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Chapter One: The Dream

Three Years After the Battle of Exogol

Rey gazed thoughtfully at the temple entrance, admiring the stone walls she had resurrected, which had undoubtedly witnessed multitudes of Jedi knights come and go. They were ancient slabs hewn by some of the first Force wielders. Most of the hieroglyphs were still unintelligible to her, despite her efforts to decode them through using the sacred Jedi texts.

She was proud of the feat she had accomplished; this would be the first training center built since peace had returned to the galaxy. Located on the tangled jungle planet of Ledeve, Rey believed it to be a safe location for this first school. The planet had been abandoned after the Clone Wars following General Grievous' destruction of the temple, save for a few species of creatures who had adapted permanently to the environment.

Rey found a sense of peace while breathing in the heavy, humid air that smelled of growth and longevity. She hoped that future students would feel the same promise of life's fullness when they arrived. The trees and undergrowth, ancient and winding, showed resiliency in the face of loss. She imagined that many of the first students would understand loss given all that the galaxy had undergone the past decades. She certainly had been no stranger to its cold certitude.

With a sharp intake of breath, Rey's mind darted once more to the faces of those she had lost: her parents, Master Skywalker, General Organa, and Ben. As she was often wont to do, Rey dwelled on the memory of Ben's final moments with her on Exogol – as he held her in his arms, as he beamed at her with positive brilliance following their first and only kiss.

While she barely comprehended it in the moments following her resuscitation, she later pieced together that Ben had passed the entirety of his life force to her so that she could live. She had enjoyed but seconds with the man before he passed on, becoming one with the Force as his mother had. Rey had wanted to spend a lifetime with him.

Their connection had been undeniable long before their last embrace. She had felt it during the first moments of his interrogation of her on Starkiller Base, which seemed like eons ago. Her encounters with Ben, even while he claimed Kylo Ren as his true name, made her feel lightheaded, as though she were moving at light speed and in slow motion all at once. She had felt this incomprehensible need to touch him, body and soul, even during the moments she had loathed him most.

She understood better now the significance of them being Force-bonded. Together, they were personification of the balance in and between all living things. In more simpler terms, they were bonded souls – meant for one another. Even now, three years after his passing, she felt the truth of it in her bones. And because of that truth, she had vowed to remain celibate. Besides, she could no more consider pursuing another love than changing her lineage. She and Ben were a mated pair, even if one was no longer present in this material world.

Blinking her eyes deliberately in an effort to dispel those recollections, Rey moved slowly up the stairs to the temple entrance. If she was being honest with herself, she knew she would return to thoughts of Ben in the later hours of the evening. She always did.

In the meantime, she would make use of the daylight and continue to renovate the ancient temple. There was still so much work to be done. Rey knew Finn and Poe could not understand why she had chosen to sequester herself on a lonely planet halfway across the galaxy. They spoke often enough using the new messaging technology Maz had recovered in the aftermath of the battle on Exogol, but her two friends still wished she would not condemn herself to solitude for the sake of rebuilding a long-destroyed Jedi temple.

They did not realize how much Rey felt changed in the lead up and aftermath of their victory over the Last Order. She did not expect them to comprehend the gravity of her situation; while it was obvious to her that Finn was sensitive to the Force, he was in no way expected to forge a path forward for new Force wielders. Nor did Finn and Poe understand the utter loss she felt in losing both Leia and Luke, who had been her mentors in the Force for only a brief period of time. She had undergone very little training compared to the education Jedi were expected to have experienced by her age. Now, it was her job to create a means for others to learn of a power she had only recently discovered and harnessed within herself. The responsibility resting on her shoulders was almost too much to contemplate at times.

She knew Finn and Poe would also have little understanding, or sympathy, for her connection to Ben, who had been – and possibly would always be – Kylo Ren to them. She had never spoken to them of her final moments with Ben on Exogol, knowing the two newly minted generals already had trouble believing he had turned to the Light in the end and helped her defeat Emperor Palpatine once and for all. She supposed she could not fault them for only seeing him as the villain, given that they had witnessed his wrongdoings for far longer than she had been aware of them.

