It was pitch dark outside when Rey finally decided to put on her white linen nightgown and slid on the hard stone bench, beneath her woolen coverlet.
   A heavy rain had begun to fall in the evening, and instead of subsiding, now it was even worse. The torrents rippled and howled against the stone walls, and thunders rolled in the distance like angry beasts. A cold wind blew through the small gap that kept for window, and it made her want to crouch somewhere and hug her knees against her chest. A fire burned in the hearth, and she made to sit down on the woolen carpet placed on the ground.

   But as she walked to the table and turned her head, her eyes landed on the flowers Ben had bestowed her with, earlier in the evening. She went to her small cupboard and chose an earthen vase and filled it with water.
    Then she placed it on her small table and smiled contently. Ben knew how much she loved wildflowers, even though she had never told him so. He knew her better than she herself did. And a sense of loneliness surged then through her. Her hands left the flowers, as if she forgot about them in an instant. As if they didn't matter anymore. And her head turned in the direction where Ben's Hut should be uphill. What was he doing right now? Was he thinking about her too?

   Without even realizing it, she found herself walking to the door, pulling her boots up her feet and sweeping her short cloak on her shoulders. Her heart was pounding in her chest with emotion. She felt like a little naughty child who did something she wasn't allowed to. It had to be almost twelve o'clock, and maybe Ben had fallen asleep a long time ago.
    But sleep would not take her, she wanted him, his presence next to her, needed to see him one more time before she could sleep. And it was the rain too, that made her want to have someone next to her. She suppressed a smile as she swept the hood over her head and set out.

   Ben's perspective
   Ben couldn't sleep either. He kept tossing in his woolen blankets, not being able to find his place on the hard, narrow stone bench.
   He missed Rey, missed her presence. And even since arriving back at the huts after the beautiful evening they've spent, all he could think of was her. Her smile, her light presence, her clear, sweet voice. And her kiss. Yes, it was the kiss that haunted him the most.
   
   Ben was staring into the flames, his mind playing the image of Rey's face over and over again, her running toward him and greeting him with her arms open, when an idea came to him. He knew it was late, but his heart was aching for her.

   He threw the covers aside and rose from where he sat lunged on the bench, pulling his tunic on, for he slept shirtless. As he was lacing it up, faster and faster, as if every moment he wasted was crucial, his heart began to hammer in his chest as well.
   She must be sleeping, he thought. But it was enough only to see her. He could enter her hut and lay down next to the hearth, watching her from the distance.

   And within seconds, he was ready to go, his boots pulled up, his cloak draped over his shoulders, his cloak shielding his head.

   He took a moment and stopped in front of the wooden door, as if trying to convince himself that what he was doing was right. He took a long breath and pushed it open. He could see nothing but the faint light through the hole in the wall of Rey's hut. She's asleep, he thought. But he could feel she wanted him there. So that helped in making his decision.

   Rey
   His hut was some good feet up the hill away from hers. She could see through the small slit in the wall the light the fire was casting across his room. Maybe he can't sleep either. Or maybe he's cold, and needs a warm presence.
   She was cold, indeed. That was another minor reason for she couldn't sleep. And the sooner she got to his hut, the better.

   Rey made her way up the stone steps that led to the other huts. They were slippery from the water that ran in torrents down the hill, and she almost fell in the mud that formed between the ancient rocks, if not for her good balance. The heavy drops were whipping her face and plastering her hair against her neck.

   She held her hood tight and bent her head in a try to shield herself from the rain.

   But she never noticed she was not alone outside. Not until she heard some splashes landing heavily on the ground. For a moment, her heart stopped. And she did, too. She looked frantically around, as if there might be some assassin waiting at her back with a knife in his hand. Her lighsaber was buried somewhere in the deserts of Tatooine. And without it, she felt almost as helpless as a four years old.
    But something deeper told her to relax.

   She hurried up the steep serpentine stairs to Ben's hut. But as she halfway to him, she could see a faint silhouette coming to her. She stopped all of a sudden. Who would block her way to his hut?

   She started to back down, when the faint light that seared from his window showed off the side of his face.

   "Ben?" she asked, incredulously.

   "Rey!" he replied, and strode down to her.

   And before she could make any sense of it, she broke into a run to his side. And he was running to her.
   The wind slid her hood from her head and down her back, rain soaking her hair. But she didn't care anymore. In spite of the cold, a grin spread across her face.
   When they collided, he caught her in his arms and hugged her tightly to his chest, constantly whispering her name.
    She buried her head in his neck, sobbing with happiness. The rain was falling upon them like a shower, but she would not care. Then, they broke apart, and their lips joined in a passionate kiss. His hand caressed her face, the other was wrapped around her waist, pulling her close. She whimpered softly as his lips caressed hers, a kiss wet by tears and rain.

