Ben was surprised when Rain invited Aubrie and himself to her boyfriend's family gathering, but pleased as well- any opportunity to spend more time with her made him happy. Aubrie did not share his enthusiasm.

"Empire Day?" She hissed, the next time they were alone in his room. "You want to help people we don't know celebrate the day we lost almost everybody we knew? The day that marks the birth of the dictatorship that is hunting people like us down, even now?"

Ben sighed. He had always respected and admired Aubrie for the courage she had shown in their time together- but there was no denying that sometimes, she had trouble thinking things through.

"It's necessary", he insisted. "The colony is not like Alderaan- the Empire has a much stronger presence here, which means they'll likely be watching us. If they see we are trying to avoid it, it may draw attention to us- the kind that ends in blood."

"Perhaps," Aubrie conceded, "but that's not why you want to go to this…gathering…is it? You want to go because of her."

Ben's shoulders slumped. He should have known his Padawan would see right through him.

"I suppose you think I'm being pathetic", he admitted. "Wanting to attend an event to spend time with a girl who's already involved with somebody else."

"And who also thinks you're someone you're not, don't forget that."

"I haven't. It weighs on my mind every day."

Aubrie had already figured this was the case. She had known Ben for six years now, ever since that horrible battle on Jabiim, where they had saved each other's lives over and over again- and had continued to do so throughout the Clone Wars, and the years since then. He wasn't just her Master- he was her best friend, and the closest thing she had to a brother. Despite her annoyance towards him, Aubrie would never hang him out to dry.

She took a step towards him. "I'll make you a deal."

"You will?"

Aubrie nodded. "I'll go along with you at Empire Day, I'll play at being a loyal, devoted citizen… but when it's over, we will tell Rain who we are, and why we're here. You and me. Together."

Ben hesitated, then nodded. "Together."

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be that simple. Life never was. You laid out careful, meticulous plans, and life came along and smashed them all to pieces.

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As time drew closer and closer to Empire Day, Rain steadily became more and more nervous about Tyler meeting Max. As she lay in her bed after dinnertime, the night before Empire Day, she mulled it over. Tyler was not stupid, she knew that. Would he be able to tell she had feelings for the other man? Would they end up fighting? Tyler was nice, but he knew how to throw a punch, and the thought of him fighting her gentle Max was more than she could bear.

Rain suddenly realised her train of thought. Her Max? Had she already started to think of him as hers? Did she want to break up with Tyler because of Max, or had their relationship simply run its course? At least now Rain had finally figured out one thing- she wanted to break up with Tyler. She was now starting to dread her weekend visits to him, and she knew a romantic relationship should never be a source of dread. Tyler didn't know Max had gotten her the new room, which she loved so much. How would he react to it? Ironically, she wondered if Max would have anything to say about this.

Rain suddenly realised, with a start, that she didn't even know if Max had been in a relationship before. She tried to picture him with another girl- and instantly felt a wave of jealousy so intense it threatened to choke her. Was this how Tyler would feel, if he saw her and Max together?

Rain buried her head in her hands as yet another disquieting thought entered her mind. She still didn't know how Max and Amara had managed to secure new rooms for themselves and her as well, and suddenly realised she was afraid of finding out. Amara had claimed it had nothing to do with money, but Rain couldn't see how else they would have pulled it off. Were they secretly rich? If they were, why would they come to be farm workers at Jackson's Star? Were they on the run from somebody? Whatever it was, Rain was scared to shatter the illusion she had constructed around the Felians- especially around Max.

But Rain was no longer a dizzy teenage girl gossiping about boys with her friends. She was twenty-five, and the idea of her and Max being together had become too tantalising to resist. If her and Tyler's relationship had already become an afterthought, she wanted to know if Max was her chance at the kind of love Rain had seen between her parents.

Though she had already seen Max less than half an hour ago at dinner, she realised she had to see him again. She had to see him now.

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Ben was starting to drift off when a message went off on his comlink. He was surprised to see it was from Rain.

Hey, are you still awake?

Ben quickly replied. Yes, I'm awake. Are you okay?

