A/N: So, I'm really nervous to be sharing this, and I never intended to post it in the first place, but ever since I saw Rise of Skywalker, I haven't been able to get this idea out of my mind. I want to make it clear right off the bat that while I've seen all the movies multiple times, I haven't read the comics or books or any EU stuff. I'm fact checking as best as I can, but please understand if I miss something. This takes place after The Last Jedi, and while it doesn't follow the plot of Rise of Skywalker, I do borrow several of the main plot points, so spoiler warning.

This story will also contain a fair amount of cursing thanks to Poe and Kylo, and some heavy smut. If that's not for you, then this story isn't for you. That's just how I write. Without further ado, I'll let you get on with the story.

Emperor Palpatine was nothing if not a patient man. He had spent 35 years in Exegol, hoveringin this existence somewhere between life and death. His time was almost complete. He would finally strike out. His granddaughter was, at long last, strong enough to host his spirit. Very soon, he'd be able to put his final plan into motion.

But before he could take any definitive actions, he felt a disturbance in the Force. And if what he felt was true….

Palpatine was a patient man. And if that patience meant he would have the opportunity to train the most powerful Force-sensitive person the galaxy had ever seen, then so be it. All he had to do was wait one more year.

~HtTF~

Rey's entire body ached. That shouldn't have been surprising to her—Leia had picked up where Luke had left off as best she could, and it was clear from the beginning that she was going to be no easier on Rey than Luke had been.

Of course, Rey had been training with Leia for almost a year now. While she had been sore for the first few days of working muscles rarely used before, that had gone away quickly enough. Now, it seemed no matter what she did she couldn't relieve the pain, especially in her feet. Her feet were the worst.

She had just stepped out of the 'fresher, hoping that the hot water would soothe her muscles. It had helped a little bit but now all she wanted was a nap. That was something else she couldn't explain, but she was constantly tired. Luckily, it was nearing dusk on Ajan Kloss. No one would think twice if she decided to go to sleep early for one night.

There was little privacy in the Resistance base, so Rey had taken to sleeping on the Millennium Falcon whenever it was available. Poe was scheduled to take the ship on a mission within the next couple of days, but until then, she made her way up the ramp and into the hangar. From there she slipped unseen into the crew quarters.

Before she went to sleep, she was supposed to meditate. Leia had always been clear in her instructions about that. But that was another reason Rey slept abord the Falcon—she didn't want Leia knowing that she hadn't meditated in weeks.

Rey hated disobeying Leia, but at this point, she didn't see another option. Meditating and opening herself up to the Force was only an invitation for him to see her again. And after their last encounter, he was the very last person she wanted to see.

Of course, she could simply tell Leia that she was far too afraid of seeing him to meditate. But that would mean having to tell her master what had happened, and she couldn't stomach that. No one could know her secret.

Well, no one except him. Kylo Ren.

As much as she tried, she really didn't have secrets from him anymore. It was all she could do to keep the Resistance base unknown to him. Despite Snoke's claims that he had been the one to link them together, their Force-bond hadn't disappeared following his death (leading Rey to doubt the validity of these claims). She didn't know what power was at work, but she hated that her whole being was bared to Ren.

And since their last encounter, Rey couldn't stand to even look at him. She had felt him a few times through their Force-bond, and each time she'd done her absolute best to shut him out again.

Maybe if she could just pretend that nothing had ever happened, she could move on from the incident. No one knew anything about what had transpired. Even Finn, Poe, and Chewie, who had been on that mission with her, were completely unaware that nothing had gone according to plan on her end. She could go on pretending she hadn't betrayed the Resistance in the worst possible way.

Yeah. Right. Forgetting would be so much easier without him constantly probing at her mind. The mere thought of him was a constant reminder to what she had done. She couldn't forget any sooner than she could forget her own name.

She turned over restlessly, pulling her covers up around her. Ajan Kloss had a warm climate, but that was from humidity, a stark contrast to the dry heat of Jakku. Despite her year of planet-hopping, forcing her to grow accustomed to different climates, she often found herself cold. Usually, this kept her from falling asleep right away.

But tonight, she was so exhausted, so utterly spent, that even feeling cold couldn't keep her awake. That exhaustion in and of itself was strange, because she hadn't had a particularly intense workout. And despite her thoughts tormenting her, dwelling on them wasn't worth losing sleep. What was done was done.

So she rolled over once more, eyelids drooping. She didn't even have time to close her mind before she drifted off, dreaming fitful dreams of a volatile red saber and intense, yet soft, dark eyes.

