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As the twin suns slowly set over the horizon, Rey couldn't pretend anymore. It was too much. Too much pain to endure in such a short time. All the healed wounds have been reopened, and memories started flooding her mind. She saw her parents as they smiled at her, only to relive again the memory of them being dragged into a bounty hunter's ship. She wanted to help them, but was too scared to even move a bone. They told her to hide in one of the baskets and that someone would come and get her. They didn't, however, specify who. She hoped that they didn't intend to leave her with Unkar Plutt and that her real rescuer was either killed or simply forgotten about her.
She tried to remember whether they ever told her who she was, yet nothing came to her mind. She was too young to understand. What if they wiped her memories? Were they also force-sensitive?
As soon as the celebration started at Ajan Kloss, she sneaked out, grabbed her things and left in Luke's X-wing. She didn't have time to think about where to go, so when Ben suggested Tatooine, she didn't question it. Now she thinks she should have, as going to yet another desert planet wasn't her intention.
Why? She remembers thinking to herself, the moment she saw the planet she was heading towards.
I don't know. At that moment, I couldn't seem to remember anything. This was my first thought. She heard Ben respond to her like they were having an actual conversation. And yet she was still alone in her cockpit, and he was probably already at the surface. It seems that their bond grew stronger after Exagol. Now it wasn't just sporadic bond openings when they could see and hear each other; all their barriers fell. She didn't know yet to what extent, but somehow she wasn't anymore scared about it.
Exagol. She wished she could forget about this place. After all, she died there, but Ben brought her back. So she did the same when she felt he was slipping into oblivion. She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't be alone again. She doesn't understand what exactly happened, but she remembers that for a moment they both were healing each other. The next second, none of them seemed to be dying, so they decided to get out of there. Now all that mattered to her was that both of them were alive.
When she landed near her late master's house, she quickly jumped out of the ship onto the ground. His ship stood not far from hers. She couldn't tell how much time had passed since they last saw each other. A few hours at best. She tried to be quick with her stop at the resistance base.
"Rey", she heard a deep, familiar voice behind her that finally snapped her out of her thoughts. She turned in an instant and smiled with relive. He smiled too, a view that was still a bit strange for her, but she couldn't help but slightly melt at that sight. They both started to close the distance between them to finally fall into each other's arms.
~
"What is it?" Ben asked with worry in his voice when the tears started to pour from her eyes.
"I can't believe it's actually over", She nearly whispered. Her eyes seemed to be stuck at a non-existent point. She reached for Leia's lightsaber at her belt and turned her attention towards it.
"What should we do with them? Should we leave it here? After all, that's where it all started."
"I think the ghost of my grandfather and Luke would hunt us for doing this; they sincerely hated that planet." He commented with a small smirk. Rey couldn't help but also chuckle.
"Then let's not do that. We will find them a better place to lie and collect dust"
"Since we are on this topic, what..." he didn't get to finish that sentence when they heard an old lady's voice in the distance.
"Who are you?" She asked. She has probably been staring at them for a while now. She couldn't blame her; they must have been quite an interesting view. Two ships in the distance, an X-wing and a TIE fighter, both falling apart and as they represented two sides of the conflict, they must have looked absurdly together. The same could be said about them, still covered with dust and blood from the battle, now also kneeling on the sand; they must have been drawing attention.
They glared at each other before answering.
"I'm Rey", she stood up as she gave the anticipated answer.
"Rey who?" The old woman asked again, clearly unsatisfied with the answer and ignoring the fact that the other person didn't respond to her.
She was about to respond, but for some reason, this question struck her more than ever before. She already heard it so many times, and always it was the same answer - "I don't have a family name", "just Rey", "nobody". She should just respond with one of those and move on, and yet it felt like it wasn't true anymore. She knew her full name now, and she knew who her parents were. "Rey Palpatine" - saying this could only bring her problems. Everyone would hate her, and she wouldn't blame them.
Thankfully, she didn't get to answer the question because Ben did so.
"Miss, please leave us alone". He wasn't even trying to hide his irritation with the old lady. He also stood up next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. That seemed to get the message across, as the old woman only looked at them with bitterness and whispered something to herself, but then started to walk away.
Thank you she said to herself, but was quickly reminded that he heard it too, as the grip on her shoulder tightened. So she turned to face him and smiled.
"Now that we are uninterrupted. What now?" He finished his previous question and let go of her.
"I don't know", she answered with honesty and added, "I never even planned to leave the Jakku, I was just surviving one day after another" his eyes darkened upon hearing this. He wasn't surprised to hear it, as he knew about her past since the day they met. She didn't see pity in him, but understanding and compassion. Even though he was in a completely different situation. He achieved what he wanted; he ruled the galaxy, like Vader.
And yet I gave it up, he responded, even though she was certain this time he didn't hear what she was thinking. "You didn't need to, I could tell from your face"
"Then why did you do it?" This question has been haunting her for a while now. To be honest, she's been asking this question too many times now.
"You don't know?" She looked at him with confusion. How could she know? Was it really for her...? His eyes softened at the sight of her hesitation. "I wanted you to stay with me".
She couldn't tell what she felt now. Happy, but also doubtful. It's not like she couldn't believe he wanted that. He made that pretty clear for the past year, but she wanted to forget about it. It was easier to rethink what happened at the Supermacy and Ahch-to. But now, when there was no war to fight in, no side to take, she could consider what that meant for her.
"I told you I wanted to take your hand. Ben's hand." She grabbed his hands. "And I suppose now I can", she nearly didn't say that last part, but decided it's better now than wait any longer. She shyly smiled at him, hoping he didn't change his mind, after everything she did. She kind of tried to kill him a few times after all. He blushed at her confession and slowly freed his hands from hers. The second she began to worry, he put his hands on her cheeks and leaned to kiss her.
It didn't feel much different from the one they shared previously. Less desperate, and more gentle, but still full of hope and pure passion. She deepened their kiss and laid her hands around his neck, as his left hand moved to her back.
When they split, they breathed heavily for a moment, leaning their foreheads against one another.
"Then let's just stay together. We will figure something out"