I need to see you. Can I come over?

Ben's heart was pounding as he replied. Sure, no problem.

Ben hurriedly dressed himself as he heard a knock on his bedroom door. Opening it, he felt his heart skip a beat as he saw Rain standing there, though he could sense she was nervous about something.

"Please come in", he ushered her inside. Fortunately, single rooms came with a chair and a desk as well. Ben took the chair while Rain sat down on the edge of his bed.

"So I, um…" Rain looked down at her hands. "I think I'm going to break up with Tyler", she suddenly blurted out.

Ben was taken aback. "Oh", was all he could think to reply, amidst the mix of feeling sorry for Rain… and pleased for himself, though he tried as hard as he could not to let it show.

"I'm sorry. Are you okay?" he asked- and was surprised to see tears in Rain's eyes as she looked up at him.

"I feel like we've kind of run our course. That's the main reason… but it's not the only reason," she mumbled, and suddenly Ben realised what she was about to say.

"I like you, Max. I have for a while now. I like being with you, I like talking to you… I like it when you make me laugh too."

Rain was blushing bright red, and Ben suddenly realised he was doing the same.

"I like making you laugh as well," he suddenly said. "I… I like making you happy."

Rain was smiling now but she was clearly still nervous, and Ben decided to set her mind at ease.

"I like you too, Rain. I… I haven't actually been in a relationship with anyone before… but I do want one with you. More than… anything I can remember, really."

"Oh. Not exactly a ladies man, are you, Felian?"

Rain was laughing now with relief at Ben's confession, but she had jolted him back to reality with her use of his fictional surname.

She doesn't like Ben Obrin. She likes Maxir Felian. She likes the idea of you, not who you really are.

Ben swallowed hard, and Rain suddenly noticed something was off.

"Are you okay? Do you need time to… think it over?"

"No", Ben replied. He had made his decision. He had been more than willing to follow Aubrie's plan and tell Rain the truth after Empire Day, but… well, life had a funny way of forcing your hand. He wanted to be with Rain, and he knew if she found out the truth from anyone other than him, he would lose her. And he didn't want to lose her.

"I want to be with you, Rain", he said, as earnestly as he could. "But first… there is something you need to know about me and my sister. A great many things, really."

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Rain had wondered if there was more to the story of the Felian siblings, and now she had her answer. Or at least, she thought she did, as Max surprised her by getting on his comlink.

"Amara, please come to my room. Bring your saber."

Her what? Rain was confused, as Max instructed her to stand up. He dug around under his mattress, and suddenly brought out what looked like a long, thin metallic cylinder, as Amara entered the room, locking the door behind her.

"You might want to sit down for this", Amara stated, pointing to the chair Max had been sitting in a moment ago. Rain was slightly taken aback by her assertive attitude. She'd always thought of Amara as a sweet, shy girl in the time she'd gotten to know her, and this didn't seem like her at all. Nevertheless, Rain sat down as Amara produced another cylinder-shaped… thing.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"It's probably better if we show you", Max answered.

A split second later, Rain almost fell off the chair as the cylinders in her friends' hands suddenly seemed to explode, a green light emerging from Max's device as a blue one emerged from Amara's. Then as her brain adjusted, Rain realised they were indeed… sabers. Lightsabers. How many times had she seen them in her school history classes back home on Alderaan? Then she saw that both weapons appeared to be hovering above Max and Amara's hands.

She knew, of course. Tyler and his family and the rest of the natives of LV-410 might have been unable to figure out what was going on. But Rain had grown up on Alderaan, which had always enjoyed a stable relationship with the Jedi Order, and she pieced it together immediately.

"You're Jedi", she mumbled. So, that was how they'd gotten their new rooms. Rain had heard stories of how the Jedi could manipulate minds…

The lightsabers suddenly dropped back into their owners' hands, and they were switched off.

"We wanted to tell you earlier", Max mumbled. "But…well…"

"You were afraid I'd turn you in", Rain surmised. It was no surprise. When the Empire had risen, it had made a very loud show of how the Jedi Order had betrayed the Republic, of how its remaining members were to be hunted down. Rain had always suspected there was more to the story.

