A New Beginning // reylo

14. I Can Only Hope

Ben made his way to the secret courtyard. The evening sky began to settle herself down onto the city.

Ben patted his pouch that hid beneath his cloak for assurance and entered the courtyard to find all the kids already training.

He smiled and said, "Students, come around. I've come bearing gifts."

The children gathered in front of him, wondrous smiles plastered on all their faces, curious to see what Master Ben had brought for them.

He pulled out the pouch and held it in front of him so everyone could see. Ben opened the pouch and illuminated crystals beamed through. The children gasped and all began talking over each other.

"No way!"

"Kyber Crystals!"

"I've never seen one in my life!"

"I thought they didn't exist anymore!"

Ben couldn't erase the proud grin from his face. The children gathered before him loved him, were grateful for him, appreciated him. Not one of them judged him for his past. And he felt free.

There were times where he asked himself if he was even worthy of this, if he deserved any of it. But deep down, he knew this was fate repaying him for all the torture and suffering he had to go through.

"Did everyone bring scrap parts like I asked?" Ben asked everyone. They all lifted their scraps of metal and nodded.

Ben gently poured the crystal onto the ground, "Now, the crystal chooses you. You'll know when you know."

And all the young padawans went after the crystals, making Ben laugh.

Nala slowly walked up to him chuckled as well, "You do a good job with them y'know. I know Rey is very proud."

Ben turned to the old woman he invited over and his smile faltered just a bit, "I can only hope."

Nala looked up at him and examined his facial expression, "And?" He had more to say.

Ben bit his lip and looked down. It had been weeks since he'd seen Rey and not once had they made contact. It concerned him a bit but he trusted her, so he tried not to worry too much about it.

"I miss her. A lot." Ben finally said. Nala smiled knowingly.

"I know, dear. I know." She said softly, patting his back.

******

It had been months since Ben's proposal to Rey on the Star Destroyer. Their bond hadn't opened since she'd closed the boarding ramp on him.

He couldn't even remember the last time he hadn't gone to sleep thinking about her.

Ben sat on the edge of his bed with his face in his hands when suddenly, the air around seemed to be sucked out of the room. His whole body tensed as the realization hit him the second he felt it.

Their bond had reopened.

Slowly, Ben lifted his head from his hands and faced the back of a very tensed Rey. She was sitting on her knees and seemed to have been brushing out her wet curls.

He'd never seen her like this before, so...personal. Personal in the sense that she was simply going through a nightly routine of getting ready for possibly another short slumber.

Rey relaxed her muscles just a bit so she could turn around to face him. When their eyes met, it was as if nothing existed except them. He missed her. She missed him. Though they weren't ones to ever admit such a thing.