~HtTF~

Kylo Ren furiously paced around his quarters. She'd continued to shut him out, and he was infuriated by it. And even more infuriating was the fact that a mere scavenger could have such a profound effect on him.

No, not just a scavenger. She was Rey, his equal in the Force. Her beginnings and where she came from, things she was so obsessed with, mattered little to him. All he cared about what that he needed her, here, now, and she was purposely drawing away from him.

Everything he had should have been enough for him. He was the Supreme Leader of the First Order, and they were about to achieve victory over the Resistance. He was probably the most powerful man in the galaxy. Yet it meant nothing to him if he couldn't have her.

He shouldn't need one person so badly. He'd shut out his heart to everyone, had even murdered his own father in cold blood. But for as long as he could remember, there had been a storm inside him, and nothing he could do could calm it. Embracing the Dark Side was supposed to have calmed it. It hadn't. Killing Han Solo was supposed to have calmed it. It hadn't. Even fighting what was left of Luke Skywalker and knowing that his uncle who had tried to kill him was now dead had done nothing. No, each of these events had just fueled the storm, causing it to scream louder and louder within him….

And then she had come into his life. The Force had called out to her, and even joined them together, but it had taken time for him to understand why he was so drawn to her.

It had happened the moment her hand touched his. For the first time in his life, Kylo Ren had known peace, happiness, and something else he wouldn't dare give a name to just yet. All he knew is that the world ceased to burn around him. There was only her, and she was all he wanted.

And for the first time in many long years, Kylo Ren had yearned, just for one moment, to be Ben Solo again.

But the one thing she asked for he could not give. He had offered her the entire galaxy, a chance to rule without the First Order or the Resistance, just the two of them reigning as equals, as they should be. She hadn't wanted that.

All she had wanted was for him to come back with her, and that was the only thing he couldn't face. How could he show up to the Resistance and expect them not to immediately demand his execution? There had been so much pain he had wrought within their ranks, and he knew the Resistance would never forgive his countless crimes.

And yet, for Rey, he might have been able to stomach it… if not for one thing. His mother.

For all that Kylo Ren had done to rid himself of all sentimentality, he couldn't bring himself to be the one that ended his mother's life when they had been attacking the Raddus. Nor did he think he could ever face her again knowing that every time she would look at him, there would be mistrust, even hatred, over what he did to Han.

So he stayed in the First Order, where he didn't delude himself into thinking he was liked, but at least he was feared enough to the point of being respected. And he'd wanted so badly for Rey to come with him, to be his queen. But just like he couldn't join the Resistance for her, joining the First Order was the one thing she wouldn't do, not even for him.

No, it wasn't that. It wasn't about joining the First Order. It was that Rey couldn't bear to leave the Resistance, whom she saw as family, behind.

He scoffed at that. She didn't need them, but he didn't know how to make her see that. He could give her a new family, a family of just the two of them. He could give her the entire galaxy if she wanted.

Snoke had told him that the galaxy would be his for the taking once he embraced the Dark Side, and once he, Kylo Ren, ruled over all, he would finally know peace. But if the galaxy ceased to be, and Rey remained, he would be happy. What good was the whole galaxy if he didn't have her?

The last time he'd seen her in person, he thought he almost convinced her to take his hand. He could feel how much she had wanted to through their Force-bond, could almost hear the word 'yes' on her lips. Yet she had still turned him down in the end and chose to go back to the Resistance.

She was more than enough for him. So why wasn't he enough for her?

Thoughts raging around his head, he subconsciously reached out to her through the Force. The act came as naturally to him as breathing now.

She didn't instantly push him out, and he hated how quickly hope flared up within him. But immediate further probing proved she couldn't block him out at the moment—she was sound asleep.

He didn't like to spy on her dreams. He was sure that if he did, he would once again be forced to relive Han Solo's death, and it would be infinitely worse looking at it through her eyes. He didn't want to feel her intense loathing of him, didn't need to see how much of a monster he'd appeared to her.

But before he could leave, he saw just a flicker of what she saw. His curiosity piqued, he stayed just a little bit longer.

He hadn't been imagining things; it was his own face that he had seen. But she wasn't looking at the hard face of Kylo Ren, whose eyes were consumed by hate. No, the person she saw was tender, hesitant, and looking down at her with that unrecognizable emotion in his eyes.

He withdrew as fast as he possibly could, probably startling her enough to wake her up, but at the moment he couldn't care less. All he cared about was getting away from that image as quickly as he could, even though he knew, even then, that it was going to be burned into his mind forever.

He couldn't be that man that she saw, the man she wanted him to be, the man he wanted to be for her. He was too far gone down the path of the Dark Side. He didn't see how anyone would ever be able to pull him out again. Not even her.