"Whatever you have heard about us from the Empire, it is not true", Amara stated. "We were the betrayed, not the betrayers."

"Before we go any further, you should know the truth about us", Max stated. "My real name is Ben Obrin. Amara's real name is Aubrie. Aubrie Wyn. She has been my Padawan- my apprentice- for the last six years."

Six years. So, the beginning of the Clone Wars…

Max- Ben – and his sister- no, his Padawan- spent the next few minutes explaining how they had fled to Alderaan with Senator Bail Organa when the Empire had risen, and their Order had fallen at the hands of the Emperor, who was, in truth, a Sith Lord, the ancient enemy of the Jedi. Rain sat there in shock, struggling to process the sudden revelation, when the man she had thought she was falling in love with dropped another bombshell.

"We know about your visions. We knew before we even arrived here. We call it psychometry. It means you have a connection to the Force, like Aubrie and me."

Despite her shock, Rain immediately knew it was the truth. She had always thought it was possible something else was going on with her visions, something the doctors and psychologists and countless others couldn't explain- and now she had her answer.

"You came here… for me?" She asked, her voice coming out as a croak.

"We did", the man she now knew as Ben Obrin, Jedi Master, sat down on the bed in front of her. Amara – Aubrie- followed suit.

"We want to take you back to Alderaan, and train you, so you can learn to control your visions, and how to use the Force", Aubrie explained.

Rain didn't know what to say. She didn't even know what to think.

"You lied to me", she finally said, looking right at Ben.

He winced. "I'm sorry. I really am. But… I didn't lie to you about everything", he replied.

Rain knew it was true. She had seen in his eyes he really did have feelings for her when they had confessed them to each other. But she was tired, and she needed space, and she was dangerously close to bursting into tears from everything she had learned tonight.

She suddenly stood up. "I will talk to you in the morning", she said, looking right at Ben.

Then she quickly walked out of his room. Luckily, she made it to her own before she started to cry.

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Ben sadly watched Rain leave. He had seen, and felt, just how upset she was.

"You did the right thing, telling her the truth", Aubrie said, her hand on his shoulder. "She'll come around. She likes you, I can tell."

She liked Max Felian. Could she like me as well?

Sleep did not come easily that night. Could Rain ever forgive him? Ben did not think he could handle it if she hated him for lying to her. Maybe it was for the best if Aubrie and he cut their losses and smuggled themselves offworld- and yet, the thought of never seeing Rain again, of never seeing her smile, or hearing her laugh, sliced through Ben like a knife.

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Rain was so exhausted and emotionally strung-out, sleep quickly overwhelmed her. When she woke up in the early morning, she wondered briefly if she'd had a horrible dream the night before, but quickly dismissed it. She knew it had been real. At least now she knew the truth behind her visions. Like many others, Rain had dreamed of being a Jedi and fighting with a lightsaber when she was little. Now, it seemed, there was a possibility her dream could actually become a reality. Rain would have laughed if she wasn't so scared.

If she really was force-sensitive, it might be only a matter of time before the Empire hunted her down. Could Max and Amara- no, Ben and Aubrie, she reminded herself yet again- really help her? Rain didn't want to wear gloves on her hands, living in fear for the rest of her life. She wanted to go home to Alderaan. But most of all… she still wanted to be with Ben.

He may have lied about his identity, but he hadn't lied about his feelings. And yet, there was the unfortunate truth that Rain didn't really know who he was.

Well then, all you have to do is ask him, the logical part of her brain stated.

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Ben was woken by the sound of a knock at his door. As he opened it, expecting to see Aubrie, he was surprised by the sight of Rain walking straight past him. He slowly shut the door, and turned around.

"Can you really help me with my visions? Like, actually help me?"

"Yes. Neither I nor Aubrie are psychometric, but we can help guide you through your visions. With discipline, and training, you should be able to control them."

As he said it, Ben was determined to make it true. Even if Rain decided to hate him for lying about his identity, he was still hell-bent on helping her out. But then Rain surprised him.