   Then, after long moments, they finally broke apart to catch their breath.

   "I couldn't without you. I wanted to be with you, to feel you." Rey whispered gently against his lips as her fingers caressed his wet and cold face. But under that cold, she could feel the heat from the kiss.

   His eyes searched hers as their noses brushed. "Rey. My Rey" he whispered for the hundredth time. "I can't stay without you. I love you." and he placed another kiss on the corner of her mouth. "I love you, I love you, I love you!" he whispered. But she quickly caught his lips again. As they smiled inside the kiss, they froze that moment in time, forgetting about everything else.
  
   His thumb caressed her cheek, and he must have finally realized it was raining, for he slowly broke away to look at her. His hand was now stroking her soaked hair, and he pulled her against his chest, placing his chin on top of her head.

   "You're soaking wet. Let's get you inside." he whispered in her hair.

   And then she seemed to finally realize where she was, as a shiver went through her.

   He pulled her hood back on her head and tucked her hair inside, but she was already more soaked than she could ever be. Careful not to slip on the wet rocks and mud, they ran down to Rey's hut.

  When they skidded to a halt in front of the old warped door, Rey almost bumped into him. Her legs were barely holding her weight, as they shivered at the contact with the cold soaked folds of her dress.

   As Ben pulled the door open, a faint light burst out, from what had remained from the big fire that had been burning hours ago in the hearth. It was soon going to reduce to smoldering embers, Rey knew that.

   "Stay here." Ben said as he helped her down on the bench. He slid his heavy cloak off and swept it on her shoulders to keep her warm. "I'm going to remake that fire."

   "The wood is there." She gestured to her small stone cupboard. And he went over and threw them into the hearth.

   As he was done, he came over to Rey, and looked her over. She was up on her feet, and drops of cold water were dripping from the folds of her dress.
   She looked at him as if she were asking for something. And before he could question her what it was, he understood. How could he have been so foolish?

   "All right, I'll stay with my back on you. Sorry." he blurted out as he turned around. "I won't look, you have my word."
   He shifted nervously his weight from foot to foot.

   Rey waited a moment to make sure he stayed there and did not turn his eyes to her. But at that moment she knew he was too shy to do something like that.
   She let her soaked dress slid off and pool at her feet, her eyes never leaving Ben, watching him out for any move. She remained naked in the orange light the fire cast across the room, but pulled hastily the other nightgown over her head, lacing it up with deft fingers.

   "You can turn around now." She told Ben.

   At first, he just tilted his head a bit to the side, only as to catch a glimpse of her. But then, he turned entirely and faced her.
  And what he saw, left him speechless. Her dress was a white one, made of flowy silk, and the short sleeves were made out of lace. Where could she have gotten it from? But the answer came almost immediately.

   "Your mother gifted me with it on my twentieth birthday. She wanted me to have it as something to remind me of her."

   She looked shyly at the ground as she fiddled with the long laces.
   And Ben could not take his eyes off her. Right now, she looked as if she were his bride, on their wedding day. But he knew he got carried away. How could she accept him after all he'd done to her? And to her friends?

   He stood there and waited for her to do something, to take the lead of the moment. He wanted to tell her that he would gladly sleep on the ground, so long as he was with her, it didn't matter.

   But taking some steps toward the fire, Rey crouched and sat down on the furs that kept for carpet, her knees tucked beneath her.
   Ben watched as she held out a hand for him to take it. As if she was actually inviting him to stay there, next to her.
    His eyes darted from her to the stone bench. But he could see clearly it was not her intention to sleep there. So he slid his hand in her small one and knelt across from her, on the soft and warm carpet.

  Standing there on the soft carpet, across from the fire, their hands joined, their eyes locked, all Rey could play in her mind was the moment they first touched, in a Hut on Ahch-To that looked exactly the same. There, in that night, it had been Ben, not Kylo, she knew it.
   And she felt that calm and light and peace surge through her again. She didn't dare move, or blink, and so did he.

   But now it was different. She placed her free hand on the furs and moved closer to him. It was what should have happened if Luke hadn't interrupted them back then on Ahch-To.
    Looking in her eyes, he did the same.

   Coming closer to Rey, Ben wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and leaned on his back, Rey's head placed on his shoulder. Her hand went up to his face as he cradled her in his arms.

   "Ben?" she asked. And her voice surprised him. It was a mere shiver, a whisper, and the frightened look in her eyes troubled him even more.

   "Yes, what's it?" in half a moment he was up to his senses, his hand cupping her cheek.

   "I could feel a disturbance in the Force... It's like..." her brows furrowed, her eyes wandered down to their entangled legs. As if she couldn't quite explain.

