about him. Rey needed a moment to herself otherwise she would punch him this time.

She stomped all the way to the hyperdrive, grabbed the nearest tool – whatever it was – and busied herself with it. The space under the deck didn't offer much room for movement, and she was too agitated to actually do something useful.

"Could you stop hitting it?" Luke asked after several seconds, and Rey looked up at him. He stood in the doorway, looking baffled and a little wary.

"I'm not hitting it, I'm trying to get the stupid ball of feathers out!"

"What have I done or said to upset you?" Luke inched closer and knelt at the edge of the hyperdrive. His eyes were worried.

"Stop, just stop."

"I'm sorry-"

"Will you just stop with that?!" Rey screamed and then buried her face in her hands in total embarrassment as Luke fell silent. She wasn't like this, she knew that. Perhaps the emotions they were sending back and forth through the Force dreams were making her act this way. She certainly didn't want to scream at him – Force, it was the last thing she wanted to do!

"Stop thinking everything is your fault. It's not, and I can't stand you always think that."

"Alright." The answer was delivered in a calm tone. When she peeked from between her fingers at him, Luke was serious, thoughtful.

"You do not disagree with me." Rey blinked at him, stunned.

"I don't." His face remained solemn, but the expression in his eyes softened. "I don't want to upset you, Rey. I hope you know that. That means I'll try to… adjust. But I said something to make you angry, so tell me what it was."

"It wasn't anything you said…"

"Rey, tell me."

"I just knew from one look at you what immediately went through your head. You thought I was going to hop on the ship and simply leave."

"I shouldn't be surprised you know me so well."

"You should know me better."

They stared at each other, Rey's cheeks burning with all the blood that was pumping in her veins agitatedly. Luke seemed to be unruffled by their discussion, but she wasn't fooled. This wasn't any easier for him. Talking feelings outside of the Force connection felt different.

"It is a logical assumption," he sighed. "I'm not getting slow in my old age, you know. When you were talking about the Resistance finding a new hero, I felt they had already found them in you."

Rey gaped at him. That wasn't what she had meant, she wasn't anybody's hero. Or was she? When the power within her had awakened, she had been scared. She had needed someone to show her Rey's place in all of this… and here Luke was, telling Rey about how she fitted in the grander scheme of things and perhaps he was right. She was more inclined to listen to him than to Kylo Ren.

"How could I ever stand in your way, Rey?" Luke smiled, a painful thing to behold, and his left hand slowly rose, hovering close to her face. When his fingers gently brushed over her cheek, Rey had to suppress a shiver. They were warm and roughened, but the feeling was pleasant. "How could I be so selfish as to try to keep you from your destiny?"

"My destiny's led me to you." Rey's answer was finite. She was not going to change her mind, not going to leave just because he thought she was better off somewhere else. She wasn't.

"Good." Luke chuckled, the sound resonating from deep within, and shook his head.

"Good? You agree with me again."

"It appears so, doesn't it? Now, budge up."

Rey did as much as the limited room allowed while Luke lowered himself next to her, squeezing into the small service space of the hyperdrive without much difficulty. Neither of them was a particularly large person, and the physical closeness wasn't as strange as Rey would have expected.

He smiled, turned and gently tapped the cooling unit with his good hand as Rey stared at him in wonder. He must have felt her eyes on him, before he whispered, "I spent the day thinking, you know. About everything."

"Okay." Rey leaned closer so she could hear him better. His voice was soft, and he glanced at her with bright eyes, his fingers still tapping on the unit. A muffled keening sounded from the inside.

"You have a great destiny awaiting you, Rey, even without the access to the Force I can see it. You will do things I wouldn't even dream of… and you deserve so much better in life than what you've got so far. I grew up cared for and loved. Damn it, my father grew up cherished and surrounded by people who believed in him. The fact that you stand before me, so pure and light and good… You inspire me." Luke swallowed and exhaled loudly, determinedly staring straight ahead. "The least you deserve is a Master who could accompany you on your path, to guide and protect you. I don't know if I can ever be a Master to a Padawan again, probably not, but… I will walk with you through fire and flames if that's your wish. I will not let you face your destiny unprepared and by yourself."

When Luke finished, he avoided looking at her and opened the unit. A shivering porg hopped into his outstretched palm and huddled into the sleeve of his robe. Glancing up at Rey, he said with a shy smile, "Here we are."

Rey felt as if she couldn't breathe, her heart was furiously pounding in her chest and tears threatened to spill from her eyes. She was well aware how monumental this moment was and how much it had taken from Luke to make the offer. Without any doubt, Rey knew where her place was in the universe – it was and always had been next to Luke, never Kylo Ren, never on Jakku. Everything had led her to him.

"Are… are you offering to come to the Resistance?" she asked in a small voice. She wasn't sure it was a good idea. No, she was certain it was not. She didn't want him to put her interests above his own wellbeing. Yet, the fact that he was willing to do so, for her, warmed Rey like a fluffy blanket wrapped around her shoulders when the temperatures dropped.

"Eventually." His eyes clouded, dark thoughts entering his mind. Seeing her expression, Luke tried to smile and gave her the shivering ball of feathers. "Take the poor animal for a moment, will you? I suppose that returning to the Resistance is inevitable. You are not the type to abandon friends and I possibly couldn't… But first, you need basic training – and I need time to adjust, as I've said. We can't do that on a bustling base in a middle of a war."

"Are you sure you want to be a part of that?" Rey couldn't believe he was still offering.