"I understand why you lied. I might have done the same if I were you."

She took a step towards him. "Thank you for telling me the truth, but… no more lies. Promise me."

"No more lies. I promise you," Ben stated. "I screwed up, I know that, and I'm… I'm so sorry. More so than you can ever imagine. I… I never wanted to hurt you."

Rain hesitated, then nodded. "Do you still want to come to my friends' barbecue? Aubrie can come too, if she wants."

Ben smiled. "We'd be happy to."

Rain held out her hands, which he noticed were bare. As Ben reached out to hold them, he felt the warmth of her skin as their fingers curled around each other. Rain smiled at him, and he smiled back. The relief was overwhelming.

She doesn't hate me. If we never have more than this, I could die happy… but please, by the Light, let us have more than this.

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Before they set off, Rain was careful with telling Andy to stay behind. She didn't feel right about it, but after last night, she'd had all the tension she could take for a while.

"Wait here, okay?" She asked, setting Andy down on her bed. Andy didn't sleep, of course, he would spend the night where the other droids were stationed, with his power shut off, but Rain figured if he was to be left unsupervised, this was probably the best place for him.

"I'm going to Tyler's place. You don't have to follow me. Wait until I get back."

Due to Andy's advanced age, you had to be as specific as you could with him, lest he mix something up. Rain rubbed his arms, then kissed Andy on the forehead.

"I'll be back soon. Don't worry."

Andy smiled. "Okay."

Rain tried to smile back as she walked out. It's going to be fine. We're going to be fine. And after it's over, I'm going to have a proper talk with Ben Obrin, and we're going to work things out. Together.

As she saw Ben and Aubrie waiting for her outside, Rain felt a real smile emerge on her face.

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"Where'd you get that?" Rain asked, motioning towards the bottle of wine Ben was carrying.

"Bought it on the market last week."

"You bought it?" Rain asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I bought it. I promise", Ben assured her. Well, it was the truth. The Order had always hammered into its members how important first impressions were when it came to meeting new people. All part of playing peacekeeper.

As they passed people in the street, celebrating the third anniversary of the Empire's rise, Ben wondered how they would react if they knew what they were really celebrating. The rise of the Sith. The fall of the Jedi. An age of darkness… unless we choose to do something about it.

Ben tried to clear his mind. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. Let these people be.

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As they drew closer to the trailer park, Rain became so nervous she couldn't help dragging her feet. What if Tyler and Ben really did end up fighting? Rain did not doubt Ben and Aubrie could handle themselves- she had grown up on tales of the Jedi's combat prowess, and Ben and Aubrie had told her they'd fought in the Clone Wars the previous night. But if her "friends from Alderaan" gave off the slightest hint as to their true nature- Rain could not bear thinking about the consequences.

"Are you okay?", she heard Ben say to her.

"Did you just read my mind?" Rain asked. It was a serious question, but Ben just smiled.

"No, but I can see you're nervous. It's written all over your face."

Rain groaned, and Ben put his hand on her shoulder.

"It'll be okay", he reassured her. "We've remained hidden for three years now. We can handle a few hours with your friends."

You don't know them, Rain thought. Please let this go well. Please.

"Rain!" she heard Tyler call out as they approached. She could smell the food cooking, and her stomach rumbled. Tyler greeted her with a kiss, as he always did, and Rain tried very hard not to think about how she still meant to break up with him.

Even amidst all the revelations of last night, that still hadn't changed.

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"Hello", Ben said holding his hand out. "I'm Max. This is my sister, Amara."

"Nice to meet you." Tyler shook both of their hands with a smile, but Ben could sense the conflict within. Did he see them as intruders? Ben offered the wine to him.

"Uh… sorry I couldn't get the expensive stuff, but I've always believed one should bring a gift to a party", he said, playing the part of the meek, shy farm worker.

"We hope you like it", Aubrie offered, putting on a nervous show as well.

It had the disarming effect they'd intended, and Tyler took the wine with a smile.