   His thumb caressed her face. "It's ok if you don't want to speak about it." he looked her in the eyes.

   "No, Ben. I want to. I need to." and again, there was that unflinching stubbornness in her eyes. "For the sake of the Galaxy."

   And the word 'Galaxy' drew his attention. It couldn't be good. It could not be good at all. His hand began to rub her arm comfortingly, his nose brushed against hers.

   But her eyes looked into his, her gaze suddenly more serious.

   "We're the last Force wielders, Ben. I am the last jedi. And the last time, I was the one who had to face Palpatine alone. But I fear that everybody has mistaken." She looked up at him, her eyes searching his frantically. "I'm afraid Palpatine has never been the main threat."

   Ben needed a time to process it. What could this threat be? What could be worse than Palpatine, the man who had manipulated him his whole life? But whatever it was, he had to be strong for her.

   "This time, we'll do it together." he said as he hugged her closer to him. "You have my word. On my honor as a Skywalker and a Solo."

   She nodded as she looked into his eyes. Then, slowly, she placed a hand on his face. "We won't let what happened in the past happen now."

   "Yes. And we need to be prepared. We'll have to build our own weapons, as every jedi did before."

   "Do you know the place where we can find kyber crystals?" Rey asked him.

   Ben nodded in response. "I've been there once."

   "Good. We should go tomorrow. We have hidden enough here. And we need to bring the Force to us."

   Yes, that was true. But he had enjoyed this time with her, and only her, more than he would enjoy anything. And he was even going to propose to her to remain there, forever, away from the problems of the Galaxy, when she stirred in his arms, and silenced him with a deep, loving kiss right before he could begin his talk. Her hand went from his chest up to his jaw, guiding his mouth against hers.

   And he briefly returned the kiss, as his arm wrapped around her shoulders. She was right, if there was someone that could stop another strong Force wielder, it had to be them. But who was the hidden enemy then? It couldn't be... Or could it?

   But he returned to the feeling of her lips pressed against his, her soft hair brushing against his face. Rey was happy now, and if she was happy, that was all he needed at the moment. And he knew she had wanted him with her.

   Rey broke apart with a smile on her face, and tilted her head up a bit to look at him. Then she placed her finger on his lips, as she looked him with love in her eyes. Her eyes told Ben she was going for another kiss. "Let's enjoy those moments, Ben. We never know how much we've got left."

   He noticed the flames dancing in her warm eyes. And the light made the gold that flecked the hazel pupils stand out. As she smiled at him, his thumb caressed the slightly purple skin beneath her left eye, then moved to her cheek, and then traced her ear, and finally his hand lost in her hair. It was almost dried now, he noticed as he ran his fingers through it.
   She let out a soft sigh and buried her head in his neck. He tilted his chin up to make her space before pressing his lips against her forehead and nuzzling in her hair, his hand pressing her head gently against him, like a shield.

   He listened to the logs crackle and spit. He had meant to ask her this night. That question that has been grinding him for three weeks in a row. But what if she refused him? What if she was not ready to forgive him yet?

   Rey felt a bit strange, though. She had never slept next to him. Aside from the night they spent in the cave, when it had been a need.
   Slowly she began to drift off. The heat of the fire, and Ben's comfortable arms dazed her. But it was late, and she had been alert the whole day. And since finding out the trouble with the Force, no night had ever been peaceful. She couldn't even remember sleeping at least four hours a night since arriving on this planet. And she knew Ben could sense how tired she was.

   Not knowing how long she would resist the urge to sleep, she tilted her head up and placed a kiss on Ben's jaw. And it seemed to have woken him up, for his eyes opened, slowly, as if he was drowsing, lost somewhere between awareness and sleep. He smiled down at her.

   "I wanted to get to tell you good night before you fell asleep." She said as the tips of her fingers lingered against his jaw, lightly caressing his skin.

   "You're tired, too." he said in a mere whisper, as his arm began to rock her slowly.

   She closed her eyes and nudged her head against his white tunic, and up on his skin of his neck.
   He then placed his hand on her cheek.

   "You cold?" he asked her.

   "No." she said in a dreamy voice. "Warmer that I had ever been." and smiled against his chest.

   "Sweet dreams, Rey of Sunshine." he said before kissing her on the forehead again.

   "Good night, Ben." She whispered in return.
  
   And it was the first time she had no nightmares.
   Hot or cold, rain or not, sleep would not come to her in the past days. But now it was different, as she drifted off in a peaceful sleep.

~*~

A/N: Sometimes things seem so good, but when you actually write them down, it's far from what you meant them to be. Ugh!

    Who do you think that was the evil force wielder Ben thought about?