"Yes. I won't sit here on Ahch-To while you go off to save the galaxy. The connection goes both ways, Rey. I'm just asking for a little time for both of us to prepare." He pulled himself out of the hyperdrive quickly and then turned, kneeling. Rey offered the porg for him to take so she could follow, but Luke reached for her instead. His hands gripped Rey's waist gently, and he lifted her to the deck, setting her on her butt next to him.

"How does that sound?" he smiled and rubbed the porg on its head with his forefinger, raising his eyes to meet hers. The next moment, Luke was tackled to the floor and found himself with an armful of Rey who collided with him. "Oooph!"

The porg was safely kept out of harm's way in her palm as she hugged her friend with her free arm and whispered, "Sounds absolutely perfect. Perfect!"

"I'm glad you think so; took me the whole night and most of the day to come up with such a brilliant plan. But there's one problem." Luke lifted his head from the ground to look at her. He seemed almost content, and if he felt at least a half of what Rey felt, she supposed he was.

"Only one?"

"Only one." He paused. "With the winter coming soon, there won't be enough time to make one of the other huts livable. I don't even have the material needed, and I don't think you would like to brave the elements without a roof over your head."

Rey shuddered. On Jakku, winter had been a foreign concept. Days were hot and nights were freezing but here? She could not imagine Ahch-To's winter. "Does it snow here?"

"Yes. The winters are short, but we are in for 40 or 50 days of freezing temperatures and lots of snow."

"So, we'll have to share your hut?"

"I'm afraid so."

"That's not so bad."

"You say that now. I want to see you in a month's time." Luke's head fell back with a thunk. For a Jedi Grandmaster, he wasn't trying to act with much of dignity and Rey couldn't help it. She liked this side of him, the playfulness hidden in him.

After a few more moments, the two of them got up and returned outside. Chewie was waiting for them patiently with a large flock of porgs trying to get back onboard.

"Aaaarg, aargh?" He was happy to see them.

"All set," Rey said. "You are ready to go, I'll just have to grab some stuff from the storage and gather my things."

Both her friends offered to help. Chewie carried one of the cots from Falcon to the hut while Luke and Rey brought other supplies – warm blankets, clothes, the Resistance rations to sustain them if the need arose. When the sun was setting, Rey's cot was placed across the hut from Luke's, made up with blankets and pillows. The supplies were safely stored in Luke's hidden storage boxes in one of the caves above the settlement together with an encrypted long-distance comm that was able to reach General Organa.

They came to see the Wookiee off after everything was set.

"Arrgh. Aaaaargggh. Arghhh." Chewie hugged first Luke, and the man chuckled.

"Of course, I'll see you soon," he said, and then hesitated. "Tell my sister I will come when we are ready… and that I miss her, too."

"Arghhhh. Aaaargh." Rey came next, and she felt all the air leave her lungs when Chewie hugged her and lifted her in the air.

"Yes, yes! I'll keep an eye on him, and no, I promise not to get kidnapped again! Say hi to the guys and BB-8."

Then, without anything else that needed to be said, the Wookiee boarded the ship and a moment later the Millennium Falcon was just a speck against the starry sky.

Rey sighed and felt Luke shift his weight beside her. Without the light of the ship, the night seemed darker. He stepped closer and hesitated before he touched her arm softly. "Already missing your friends, aren't you?"

He was getting better at reading her. Rey nodded and wrapped her arms around herself. "Yes. It's strange – I've just met them but knowing how much distance is between us now and that I won't be seeing them for some time makes it harder."

"You will see them in time." Luke put his arm around Rey's back, and she let her head fall on his shoulder, soaking it the comfort offered. It put a smile on her face, the knowledge that from now on, there will be someone she could lean on, someone who would always return for her as Finn had done, someone who understood the dangerous path in front of her and was willing to walk it alongside her. It made her almost giddy to realize that it genuinely went both ways. Rey was there for Luke, and he was there for her. No more nightmares and nameless fears.

"Come, the night is getting cold, and I remember promising you fish for dinner."

"That was yesterday."

"Better late than never." Luke winked at her, and they shared a knowing look. Rey let him lead the way back to the hut, still with that broad smile which almost split her face in two. After they mounted the steps, Luke took her hand in his, and they continued on their way side by side.

Touching others on Jakku had been a horrible idea, and Rey understood that between people it was a sign of familiarity and trust. You hugged your friends and family, held hands with children and perhaps lovers. They weren't lovers, of course – the intimacy they shared was somehow more than any wedded couple could ever have. As always before, his left hand was pleasantly warm, the skin of his fingers roughed by hard work and Rey decided that it was fitting and she liked it quite a lot. It made him real and alive. She could get used to this level of closeness with him.

After dinner, they were both exhausted by the events of the last two days and went to sleep early. Luke had promised that her training would begin in the morning and despite how much she looked forward to it, Rey fell asleep almost immediately.

An hour later, she startled awake and sat up on her cot, blinking owlishly into the darkness of their home. She didn't know what had woken her, but at least it wasn't anything dangerous.

Rey looked around curiously and there, something tickled her awareness. It was coming from the direction of Luke's cot, and she gasped and put her hand in front of her mouth to stifle the sound.

She felt him. The feather-like sensation which brushed against her mind was Luke's presence. Muted, almost strangled with the tight ropes he had put around himself, but still there.

"Luke?" she whispered, but he didn't answer. His breathing remained deep and steady. He was asleep

Rey lay back down and closed her eyes, concentrating on the tiny trickle escaping Luke's iron control, inspecting the feeling. It was only a faint echo, a sliver of what his presence would have felt like in the Force, but Rey drifted off to sleep content as it mingled with her own, their connection humming with happiness.

Luke's presence was all things warm and safe and colorful.