"Thank you. Is this Alderaanian?"

"Corellian. Alderaanian is far too expensive for the likes of us, I'm afraid", Ben replied. That part was actually true- even when they had been on Alderaan, wine had been far, far too expensive for them to buy, and the market shop Ben had bought the Corellian wine from the previous week had its Alderaan counterpart valued at an obnoxiously high price.

Nevertheless, Tyler seemed grateful.

"Well, I appreciate the gesture. Please, come meet the others."

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Tyler led them over to his family. "Dad, this is Max and Amara. Rain's friends from Alderaan."

Tyler's father Gavyn, a big man with strong hands from working in the mines, shook the hands of Rain's friends, fixing them with a hard stare. He was a difficult man to impress, and Rain had always gotten the feeling he hadn't thought of her as good enough for his son.

If he had any inkling who "Max" and "Amara" really are, he'd probably be terrified of them.

Rain saw Ben wince briefly, but he acted politely enough.

"Nice to meet you, sir. Thank you for having us."

"You can thank me by giving me a hand with the grill", Gavyn replied, motioning Ben away.

Rain followed Tyler away to greet his sister Kay, giving her a hug. Kay had been the one member of Tyler's family who she'd always genuinely liked, and they greeted each other warmly.

"Hi Rain, so good to see you!" Kay exclaimed as they hugged. "And… Amara, was it? So nice to meet you."

Kay gave "Amara" a hug, which she clearly wasn't expecting, but she returned it anyway just to be polite. Rain could see Navarro sitting on a chair some distance away, but Bjorn's adoptive sister made no attempt to join them. Speaking of which…

"Where's Bjorn and Liana?" Rain asked.

Kay's face suddenly fell. "You didn't tell her?" She asked Tyler.

"I was going to", he offered lamely.

Kay rolled her eyes, but her tone was sad. "Did you hear about the mine explosion last week?"

Rain shook her head, but Aubrie was nodding. "Yeah, there was a gas leak, right? Three people died."

"Liana was one of them", Kay explained.

Oh, no. Liana and Rain had never seen eye-to-eye in regards to Andy, but Rain had never wanted her dead.

Poor Bjorn, losing his mother like that.

"Where's Bjorn?"

Tyler looked away. "Uh… sleeping. We thought it best not to wake him."

Passed out drunk. Bjorn had always had a weakness for the bottle, but Rain knew now wasn't the best time to be judgemental.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Rain asked.

"Didn't really know how", Tyler replied. "I'll… go put this inside," he said, motioning to the bottle Ben had brought.

Make sure you keep it away from Bjorn, Rain almost said. She couldn't understand why Tyler hadn't told her. Ben, at least, had had the guts to admit when he messed up. She suspected that when Tyler came back, he would try to change the subject, as he always did.

Another nail in the coffin of our relationship, Rain thought. On the bright side, another green flag for Ben.

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Andy sat on Rain's bed, trying to remember what she had said.

Going to Tyler's place… you… don't have to follow me… wait until I get back…

Did she say that? Or was it…

Going to Tyler's place… you have to follow me… don't wait until I get back…

Did he have to follow her? Should he wait? Rain's father had programmed him to do what was best for Rain.

You have to follow me… don't wait.

Tyler's place…

Andy liked Tyler. He was nice. Rain wanted him to follow her.

Andy quickly stood up and walked out of the room.

He would go to Tyler's. He should hurry- Rain had told him not to wait.

AN:

Hey everyone,

I have to admit, I really struggled with figuring out how Rain was going to find out Ben and Aubrie were Jedi. At first I had Rain accidentally finding Ben's lightsaber, but couldn't quite figure out how to make it work.

I also had the idea of Aubrie getting fed up and blurting out the truth, but I figured that her hurting Ben like that was out of character. For all their faults, they really do love each other like brother and sister, and I didn't want to drive a wedge between them.

So yeah, here we are. A story where the person at fault comes clean and admits their mistake, and the other person decides to try moving past it and forgiving them. I hope you understand why I wrote it like this- it just seemed far too toxic otherwise.