Still, it was difficult to pretend constantly that she was as joyful and eager to forge this new era of peace as they were. She had never been a proficient actor, and so it was easier to remain secluded while she worked to secure a way forward for herself and future Jedi.

When at last night blanketed her area of Ledeve, Rey collapsed onto her cot in the temple's inner sanctum with a blessed exhaustion that suggested she may rest uninterrupted until dawn. Closing her eyes and releasing an extended sigh, she drifted swiftly into a heavy sleep.

From her vantage point, the lake was a beautiful shade of cerulean. White and grey gulls circled above, calling intermittently to one another. It was a cloudless day, warm still from a sun that was slowly approaching the horizon. Wherever she was, it seemed to be the afternoon. She noticed two moons rising near the east, nearly equidistant from one another.

After some time, Rey became aware she was leaning on a balcony attached to what appeared to be some sort of living quarters. It reminded her vaguely of monastery designs she remembered seeing in some of the Jedi texts, except this building was gargantuan, with great white walls and silver doors that hung on hinges the length of trees. Farther beyond, she noticed a network of smaller buildings, which had the appearance of individual houses. It was lovely, if not slightly overwhelming to behold.

"It's meant to be a representation of all former and future Jedi temples," the voice beside her spoke in a quiet tone that somehow echoed all around Rey. It was not just any voice, she knew. There was only one voice she had heard in such a way before, only one voice that could command her attention and send her heart stumbling into a beating frenzy.

Ben.

Denying her nearly immediate reaction to turn and search for the owner of that voice, Rey squeezed her eyes tightly shut. It was in part to keep the tears at bay, which were already threatening to fall, but also to save herself from the disappointment of finding no one beside her once more. Of course, she had imagined hearing Ben's voice before. It was usually in the quiet moments of the evening, when there was no more light permitting her to rebuild the temple. It was always soul-wrenching to turn involuntarily and search for his figure, only to find nothing but the jungle expanse around her. She would not face that heartbreak again, so she stood in mute anticipation for the feelings to subside.

"Rey," his voice echoed. It sounded so near to her and yet so far.

"This isn't real," she said through gritted teeth. She could hear the grief in her voice. "I'm going to turn, and you won't be there."

There was a moment of silence. Then: "Turn and look at me. Please," the voice implored, emphasizing the last word.

Rey wasn't sure she could withstand this much longer. She reasoned that at least if she followed the voice's request now, she could get the disappointment over with quickly. It would be like ripping off a bandage – the pain would come first but she knew a numbness would eventually replace it. With a sharp exhale through her nose, she slowly opened her eyes. Turning to the left, she gazed in silent shock.

He was here. Ben. He was here, right in front of her. Fresh-faced, whole, and impossibly brilliant. To Rey, he looked more handsome than any memory she had managed to conjure over the past few years. His raven's wing hair was an inky blue where the sunlight touched it, his brown eyes bright and full of life. He looked as though his years of rage and grief had fallen like a weight from his shoulders, no longer drowning him in darkness. He offered her a small, half smile and held out an upturned hand. An invitation, one he had given her before in wholly different circumstances.

Unlike the previous occasion, Rey did not hesitate to act. With a half-contained sob, she threw her arms around him and marveled at the seemingly impossible realness of his body, of his arms as they wrapped around her in a solid embrace. She heard his heartbeat fluttering inside his chest where her ear pressed firmly against him. She smelled the sea salt and pine that scented his loose, grey tunic. Rey could not make any sense of this moment, but she refused to let it go. If it truly was an illusion, she would cling to it happily for as long as possible.

After what seemed to Rey like moments or perhaps hours later, Ben pulled back from her embrace and cupped her face in his hands. They were warm, nearly covering the entirety of her cheeks and jaw. He looked down at her intently, his eyes darting rapidly back and forth as if he too was trying to savor these moments together.

Unable to stop herself, Rey raised up on tiptoes and leaned in to kiss him. He responded immediately, meeting her halfway as their lips collided in the softest of kisses. With one arm banded around her waist, he moved the other to grasp the back of her head, fingers tangling in her hair.

