Epilogue - Added July 29, 2019

Eight months later…

Under the light of the full moon, Kylo Ren stared up at the night sky, waiting for Rey to come home. The wind was just cold and humid enough to feel crisp, and he could hear waves gently lapping at the shore of the lake his academy had been built beside. "Come on, Rey," he muttered. Soon, a new bright spot appeared in the sky and gradually grew closer until Kylo could make out the familiar shape of the Falcon as it landed.

Rey bounded out a minute later and leapt into his arms in a tight hug. "Missed you," she said. Chewbacca also followed Rey out, though he remained a respectful distance away.

"Missed you too," Kylo answered. He leaned down and meant to kiss her briefly, but on the sensation of her lips against his, he got carried away until Rey broke free with a giggle. Kylo grinned shamelessly. "The mission?"

"A success. Canto Bight is no longer a safe haven for corruption in our galaxy. I also have a surprise for you. Well, more like Army and Rose do."

"A surprise?" Kylo asked. "Army and Rose? Wait, since when did you and Hux get so friendly?"

Rey rolled her eyes. "Since I spent a month helping him and Rose deal with the less diplomatic aspects of cleaning out the rats. Worried?"

Kylo frowned. "Should I be?"

Rey shook her head and grinned, then used the force to pull his face level with hers so she could kiss him. "No," she murmured against him. "At least not about that. We've got company."

Kylo broke free when he heard a second ship landing beside the Falcon. He looked up just in time to see Hux come out of the ship. A moment later, Rose followed with a small human boy attached to her side. Rey beamed at Kylo. "Another one? Already?" Kylo said.

"His name is Temiri. He was a slave at Canto Bight. Rose said he actually helped her the last time she went with Finn," Rey explained. "He still has the pendant she gave him then."

"Huh," Kylo said, sizing the kid up. The boy was lean, but seemed strong. "Well, I'm sure the other boys will be happy to not be outnumbered anymore."

"Ren," Hux said as he reached them. He shook Kylo's hand, then pulled Kylo into a quick hug.

"Hux. Good to see you," Kylo said.

Hux stepped aside as Rose approached. The boy at her side started shaking his head fervently and clinging to her even more tightly. Hux cleared his throat. "The boy has a sense for when someone's done bad things. He actually tackled me for being with Rose," Hux said wryly.

Kylo frowned and knelt down to the boy's height. "Hi there. I hear your name is Temiri?" he said.

"Tem, it's okay," Rose said. "Kylo's a friend."

"How? He's killed so many people… Jedi too. I see their lightsabers. They called him the Jedi Killer," the boy whispered, horrified. "Rose, why did you bring me to the Jedi Killer?"

Kylo's heart ached. It seemed he would never fully escape his past.

Rose knelt down beside Temiri. "I know he's a scary man in lots of ways, and he's done a lot of bad things, but he has a good heart, Temiri. Don't you remember the story of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader that Threepio told you when we went to visit General Organa, and how even Darth Vader changed in the end?" Temiri frowned uncertainly.

Kylo turned to Rey. "You saw my mother?"

"She sends her love," Rey answered. "She's also wondering when you will visit her next."

"When I can trust that Lando won't shoot me on sight," Kylo grumbled. "He won't leave her side!"

"General Organa is your mother?" the boy asked, finally addressing Kylo directly.

"She is, which also means Luke Skywalker was my uncle, and Anakin Skywalker, whom you know as Darth Vader, was my grandfather. The force is strong in my family. A creature named Snoke began targeting me when I was a teenager to twist my mind towards darkness. He nearly succeeded for a time, but I never completely abandoned the light. Rey here, whom you already met, gave me hope again, and I betrayed Snoke to save her life."

"And then you were on the good side?" Temiri asked.

Hux snorted, and even Kylo chuckled awkwardly. "Not exactly, but it was the start of an avalanche. I had visions that Rey was in danger, and I came to the Resistance to save her. While there, I became friends with Rose and Hux among others, and I accepted the light in myself alongside my darkness."

Kylo paused. "I am neither a jedi nor a sith. I am simply a man who tries to maintain my balance within to use the force with wisdom. I built this academy to provide a safe place for all who wish to learn the ways of the force, no matter how dark or light their tendencies are. I will also teach you how to protect yourself against those like Darth Sidious, who corrupted Anakin Skywalker into becoming Darth Vader, and Snoke, who corrupted myself."

"Who will protect me from you?" Temiri fussed.

"I will," Rey said, stepping forward. "I normally live at the academy too. And while I do teach, part of my official role here is to make sure Ben keeps in line. It was part of the terms for how to handle the others."

"Others?" Temiri asked.

Rey explained. "Eight months ago, when the First Order and Resistance ended the war, we uncovered eleven children frozen in time and hidden away by Snoke. They were all talented with the force. Four of them returned to their families for now. The remaining seven joined us here to become the first students at the Academy. They are about your age. Since then, we have also had several others of different ages join us from across the galaxy, including several adults. In total, there would be sixteen students here, should you choose to join us."

Temiri shuffled his feet. "Well, it's not like I really have a choice. Are you sure he's okay now?" he asked Rey.

Rey smiled. "As sure as I am that anyone is okay. No one is immune to change. If you're ready, I'll have Chewbacca take you in to get set-up and introduce you to the caretakers."