~HtTF~

As Leia watched Rey ascend the ramp into the Millennium Falcon, she felt a heavy pang in her heart. Rey was going to have to come to terms with the truth soon, though Leia doubted anyone other than her had sensed what she had sensed.

There was a storm brewing, that was for certain. And not just for Rey, but for the entire Resistance. This couldn't be kept a secret forever, and how were they going to react when they learned the truth? Some might be moved to sympathy, but those whose emotions ran hotter, like Poe, might be problematic.

But whatever happened, Leia vowed to protect Rey. She'd come to think of Rey like a daughter, and more importantly, now that Luke was gone, Rey was the last of the Jedi. She might be the only hope the Resistance had.

And, quite selfishly, Leia believed that Rey might, just might, convince her son to return to the Light. She had hoped that Han could've done it, but Rey and Ben were connected by the Force in a way that Leia had never seen. And now Ben was free from Snoke's influence. That could be the tipping point he needed.

But if that day did come when her son would return, it would be a long, arduous road. She would have to be patient and hope that he would turn before the First Order could destroy them.

It was a long shot, unlikely at best, but she had faced worse odds before. All she could do now was be there for Rey, who was sure to need allies more than ever, and hope. There was nothing to do but hope.

~HtTF~

When Rey woke the next morning, she was disappointed but unsurprised to find that she still wasn't rested. Her body still ached, and she wanted nothing more than to pull her covers up to her chin and close her eyes for a while longer.

But she couldn't. She had her training with Leia to get to, and she was lucky that habit woke her up before she could be too terribly late. She threw her usual clothes on and met Leia in the grove she used for meditation.

"I know I'm late, I'm sorry," Rey mumbled as she entered the clearing, and had to stifle a groan when she saw that Luke's lightsaber was firmly tucked away and the rocks were strewn around, the same as she had left them the previous day. She was sure Leia was going to have her attempt to get in contact with the Jedi who came before her again. So far, Rey was striking out on that particular endeavor. Not even Master Luke has made himself known to her yet, and she was getting frustrated.

"It's alright," Leia murmured, but Rey couldn't help but notice that the general appeared uneasy. She wanted to ask why, but knew better by now. During training, Leia was her master, and it would be impertinent for her as a student to ask what was bothering Leia.

"Sit down, Rey," Leia instructed, having already seated herself on the ground. Rey sat across from her master; legs folded as if she were about to meditate. "Reach out with the Force," Leia said as Rey closed her eyes. "Don't try and get in contact with the Jedi from the past today. Focus on who shares the Force with you in the present."

That was a task Leia had never given Rey before, but she was nonetheless open to trying something new. She stopped herself from reaching back and instead focused on who she could sense in the here and now.

Leia, of course, was a great pillar of light in front of her that was almost as blinding as a sun. And no matter how far away she was, physically, from him, she could always sense Kylo Ren in the back of her mind. While Leia was strong and consistent, Kylo's dark energy was always flickering, and occasionally tiny bursts of light would break through. Rey moved away from him quickly before he sensed her and tried to get in contact with her.

Instead, she turned her attention to a new being, one that she couldn't immediately identify. This new being wasn't light like Leia or dark like Kylo it simply… was. And it was close to her, closer than even Leia was now.

It took Rey a moment, but she suddenly realized this being almost seemed to be sharing her own life force. But it couldn't be her own powers she was sensing—she'd reached out to the Force that flowed within herself in the past, it had never felt like that before.

Her eyes shot open as she felt like she'd just fallen from a great height, even though she knew that her body hadn't physically moved. "What is that thing?" she asked Leia, her breath coming out in pants. "That thing connected to me, could you feel it too?"

Leia looked at her with sad, tired eyes. "Yes, I felt it," she sighed heavily. Rey watched her, silently begging her to explain. "That's your child, Rey. What you sensed was your baby."

A/N: So, that's the opener. I generally write longer chapters than this, but I knew that this was where I wanted to end the first chapter, so you can think of this as a prologue of sorts. Like I said, I'm really nervous about this one, but I hoped you liked it, and if you're so inclined, leaving a review would really make my day.

One more thing. I haven't seen too much of this on FF, but it's on every other corner of the Internet, so I think I'll just mention it this once. I know that the sequel trilogy is really polarizing in the SW fandom, but any hate in the comments or towards other readers isn't going to be tolerated here. I'm totally cool with letting people have their own opinions, but in turn please respect the opinions from others, even if they differ from your own. Just let people enjoy what they're going to enjoy.

And with that, I'll see you next time. Hope to hear from you in a review!

~TT