Legacy | A Star Wars AU

Two

"How did you do that?"

Gaia jumped from her cross-legged position, startled from her meditation practice. She quickly whirled to surprisingly find Ben standing in the doorway of the candle-lit room, curiosity shining in his eyes. He stepped forward on the dirt floor.

"Do what?" Gaia furrowed her brows together.

It had been hours since her execution of both the Force and Jedi abilities in the courtyard. Night had already fallen. The temple was now quiet with the sound of sleep. It would be safe to assume that they were the only two awake.

"With the dummy. The floating," Ben elaborated. "How did you do it?" He pried.

Gaia shrugged. "I just... did?" She didn't know how else to say it. Even she could not comprehend her own actions. It was easier to say that she just did it.

"It was so cool." Ben's eyes were still sparkling with young fascination. One could tell that he was genuinely interested as he closed the distance between them and seated himself on the floor with her. "Master Skywalker was rightfully impressed."

This elicited a shy smile from Gaia, a warmth spreading in her chest as a result of being praised by a fellow student. "Thank you," she told him.

She and Ben had shared inside jokes and nudged each other with side comments here and there, but otherwise were not close with one another. He preferred the friendship of Hennix and Tai, while she only shared a room with Voe. She had always envied the boys for their ability to click so easily, with their band of brother-like bonding, whereas she had always struggled to connect with Voe. It wasn't anything against V, just that their personalities didn't mesh very well.

"You know, you seem to be training pretty fast," Ben continued, absentmindedly picking at a loose thread on his tunic. Gaia was shocked by this statement—she hasn't thought so. She had, in fact, felt behind.

So the next inquiry from Ben completely jolted her. "Do you want to start sparring?"

This question raised a lot of considerations for Gaia. She'd never sparred with an actual human, much less somebody older and sturdier than her. Now, granted, Ben wasn't too much older—only two years her senior—but their size difference was her main concern.

"Will you hurt me?" It was an honest question that she wanted an honest answer for. Ben didn't hesitate.

"No—no. I'd never. Master Skywalker wouldn't allow it anyway. The only time I would is if it was an accident."

"Promise?" Gaia stared into his eyes, demanding his confirmation. She lifted up her pinky, a simple gesture learned from her homeland. Ben's eyes broke away from hers, glancing down at the extended finger, confused.

"What's this?"

"A pinky promise," Gaia explained, still looking straight at him. "Promise me, Ben Solo."

He returned to making eye contact, lifting up his own pinky. She gently took his wrist and guided his hand to hers, walking him through each step of the pinky promise, all the way up until the point of his pinky entwining with hers. "I promise," he said. "I do. I promise."

And he meant it.