Temiri frowned. "Won't you or Rose come with me?"

"We would like to catch up, but I'll be here to see you in the morning," Rey said. Temiri pouted, but he went with Chewbacca without further argument. Rey smiled after him. "He's a good kid."

"Reminds me of someone else," Kylo said affectionately, drawing Rey to his side and kissing the side of her head.

Hux rolled his eyes at their display while Rose positively beamed at them. "I always knew you would be a good match, even when you were still pretending to be Matt," Rose said.

Kylo chuckled. "Yes, Matt Dumbsky, clueless radar technician."

"Don't forget his faithful companion, Rax Arkanis," Hux added. "You really were desperate, weren't you, Love?" Hux said, addressing Rose and taking her hands in his.

"We were shorthanded," Rose muttered with a blush. She frowned. "Who will manage the academy during the wedding?"

"A field trip to the BB Alliance HQ on Myrkr was conveniently scheduled to overlap with the wedding," Kylo said. "Rey and I will slip away to watch your nuptials and then return before our absence is noted."

Hux blew out a breath of relief. "I'm glad to hear you won't be taking any chances with this batch."

Rey shrugged. "Most of them would probably be fine here, but they do get in fights, occasionally, and without someone stronger in the force…"

"Not to mention those twins," Kylo added. "The girl's alright normally, but the boy is trouble, and his sister follows."

"You are taking appropriate precautions?" Hux asked.

Kylo nodded. "As I said, they will remain on Myrkr while we can't oversee them directly. The boy is not evil, Hux, simply trouble. He is one of the older ones, a teenager."

"Just like someone else was at that age," Rey said affectionately and hugged Kylo tightly. "Oh, Ben, Finn will be coming too! The stormtrooper freedom initiative is going well enough that he feels comfortable stepping away from it. He even has a date, a girl he met in the trooper program!"

Kylo frowned. "I'm surprised you invited him," he said, addressing Rose and Hux.

Rose shrugged and smiled. "He and Army are actually friends now, oddly enough. I mean, we have been pretty distracted with Canto Bight, but Army and Finn had a lot of contact over the stormtrooper programs, and then with Poe being a mutual friend… Well, it just kinda happened. Finn has felt awful about his behavior on Myrkr too."

Kylo was not sure whether to feel more relieved or disturbed. He was glad Finn was no longer a problem for Rose, but Kylo already saw more of Finn than he cared for through Rey. If Kylo had to start sharing Hux with him too… Kylo frowned.

"We're actually a little more concerned about inviting Poe," Rose added. "He still has a thing for Army. It's not serious, but I still wouldn't put it past Poe to object at the wedding."

Kylo chuckled at that. Poe had been a regular visitor to the academy as well, visiting both him and Rey, and if Kylo was not mistaken, also one of the older apprentices there.

"So have you two picked a date yet?" Rose asked. "Don't try to deny it. Rey showed me the ring!"

"Uh…" Kylo looked hopelessly at Rey. "We still aren't…"

Rey smiled and wrapped her arm around his waist. "What Ben is trying to say is that, even though we are very much in love and have every intention of spending the rest of our lives together, we're still taking time to figure things out with the academy before we try to plan a wedding."

"I still don't see why we can't just elope," Kylo muttered.

Rose gasped and slapped Kylo's wrist. "Don't you dare. Your mother would be furious! I would be furious!"

"My mother is all but dating a man who very much would like to see me drawn and quartered for murdering his best friend!" Kylo reminded her.

"Is Lando still hung up on that?" Hux asked. "Didn't he sell out your parents himself at one point? You would think he would show more understanding."

Kylo ran a hand through his hair. In truth, his mother had said Lando had made good progress coming to terms with Kylo's darker days, but he had not missed Lando's glare in the background of the holo communications he had with his mother.

"You know, I thought you would have the academy sorted out by now, especially with how you flew off with Rey before we even had the BB Alliance settled, leaving all the work on the First Order side of things to me."

Rey narrowed her eyes at Hux. "Army, it's like I told you before, Ben and I have had a lot to sort out. Picking a location was just the first step. We had to hire caretakers to manage the land and the basic care of the children, teachers for the regular subjects, guards to help protect the place, cooks, medical staff, therapists to help the children process that they had been asleep years in most cases, not to mention most of our students have trauma relating to their abilities and how those around them didn't understand. One of the girls had been literally burning at the stake for being a witch before she was rescued!"

Hux frowned. "You still had eight months. The stormtroopers didn't require nearly as much time to adjust to their new lives."

Kylo snorted. "Well, we're not brainwashing our students, and your stormtroopers can't kill someone without lifting a finger if they get angry enough. You do realize that the mental stability of our students is paramount to both their own safety and the safety of everyone they encounter."

Hux forced a pout. "I suppose. Well, even if you two do elope, I expect an invitation for me and Rose. We are, after all, your best friends."

Kylo smiled at that. "So you are."

Hope that answers some of your remaining questions about the future of the characters! Yes, I left the BB thing intentionally ambiguous. You'll just have to wonder. :) If you're looking for more reylo stories by me, I have a Reylo one-shot collection and 4 other multi-chapter Reylo stories I have completed.

Thanks again for all your support! Please review!