Song- Stupid Deep by John Bellion. The lyrics always remind me of Ben after TLJ, which makes me sad.
Rey- Six years later...
"Take a deep breath and close your eyes." Rey addressed her students that sat cross-legged on the grassy field in front of her.
Six years later, her number of pupils had grown from two to ten, making her much busier than before.
Rey walked around the group. "Feel the Force. Feel it flowing through the atmosphere, through this planet, through you."
She was met with a few grunts of frustration and a few sighs of relaxation.
A cheer broke the silence. "I felt it! Master Rey, I finally felt it!"
The twelve year old girl was met with a few glares as she muttered "Sorry."
Rey laughed. "Good job, Davi. How many of you feel like you've gotten this part down?"
Seven students raised their hands.
"Good! The rest of you will get it down in no time. When that happens, we'll move on to actually using the Force."
Rey glanced at the little boy with curly dark hair that was playing not too far from her group.
"That's it for today's lesson. Keep practicing, and I'll see all of you soon."
The students left, stopping to say thanks. Rey smiled and nodded before calling the boy.
"Zander!"
Zander perked up before running to meet his mother.
At almost seven years old, Zander was starting to look more and more a miniature version of his father with each day.
His personality though, was very similar to his mother's.
"You're of the same heart" was how Ben liked to put it.
Zander greeted his mother with a hug. Rey knelt down, wrapping her arms around his small frame.
"Did you have fun?"
He shrugged. "I played with my ships.
Mom," He drew out her title as he pleaded with his large brown eyes.
Zander may have been born with Ben's face, yet he had her facial expressions.
And the Skywalker need for dramatic flare.
"When can I please train with you?"
"Zander." Rey's voice was gentle yet firm as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "We've talked about this.
I can't train you like I do my other students because your father and I want to do it together."
She tucked a piece of hair behind one of his ears. "Your time will come soon enough."
Zander hung his head in acceptance. "Okay."
Rey kissed him on the cheek. "I love you."
He grinned. "I love you too."
She stood up, taking her son's hand as they started to leave, yet stopped at the sight of someone in front of them.
Rey grinned. "Ben."
Zander's face lit up. "Dad!"
He let go of his mother's hand as he broke into a run.
Rey followed close behind.
As much as Zander loved her, he loved Ben several times more. His father was his favorite person.
He was a constant topic in their house, as Zander would talk about him non stop, bringing up what he was going to share with Ben the next time he visited.
Rey didn't mind though. She loved it that they were able to maintain such a close relationship despite the circumstances.
Ben's face brightened as Zander reached him.
Despite being able to look as young as he wanted, Ben had decided early on that he wanted to age with Rey.
"Wouldn't you feel weird if you were fifty years old and linked with someone who looked forever twenty-nine?" He had teased her.
"I'm only complementing the standards you've set." Ben had eyed her with a hint of lust, making Rey blush.
Yet, it was almost like a punch in the gut, seeing how good he would've looked at thirty-six.
It was a reminder of what could've been, how things should have been.
Ben knelt down to meet Zander's eye level. "Hey, buddy." His lips curved. "I missed you."
Rey caught up to them. "Ben, what are you doing here?" Her tone was playful.
He looked up at her, dark eyes glinting. "Do I need an excuse to come visit my family?"
"I suppose not." She smirked.
They stared at each other.
Ben's dark hair was messy as usual, but in a way where it was almost perfect. His black eyes reflected longing, happiness, and some other feeling that she couldn't make out.
Was it possibly something close to love?
Rey didn't know.
"Dad." Zander's voice snapped them out of their trance.
"Can you please tell Mom that I'm ready to start training?" He pouted. "I can't wait any longer."
Ben laughed as he stood up. "Why have you been waiting?"
He looked to Rey as she rolled her eyes.
"Well." Zander placed his hands on his hips. "Mom said that she wanted you to help train me, but I don't know how you could do that since you're just a ghost. Plus, there's no way that anyone could be better with a lightsaber than Mom."
Ben gaped at Zander as Rey smirked.
Clearly his pride had been a little wounded by their son.
"First of all." Ben pointed a finger.
"Since I'm a Force ghost now, I am more intune to the Force than anyone alive right now. Second," He began to pace.
"The only reason your mother is so good with a lightsaber is because she had me as her opponent." He declared smugly.
"I always won though."
Rey scoffed as Zander stared at his father with awe. "I don't recall you winning our last battle."
She jutted her chin up. "I believe that victory is mine."
Ben shrugged. " Because I let you win."
Rey narrowed her eyes as she crossed her arms. "You call the fact that I impaled you with your own lightsaber letting me win?"
He eyed her cooly. "Yes."
"When I get to Al Sed Dur," Rey huffed. "You better believe the first thing I'm doing is challenging you to a rematch."
"I'll be looking forward to it." A small smile played on his lips.
"Now, let's train Zander."
The little family walked over to a clearing in the forest and sat down.
"Now, Zander." Rey was using her teacher voice. "What I first have my students do is close their eyes and relax. That way they can try to feel the Force around them."
Zander huffed impatiently. "I can already do that!"
"Well I haven't seen you do it, so why don't you show me?" She adopted a commanding tone.
Zander gave her a look as he closed his large brown eyes.
"Your kid." Ben mouthed as he snickered.
Rey made a face at him, only making him smirk.
"Are you paying attention, Mom?" Zander was muttering. "I can sense that Dad is distracting you with his teasing."
Rey remained patient. "Yes, I'm paying attention. Now, tell me what you're feeling."
"I sense life," There was concentration in Zander's voice. "And death. They're tied together, like a circle, making the Force. I feel it here."
He looked at her with his large brown eyes. "It's inside me. You too."
Rey felt her jaw go slack.
She knew from the moment that she found out she was expecting Zander that he was going to be Force sensitive. Being the product of the Skywalker and Palpatine bloodlines merging, it would have been nearly impossible for him to not be.
She just didn't realize how strong he would be.
Rey recalled what Master Luke had said to her after her first lesson on Ach To.
"I've only seen this raw energy once before, in my nephew, Ben Solo. It didn't scare me then, but it scares me now."
A thought followed.
Should she be scared of the power Zander will be capable of?
Ben's voice brought her out of her head.
"Good job, buddy."
Ben.
Ben had been trained as a child, though five years older than Zander was now.
He was another five years older when he had fled with the Knights of Ren.
Master Luke had failed him, believing that Ben's choice had already been made to join Snoke. Yet, Ben had been fighting the darkness, fighting it until it had been scared out of him.
If anyone could help Zander if he were to struggle, feel the weight of his power, it would be Ben.
Looking at Ben and seeing how much he was loved by Zander, Rey knew that the two of them would do anything in their power to keep Zander from falling prey to the lies that had hurt Ben.
They were already doing it at this moment.
Rey and Ben were loving Zander without fear or shame, because they knew that love would put him on the right path.
Their love.
Their love for him.
Hey readers! Here's another question:
What is your favorite Reylo fic?
Mine is Bonded by @PresidentSputs. You guys should go check it out. It is amazing!