The air had never tasted sweeter. Nara squinted her eyes as she looked upwards towards the sun, grateful for its warming presence. Judging by the trees, spring was just around the corner. New leafs were beginning to grow and around the park wildflowers were randomly sprouting. The foliage in the park had grown a lot the past years, and she doubted it had ever looked more beautiful than it did now.

Nobody looked at her as she sauntered through the park. It was the first time in a very long time she hadn't caught the attention of the other Resistance fighters, and it felt good. Being invisible was more than she could ever hope for. No more bitter glares. No more insults hurled her way under their breaths. She really was free.

The path led to an ornate fountain, with beams of light shooting up straight in the sky, even during the day time. She could see it had recently been constructed, and when she got closer to read the plaque that covered the side she saw it had been built in honor of the fighters who had killed and wounded during the Battle of Ruusan. As she continued reading the plaque told her it was one of the biggest battles between the Resistance and the First Order, which they apparently had won.

Nara looked at the fountain one more time before continuing her path. The Resistance had developed vastly in the time she had been locked up, and she couldn't deny that she was impressed. Buildings had popped up in places she had never seen them before, and they were solid structures as well, not the temporary air hangars she was used to.

Her cheeks flushed when a woman on the opposite end of the path flashed her a smile. Nara wasn't used to kindness anymore, and every time someone approached her she was expecting a dirty look. This was a very welcome change, a change she had worked hard for.

She made a right turn, down a path that led to one of the newer buildings she had never seen before. Her eyes were glued to the marbled exterior and the two towers that spiraled high into the air. Slowly, but surely, the Resistance was building a new capital to replace the one the First Order had destroyed.

Nara looked ahead again, her gaze catching on something very familiar. Once she realized who is was, she stopped dead in her track. It was like the first time she had ever seen him, all over again. Here he was, Ben Solo, hunched forward on the ground. His long black hair hung in front of his eyes as his fingers fumbled with something she couldn't quite recognize. He hadn't seen her, and she wondered if he had felt her presence.

Nervously, she bit on her lip, unsure what to do. When she was younger she would step forward, asking what he was working on. He intrigued her now like he had intrigued her back then, but this time, she didn't dare to approach him.

Memories of the last time she had spoken to him returned to her. They were in one of the visitation booths, and their conversation hadn't ended well. It was the only time him, or anyone for that matter, had come to see her.

She didn't regret her behavior towards him in that moment. It was quite a bombshell he dropped on her. He betrayed her, and at that moment she had the right to despise him, and be angry. It wasn't until much later when she learned what he had to do to earn the trust of the Resistance, and it was much worse than what she had went through.

Ben was still in front of her, just yards away. Nara couldn't pull her gaze away from him, watching him closely as he continued to work with his fingers. Was that the hilt of a lightsaber?

Nara shook her head ever so slightly. No. She couldn't do this. She couldn't face him yet. What was she going to say? What if he didn't want to see her at all? What if, during all this time, he had found someone else?

She spun on her heel, ready to head the opposite direction. One day she was going to face him, but not today. Not yet.

"Nara!"

She cursed under her breath as she came to a halt, hearing his footsteps behind her coming closer. Her heart started to pound uncontrollably as she felt her cheeks reddening again. There was no other option but to face him now.

Slowly, she turned, keeping her gaze mostly low to the ground, a sign of both embarrassment and nervousness. The silence between them was deafening. Nara had no idea what to say, no idea where to start, and she could only hope he was going to say something soon.

"I heard they let you go. How are you?" Ben asked, his voice confident, and almost uplifting, which took Nara by surprise. She thought he wouldn't be that happy to see her.

"Uh," she mumbled, allowing her eyes to meet his. "I'm adjusting."

Her words were chosen carefully. The galaxy had changed a lot, and there were many things she didn't know about. It definitely was hard, but she was very glad to be free again.

"That's good to hear," he nodded.

Nara replied by smiling awkwardly, shifting her weight between her left and right feet every so often.

"I guess I should head back," she then said, pointing over her shoulder to nothing in particular.

"Oh, yeah. Of course."

Did she hear a hint of disappointment in his voice?

As she was about to turn around again, he called her out once more.

"Nara! Can I see you again? Tomorrow, maybe?"

Her heart practically bounced out of her chest.

"To talk," he added.

Nara nodded. "Yeah. Sure. I'm in one of the newer buildings, I forgot the name of it."

"I'll find out," Kylo said with a smile she had missed so much. "I'll see you around noon?"

Noon came sooner than she would have wanted. She had hardly slept that night, tossing in turning in her bed, trying to think of what she was going to say to him. In the end, she figured that the best thing for them would perhaps be to just forget everything that had happened. It was years ago now anyway, and it seemed like he had made up for his mistakes, just like Nara had.

When she saw the sunlight just barely peeking through her windows, she figured it would be a respectable time to get out of bed. She was going to need a lot of time to make herself somewhat presentable after the night she just had.

As Nara got out of bed, her eyes darted around her studio apartment the Resistance had kindly given her. There was hardly any furniture, which meant she couldn't really make a mess and that at least the place looked presentable to Ben.

After she had a light breakfast and a shower, she turned herself to her closet. There had been no time yet to acquire more clothing, and as her fingers went through everything she noticed she didn't have anything better to wear than a pair of plain grey pants, with a burgundy stripe going down the side of her legs, and an equally grey slim fitting top.

To make some sort of effort, she braided her hair in the Capital-style. It took her longer than expected, and after a while her arms were hurting, but the result was worth it.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Her time in prison made her lose some weight, and as she was braiding it she had noticed her hair had gone considerably thinner. But her eyes looked better. Content. Happy, even?

The sound of a buzzer broke her from her trance. It was the front door. Ben.

