Baby, this is your kingdom [Reylo]

5 - Forming stars

"There's always another way," Ben mumbled and wiped away a single tear that fell from her right eye with his thumb.

"And what is that?"

"The balance."

The tension in between them rose with every breath they made. Every second that passed, Rey felt Ben's touch on her cheek leaving burning marks on her skin, even though it was just the tip of his thumb that was stroking her gently. She closed her eyes, trying to break free of the intense eye-contact they shared.

His proximity was scary – and not just in the terms of physical contact. Rey was shocked how close they managed to get in the span of just a few days. He had saved her life and she had saved his. Most of the people would think that their debt was even, but she felt as if it made their destinies intertwined, forever. And that was something she wasn't used to – to having someone there for her when she needed it.

When she re-opened her eyes, Rey found Ben staring at her, his dark eyes sparkling with energy. It was like the birth of a star, from the depth and darkness of the universe, rising light that would burst out with immense power.

His look was intense, just like it was in the throne room. His gaze was flicking between her eyes and her lips. The thought of it made her stomach clench with nervousness, yet the feeling wasn't unpleasant. As a matter of fact, Rey found herself doing the same thing, drawn to press her lips against his. Not being able to tell for sure, she believed that Ben was leaning in and when Rey realized what may happen, she got terrified. This would lead to a commitment, a step she was not ready to take. Despite that, she did nothing to stop him, to free of his touch and run away.

Rey's breathing almost stopped when Ben added his other hand to cup her face, now having her completely in his will. His large hands were now caressing both of her cheeks, his thumbs forming small circles, holding her head steady.

She wasn't feeling uncomfortable and that's what scared her the most. Her mind was telling her to duck, to free from his grasp and leave before it got too serious, before she'd get emotionally invested. Because if she fell in love with him, she might get hurt. Every experience with love she's had ended in heartbreak, be it her parents or admiration for Luke Skywalker and the Jedi Order. No matter how much she'd wanted for Ben to do it – the fear of getting hurt was too real to just ignore. Her heart, however, told her to stop closing herself in, to open up and embrace what was happening because she deserved to be loved.

While all of this internal turmoil took place, Rey felt as her hands lifted from beside her body to grasp Ben just above his hips. Just as her palms rested on the fabric, she felt his breath on her face. If she wanted this to stop, she'd have to do something now, otherwise the kiss would be inevitable. Knowing she was not ready to reject the feeling of affection, because she desperately craved it ever since she was a child, Rey closed her eyes and held her breath.

The gentle breeze that was blowing in the gardens of the Imperial Palace suddenly changed course and brought a strain of Rey's hair to her face. Ben released a chuckle and tossed it behind her ear, making sure it would stay there. Rey gasped, not just because she was holding breath for too long, but also because she heard Ben Solo laugh. It was a sound she hasn't expected to hear but she was glad she did. Monsters like Kylo Ren couldn't laugh at such things – it meant that slowly but steadily, Ben Solo was breaking from the shell he created to hide from everyone.

Rey's own lips curved at the thought that se was witnessing the rebirth of Ben Solo.

When all of the disobedient hair was out of his way, Ben glanced at Rey's mouth. How much he wanted to join it with his, to feel her softness, to gently brush his tongue with hers. Something was holding him back, though, the fear of rejection and heartbreak. Knowing it wasn't the right time to kiss her, he brought his lips to her forehead and pressed softly, still stroking her cheeks and caressing her face. He shivered at the contact with her skin and a wave of excitement flooded his body.

At first, when she felt his lips pressed on her forehead, she felt relieved that he didn't cross the boundaries – but few moments later, as the warmth of his kiss faded, she wished he had. Maybe another time, she thought and opened her eyes.

None of them said a word, as they were worried that once the silence was broken, the moment would be gone. They both wanted to savor and cherish it, as it was for the first time in a long time that they felt pure joy.

All of sudden Ben dropped his hands from Rey's face to use one of them to press her to his chest, whereas the other one was stroking her back gently. Rey curled her hands around his back and closed her eyes, feeling the Force around her twinkle with energy.

"Leia, it's been the fourth time his tantrum resulted into breaking things everywhere around him. What if in the future, once he's older and more powerful, things as furniture won't be enough? What if he'll start destroying people?"

"Han! He's our son!"

"Then why do people look at us as if we were raising a monster? I only want it to stop. I just wish he was a normal child, without those freaky powers he got from your side of the family."

"So it's my fault he's like that?" Leia Organa furrowed her brows and started marching around the quarters. She made sure they kept it quiet, behind closed doors so their son wouldn't know about their worries. Little did she know that he could hear every single word that was spoken.

"I didn't mean it like that...I just want what's best for him," Han added and tried to calm Leia down.

Young Ben Solo was sitting on the floor, hugging his knees, tears streaming down his face.

"I didn't want to!" he muffled into his legs, releasing more and more tears.

Rey gasped for air as she just witnessed another of Ben's memories. Did he know she had seen it? From what it seemed he couldn't and probably it was for the better. Most likely he had let his guard down as he wanted to focus on their shared embrace. Trying not to alert him, Rey suppressed the vision, noting to herself that she'd have to go back to it later.

"My Lady, My Lord," a voice said awkwardly and both, Ben and Rey quickly jumped away from each other, as if they were caught doing something illegal. Rey's cheeks were flushed with red so she tried to avoid eye contact with the elderly human male. Ben coughed to clear his voice and turned to face the man, keeping his hand on Rey's back.

"The broadcast will be ready in 30 minutes, sir." With that, the grey haired man rushed away, leaving the future rulers of the galaxy alone.

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to re-do my hair and fix my make-up," Rey babbled, finding an excuse to disappear as soon as possible. She never cared for her looks, but at the thought that the whole galaxy would focus on her, trying to find imperfections on her face made her feel sick. She wanted to go to the bathroom – not because of the make-up which was minimal and barely noticeable anyway, but because she felt like throwing up.

Ben nodded. "I need to go grab the speech and we can rehearse it later. Meet you here in fifteen minutes?" he asked.

"Alright," Rey agreed and walked away, leaving Ben who couldn't bring himself to go, still staring at her until she disappeared. 

Author's note: After a month, finally an update, haha! I hope you like it, feedback is appreciated! <3

(I was too excited to post this so there might be some mistakes because I was lazy to proof read for second time, feel free to correct me!)

-Naty :*