A slight moan escaped the back of her throat as his fingers brushed the sensitive skin at the nape of her neck. Her mouth parted slightly, and it was enough to goad him further. His tongue swept between her lips, brushing her own. The hand on her waist moved lower, gripping her hip. It was enough to set her blood boiling. Opening her mouth wider, Rey deepened their embrace, returning his movements with equal fervor. He groaned as she lightly bit his lower lip, and Rey melded herself to him, needing to feel every inch of him against her.

They had never shared a kiss like this before, but it was as though their bodies knew precisely how to move against one another. It felt to Rey as natural as breathing, as true as the call to Light side. Their embrace filled her with a sense of rightness she had not felt since their first and last kiss on Exogol. She would have happily drowned herself in this feeling.

Finally, Rey broke away, a bit breathless. "How is this happening?" She whispered, fearing that if she spoke too loudly, this wonderfully impossible reality would shatter.

After a few beats of silence, Ben responded with equal softness. "I have been trying to reach you all this time – through the Force, through whatever means I could muster. I have been trying for so long, Rey." He leaned in to place a delicate kiss on her forehead.

Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, slipping down to touch Ben's hands. It all felt so real. So very, blessedly real. "I've grieved for you every single day, Ben Solo. You have no idea how much I've wanted to see you again, how much I've wanted just to talk to you," she replied.

Ben leaned back to look at her, giving her a bemused smile. "I think I may have some understanding," he said. She huffed a laugh.

"Yes, well, I suppose that could be true." She reached a hand up to grip his, where it still rested on the side of her face. "Is this actually real? Or am I dreaming?" she wondered aloud, in part as a question to him. "I suppose if this is all a dream, then you won't be able to say otherwise," she continued.

Ben straightened to his full height and released her face, only to rest his hands lightly around her waist. Rey had forgotten how tall and imposing his frame was. He stood at least a foot taller than her.

"This is real, although your physical body remains asleep. I am reaching your subconscious self through the Force."

"Similar to astral projections?" Rey interjected.

"I believe it is somewhat similar, although I do not know of anyone else like me who has tried to contact a living person this way," Ben replied. After a few moments he spoke again. "I had to see you again, Rey, if only for a moment more." He brushed her cheek softly with the back of his hand. She closed her eyes, savoring his touch.

"I had many regrets in the end," he said quietly, as if to himself. "One of them being that I could not spend a lifetime with you."

Rey wrapped her arms around his waist once more, hugging him tightly to her. "I wanted to spend a lifetime with you too," she whispered. They fell into silence, Ben smoothing his hand up and down her back in a slow, steady rhythm.

After some time, she looked up at him once more. "How long do we have? Together, like this, I mean."

"I don't know. As long as I can maintain the contact, I suppose. I wasn't expecting such a successful result, if I'm being honest," he grinned slyly, reaching to twirl a lock of her loose hair around his finger. He had the look of a little boy who had found an inventive way to nab something off limits.

"Are you alone most of the time?" she pressed. "Or do you get to speak with other Force spirits? Have you seen your family?" A pause, then she burst out excitedly, "Have you met anyone super cool and ancient?" Rey felt a million words bubbling on her tongue, threatening to escape without consideration of the words. It had been so long since she had talked to another person, besides the brief updates and replies she exchanged with Finn and Poe.

Ben chuckled at the barrage of questions, giving her a toothy grin. "I see others from time to time, although I'm not sure how the Force dictates when and where. Most of the time, I am here, in this place." He looked at the scenery around them. "It is a peaceful place to exist."

His focus returned to Rey. "I have seen my family, yes. Unfortunately, no one super cool and ancient has paid me a visit yet, I'm afraid," he said, bemused. Rey grinned sheepishly as he repeated her phrase back to her.

"Maybe we could walk around, or find some place to sit and talk? I want to hear every detail, spend every moment that I can with you" she said, taking his hands in hers and squeezing them gently.

He gave her a lopsided smile, interlacing his fingers with hers and raising them to kiss the back of her hand. "Of course. I want to hear everything about you, too."