They had blown up the First Order craft. It was over.

Rey sat out on the balcony of her new room in the grand building housing the leaders of the Resistance. Outside, Coruscant buzzed as it always did. She never thought she would see the city-planet, but here she was. And Rey would spend all her time soaking it up.

After the mission they had flown here to pick up the pieces. Leia was happier than Rey had ever seen her. She had her new purpose, and knew what to do.

The rest of them, however, were not as lucky.

They didn't have lives to get back to.

Poe and Rose had vague ideas. They knew their talents and knew where to find work to use them.

But Finn had been over in her room more than once, the two of them utterly confused about what was to happen next.

Rey had some vague idea of what she could do. But Ben hadn't woken yet.

His wounds had been bad. It had been two days, and he was still resting in the infirmary. Rey had tried to see him twice, but had been turned away.

She let the Force fill her up again, closing her eyes and extending her consciousness up the levels of the building to the infirmary. She could feel him easily and knew which body lying there was his without having to try. Their bond was stronger than ever.

Rey was frightened by the thought, but another thought frightened her even more.

She trusted Ben. She really did trust him. And she wondered if that made her a fool.

She got up, stretching and getting ready for the day. She had been sitting in on meetings that Leia was attending. As the only Jedi representation, she had a duty to attend and to have input. On top of that, she was one half of the duo who had taken down the First Order.

Either way, she hated the meetings. She never understood what was going on, or who the people attending were.

Ben could do so much better than her at them.

Something stirred in their bond and she paused in tying her boots. He was waking up.

Rey hurriedly tied her shoes, sweeping her jacket on as she headed out the door and down the bright corridors towards the infirmary.

She took the elevator up, remembering the horrible ride down in the First Order ship with Ben barely hanging onto consciousness. She shook her head to rid herself of the memory. It had all turned out fine in the end.

At least she hoped he was fine. She hadn't been able to see him yet, and her worry had made her think of horrible things that could have happened to him.

But she would have felt it if those things had happened. She would have felt it through their bond.

She stepped out of the elevator, heading down the familiar path to the infirmary. She knocked on the doors, a rust-coloured alien answering it. He clicked away at her, and she nodded.

"Thank you." She murmured, following him into the infirmary and past the beds to the far corner where Ben lay.

He was still lying down, but his eyes were open and they found her as she neared the bed.

"Hey." Rey said, sitting beside the bed.

Ben smiled, that barely-there smile she had seen only a handful of times before. "Hi, Rey." He said.

"How are you feeling?"

"Horrible."

She grimaces, "Yeah, I can imagine. You were asleep for a few days. We're on Coruscant now."

He blinked, looking around and out the large windows that took up most of the opposite wall. Ships shot by outside the window, the faint buzz of them echoing in the high-ceilinged infirmary.

"My mother is here?" He asked.

Rey nodded, "She's made me sit in on hundreds of meetings."

"Why?"

"Because I'm the only Jedi representation at the moment. You were occupied with other things." She smiled.

He breathed a small laugh and sat up carefully, groaning as he lifted himself.

"Careful." Rey said, her hand coming down on his arm to try to help.

He settled back in bed, reaching over for the glass of water on the bedside table. He sipped it, his dark hair a bit of a mess from how long he had been sleeping.

Rey smiled to herself. It was so weird seeing him like this. Not too long ago they had been enemies.

"What now?" He asked, setting his glass down.

"Good question." Rey murmured, then sighed. "I was thinking about what you said." She said quietly. "About what you think balancing the Force really means. And I think you might be right. And even if you're wrong, I think it's worth a try."

"You think what's worth a try?" He asked, watching her carefully.

"I think it's worth trying to accomplish. To balance light and dark within you. I'm sure we can find a way to make it possible. And to teach it to others."

"Teach?" He blinked, eyes wide. "You want me to teach it to younglings?"

Rey grinned, "Yeah! Why not? What else do you have to do?"

He opened his mouth to speak, then fell silent. "Maybe." He said, a frown appearing on his brow.

She watched him, and had an inkling as to what he was feeling. "You won't be like Luke." She said. "We're starting fresh. Bringing nothing with us." She murmured.

