"Rey?"

"Yes?"

The world fell away as she answered his call through the Force bond. Kylo's attention focused solely inward, on her. As he had found before, just seeing her made it difficult to think. He started talking before he lost sight entirely of the purpose for his call. "I would like to hold a second round of talks, but this time, not just with the Resistance. I think it would be best to have my mother, as a former senator, mediate between the First Order and the New Republic. But I don't want to extend the invitation if we're only going to be turned down. A rejection might light fires in the First Order that I will have trouble putting out. If they won't do it, it will be easier for me to know that and not issue the invitation in the first place."

"Oh. Um. Okay. Yeah. I'll tell her that." Rey looked at him so fixedly that Kylo wondered if she was okay. As the silence drew on, he regretted having not asked if it was a good time, or exchanged small talk first. He could feel the tension building between them. He wasn't even sure if she was breathing. It made him anxious, wondering if he'd given offense by treating her as his messenger. That had to be it! He was opening his mouth to ask forgiveness when she blurted out, "I love you!"

It felt like she'd jerked the rug out from under him and he hadn't hit the floor yet. His apology caught in his throat.

"I needed to tell you that," Rey babbled. "I needed to. Really. In case you didn't know. I mean, I know you do, but this way … Oh, this is just ridiculous!" She ended the call right then and there, so abruptly that Kylo staggered and fell in front of the hangar view port where he'd chosen to contact her. Down below, the leg servo on one of the walkers misfired for no obvious reason, dropping the walker to the floor in a similar manner. The machine collapsed onto a pallet of drums, puncturing them. Flammable fluid sprayed across the floor. Alarms sounded. Fire abatement systems deployed. Troopers and technicians scrambled.

Kylo Ren picked himself up off the floor. He drew in a deep breath, looking out at the chaos and knowing exactly where it had come from – himself. He centered himself. The fire stopped spreading. The fire control systems focused on personnel next. An overhead crane moved into position to assist the walker in regaining its feet. The Force bond opened again.

Rey opened her mouth to speak, but Kylo murmured, "Please wait. Someone's on fire." She blinked and fell silent until he was done making certain the technician on the far side of the pallet was being properly attended to. "There. It's okay. It's being taken care of."

"What happened?"

"I … was overwhelmed for a moment. You said you loved me?" He wanted to hear it again, even though he was certain of what she'd said.

"I love you." She said it slower this time, and easier.

He smiled. "I wish I was in my quarters, so you could see more of me. I wish I was with you so I could sweep you up in my arms. I wish a-"

She kissed him. On the lips. On her tip-toes. Hands on the side of his head, drawing him in. The whole hangar bay might have exploded and he wouldn't have known, but this time he was more careful with his response. He was gentle. He was tender. He was eager and caressing and cherishing her. It was everything he wanted and had worked for. He loved her. They loved one another.

Months later, Luke asked his sister, "How did Chewie take the news about Rey and Ben finally making it official between them?"

"He never said anything about it. Honor requires Chewie to kill Ben; but Chewie kept saying 'Han didn't want Ben dead'. He went back to Kashyyyk so he wouldn't have to choose. Even though he didn't mention Rey, it's been hard for her. She didn't have very many ties to start with, and supporting Ben has put a big strain on them. Not everyone's going to agree with something like this."

"I don't agree with it," Luke put in.

"Maybe you should go visit Chewbacca then."

"Maybe I will."

She smirked at him. "I can't tell if you're serious or not."

Luke sighed. "Well … neither can I. But Ben doesn't need me anymore. I swear, that kid learned more in a few days of Force-visits with me than I taught him in ten years. Of course, I learned a lot, too. I learned what it felt like to bite my own tongue, eat crow, swallow my pride, the taste of the foot I'd stuck in my mouth …" He shook his head. "Where did he learn to tear people apart like that?"

"Couldn't possibly be our side of the family. I'll blame the Solos," Leia said dryly. "But he did things to turn the First Order around that I didn't think was possible."

"He didn't use the Force for that," Luke said smugly. "At least, not for most of it. You know, I think he takes after his grandmother more than our father."

Leia sighed. "I hope he does. For everyone's sake. If they can get some kind of representational government up and running again, then we might have a chance. I never thought the First Order would be the ones pushing for it, though."

"We had a peace of a thousand years before," Luke said. "We can have it again."