What She's Worth (Reylo)

Chapter 19

The past two months had been a torment.

She'd tried her best to go about her life in the academy. Tried her best to be attentive in class, to be diligent in her training and her studies yet her thoughts constantly wandered to the tall, raven-haired young man who was several star systems away.

Her thoughts were never far away from Ben. It was the only way she could keep him close to her.

Nights were particularly difficult because that was when she would feel the loneliest. And the most frightened. Frightened for reasons she couldn't comprehend. Frightened for Ben, whom she knew without her, was probably having nightmare after nightmare.

She had taken to staying up late, anticipating his calls, which didn't take long to come. Then she would stay up even later, calming him down, soothing him until they both fell asleep again.

The calls didn't do well for her sleeping habits, but she didn't mind. She would do absolutely anything for Ben. It was the least she could do for the years he spent taking care of her.

The years he spent just being...Ben.

Then came a time when communication was completely cut off. No warnings. No calls. Not even a single message. She'd tried to communicate with Ben, even to the point of begging R2-D2 to let her use the comms room but even the higher end comms equipment could not reach them. One explanation was that they had gone off the grid; no, it was the only explanation she would accept. The other possibilities were far too frightening to even think of.

Yet somehow, even without being able to get in touch with him, she knew he was safe. But this did little to quell a strange innate knowledge that he was suffering a far greater blow than the physical, and this resulted to even more restless nights for her, which more often than not, ended with her crying herself to sleep.

Then, one day, the dark feelings disappeared. She could once again feel calm in her heart, warmth in her skin, and clarity in her mind. Ben was going to be okay.

And he was coming back.

How she knew before everyone else, before any comms came from Master Luke's shuttle, she didn't know. She could only chuck it off to woman's intuition.

And so, she had been the first to run out of the academy gates to wait on the tan, cracked soil of the surrounding wasteland, her eyes darting up to the clear blue skies as though she could see the shuttle coming in from hyperdrive.

Soon, other students followed behind her, Kreio Thorsen, as always, by her side but she didn't notice him. All she saw, or rather felt was the shuttle entering the planet's airspace before it finally appeared in the distance, gleaming pearly white under the afternoon sun.

It was a good fifty feet away when it landed, but she could see Ben at the window, beaming and waving at her.

He was off the ramp before it could fully touch the ground. He ran towards her, the black cloak she had given him, already tattered in places, billowing in the dusty breeze. It was the sight of the torn cloak—testament to his having worn it constantly—and his wide, warm smile that finally made her break out into a run.

"Ben. Ben. Ben!" She'd cried out his name, Force knew how many times. She couldn't get enough of saying it, couldn't get enough of that huge smile of his that reached all the way up to his brown, soulful eyes, twinkling in them like the stars she used to stare up at while she waited patiently for his return.

Ben had always thought of himself as ugly. If only she could make him see through her eyes how he was not.

She opened her arms and threw them over his shoulders, holding him tight, revelling in his warmth. He was here. She could scarcely believe it. He was here, with her! "Ben...you're home..."