He looked to her, and reached out, taking her hand. It surprised her, but she felt a sudden rush of warmth, of power, and of hope. He nodded, and she knew that he would try this with her.

A wave of relief washed over Rey. She had been worried he wouldn't join her. She didn't think that she could do this alone.

Leia came by not long afterwards, there to see her son and speak with him. Rey smiled at them both, saying her goodbyes as she left.

She went back up to her room, collecting her staff and changing into her tunic and linen pants, her usual clothing. She missed looking like a fighter, not like a diplomat of some kind.

She went down to the training arena, getting in some time for herself.

A tug on the bond a few hours later told her Ben was looking for her. She left for her room, wondering if he had changed his mind. He was waiting for her in her room, standing out on the balcony.

"You came." He said, his face and eyes unreadable to everybody else but her. He was calm, she could feel it, and he was happy.

She set her staff down against the wall, and went out to join him.

"Apologies for just walking in." He said, watching her as she stood beside him.

She shook her head, "It's fine, Ben."

He watched her curiously, the name no longer a friction between them. She was grateful that she could call him by that name and he wouldn't get angry anymore.

"I spoke to my mother about your idea." He said.

"And?"

"She thinks it's a good idea. We have her support."

Rey breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good news." She smiled.

"Now the work begins. Are you sure this is what you want?" He asked softly, turning to face her.

She lifted her eyes to his. "Yes. This is what I want. It's what we're both meant to do."

He smiled, taking her hand. It wasn't weird now, it seemed natural for them. She wondered faintly what it meant. Whether or not they were friends now, or something more. She wasn't sure. They were definitely something, but it seemed that just like the labels 'Jedi' and 'Sith', the usual terms didn't apply to what they had found with each other.

They stood in silence for a while, and when he left her side Rey could still feel him through that bond that stretched between them.

"Again!" Ben said firmly, watching the students attempt to lift a simple stone a few feet in the air.

He was used to this sight, he'd done this before. And he knew when he could see a student struggling. He went over to a young boy.

"Aaron. Keep your mind clear of all else. I can feel your distraction." He said.

The boy looked up at him. "I don't understand how to do that." He mumbled.

Ben smiled, "Focus on one thing, and one thing only. Your will to lift this stone. Feel the Force around you, but don't think about it. It is yours to bend to your will, like another limb. It shouldn't require thinking to use."

Aaron nodded, the soft sunshine lighting up his blond hair. He closed his eyes and tried again, but Ben knew it would take practice before he would manage the task.

He continued to pace around the perimeter of the field they stood in, a paddock that Rey had put up a year ago and when she had he had joked about them treating their students like cattle. She had sent her hammer flying at his head.

He always managed to duck, to her chagrin. It was a little game they played. One day she'd get him, he was sure.

"Lunch!"

The kids paused, looking around at Rey who called from the balcony of the house. It was a long structure, with dormitories for the children, a kitchen, a training room in the lower levels, and classrooms in the western wing. The two of them had managed to scrounge up enough funding from General Leia, though she was General no longer, and had put the house together for their students.

The children looked to Ben to be dismissed and at his nod they took off towards the house, running inside for lunch.

Rey waved to him from the balcony and he sent a warm feeling down their bond. She answered, and Ben could feel the warmth of her smile though he was too far away to really see it.

The house was full of chatter, the children lined up at the dining table. Rey was coming down the stairs, BB-8 rolling down a steep ramp alongside the staircase and into the dining room. He beeped at Ben, a quick greeting.

Ben raised his hand to Rey, smiling as she came over to him. "How was it?" She asked.

"Fine. They're doing just the same as the first batch did." He said. "Aaron had some trouble, but I have a feeling he'll be fine."

Rey nodded, turning her attention to him alone. She smiled, leaning up and kissing his cheek.

He remembered vaguely the first time she had done that. He had gone still, confused and startled beyond belief, and she had laughed.

It had been when they'd first entered the school, all the hallways had been empty and there were only three children living there.

Now they had two groups in the house, the older children and those slightly younger. And both Rey and he were working hard on the curriculum for the next year up.

He smiled to Rey, her eyes warm, and the two of them walked into the dining room together, the sound of children's chatter in the air as they talked about the future.