He was early. She quickly moved from her bathroom and hurried to the door, opening it with a nervous smile as her heart was pounding out of her chest.

"Hi," she said first.

Ben smiled back at her. She couldn't have gotten a better greeting.

Nara spun on her heel as he followed her in. Her mind was doing over time. What was she going say now? She said hello, should she ask how he was doing? And then?

Before her train of thought could go any further, Ben grabbed her by her wrist and spun her back around, and before she knew it, his lips were on hers.

For a moment, her body froze. At least she didn't have to worry about what she was going to say. As his lips moved dominantly against hers, she felt herself falling back in an old pattern. This felt familiar. This felt safe.

There was no use in denying this wasn't what she wanted. Nara wrapped her arms around his neck, and let the kiss deepen as his hand let go of her wrist and moved to the small of her back.

"I thought you came here to talk," Nara managed to get out between kisses.

She could feel Ben smile.

"We'll talk after," he said.

Nara pulled her head back she placed her hands on his chest and pushed him away.

"I think we need to talk before we do this," she said, perhaps a little sternly.

When Ben realized Nara was serious, he dropped his hands off her waist and took a seat at the small dining table at the window of the room. She followed him, a feeling of nervousness taking over again. While she was glad that the ice was broken, she now had to find the words to say what she was thinking.

"Ben," she started with a sigh. "I just want to say… that I don't blame you anymore. I know Snoke's influence, I mean, I witnessed it myself first hand. And my undercover mission, it was something I wanted to do. We both got sucked in the dark side."

It wasn't until she got that off her chest that she dared to look in his eyes again.

"Look, if things can't get back to how they were before, I get it. A lot has happened, and we shouldn't forget it either."

Ben nodded his head. "I agree. I know what I've done. I know what I made you do, and I paid my dues, and so have you. We shouldn't forget the past, but we shouldn't let it hold us back either."

She let his words sink in, thinking back to what her therapist had said. So many sessions they had spoken of letting go of the past. The person she was back then, was no longer who she was going to be in the future. Nara also remembered how she had expressed her fear of being with Ben again. What if he was her key to the dark side? What if the dark was stronger than the light, and they would both get seduced again? Her therapist convinced her that wouldn't happen, and told her what Ben had to do to prove he belonged to the light again. Nara hadn't wanted to doubt her therapist, but how could she make such promises if she had never personally experienced the dark side?

Nara snapped out of her trance when she felt Ben's knee brush against hers. She yearned for the physical contact, but she there were some things that had to be said first. They should both know what they were getting themselves into.

"I think we have to take it slow," Nara said, her words calculating. "The last time we were together, we were different people. You were Kylo Ren. I was part of the First Order army. Maybe we should take our time, and get to know the new us."

Ben nodded. "I agree," he said, perhaps somewhat to her surprise. "We gotta talk about the five years that we missed."

Nara's lips formed into a smile, happy they were seeing eye to eye. And it was a good thing too. As she looked up to meet his eyes, she didn't know if she was able to contain herself. Five years it had been. Maybe their personas had changed, but their bodies hadn't, and she was lying to herself if she denied she wasn't craving his.

"There is just one thing I need to know," Nara asked. "Was there anyone else while I was gone?"

"I didn't have much time for sweeping romances this time," he said, giving her a wink before rubbing his knee against hers again. "What about you? Hot prisoner managed to capture your heart?"

"Well, you know. I was alone mostly and when I wasn't, everyone hated me. So no luck for me either."

Ben's expression grew serious as he leaned forward to grab her hands.

"They don't hate you anymore, Nara. I will make sure of it. And if it means anything to you, I will always love you."

She had spoken the words before she had time to think. "I love you too."

"We can make this work," Ben added. "We've always managed to make it work."

He extended his arm over the table and grabbed her hand, carefully pulling her towards him, before ordering her to come over.

Nara couldn't resist him. She pushed her chair backwards and within two steps she was seated on his lap.

Ben wrapped his arms around her as he nuzzled her neck with his face. She placed her own hands over his and took in a deep breath before releasing it slowly.

She felt his fingers creeping under her shirt, working their way upwards. Nara turned her head, smiling lightly as she stopped him.

"We should take it slow, remember?"

"Hmm," Ben mumbled, as his warm hands continued touch every inch of her skin they could reach. "Yes. Slow."

And then his mouth found hers again, and Nara knew that this was all she ever wanted. They belonged together, whether it was on the Dark Side, or that of the Light. The Force brought them together, and it could never break them apart.

A/N: After almost a year, I can finally say that this is it. The final chapter. I know some of you really wanted me to continue and show Snoke working hard to get Kylo back, but I didn't want this story to just drag on and on. This ending was very fitting for me. Throughout everything they went through, they eventually found each other again. They were destined to be together, and I really want it to end it like this.

I definitely do not want to rule out a sequel, but I don't have it planned for the near future. I feel like 39 chapters is already really long for a single story, and since this really is the end of (perhaps) the first 'part', I thought this would be the perfect time to end it. As for the sequel, please don't expect it any time soon. I kind of want to wait until the next Star Wars film to see where they are taking the story, and basing my own off that.

Finally, I really really want to thank all of you who have come so far with me. We've finished this story together, and I hope to see you again in future. I feel so grateful for all the support this story has received, and I had never expected it to be so loved as it was. Thank you. I couldn't ask for better readers.

Usually, this was the part where I would say: take care, and until next time, but there will not be a next time :( This feels bittersweet, yet relieving at the same time. I'm very happy I managed to finish this story, but I have to admit I will miss reading all of your messages. Since old habits die hard: take care, and hopefully, we will meet again for another story, or the continuation of Nara's adventures 3