Disclaimer: I own nothing here, but you were my brother... I loved you!

Point of Light

AN Updated 3-16-19: This concludes at least 1 year and 7 months of my free time! Thank you so much everyone that reviewed! We made it to 200+ reviews!

Acknowledgements:
1st: My eternal thanks to Vincent Vendemption on Youtube, for making such comprehensive, irrefutable Reylo videos. Those videos alone are what spurred me into writing this story, so go watch them if you haven't already!

2nd: Girls With Sabers on Youtube have been such an amazing and positive influence on me in my journey to finish this story. They really helped me understand the characters better and inspired me when I was so close to giving up on the story. Also a lot of ideas and concepts in this story came directly inspired from them. Seriously, go watch their content, they will make you laugh, they will make you cry, they will help you through the trauma of TROS. T-T

3rd: The song: "Point of Light" by Randy Travis. I originally had the lyrics at the start of this chapter but I deleted them because I realized that posting lyrics is against the rules on this site. Therefore you will need to hit up youtube for the lyrics or go read this chapter on Wattpad, where I have left the lyrics included because that site seems a little more lenient over such things.

Epilogue Part Two: Forever

Bright yet favorable sunlight graced Thune city's bustling marketplace as Rey perused some of the many booths. She looked at the various wares for sale without any real interest. Her main objective being that her young family would finally have the opportunity to stretch their legs and get some fresh air after a long ride in the Falcon.

Species from all over the galaxy mingled and roved around her in an almost dizzying mass, but she felt no sense of danger here. Just a bit of chaos, which was normal when so many people were concentrated in a single area. She stayed alert, but relaxed. A glance to where she had left her husband and two sons reassured her that Ben remained just as aware of things.

Two sons. She blinked, counting heads again. There was Ben, yes, her tower of a man clad in black, and one of their boys stood beside him, but where was the second? She was only mildly concerned, of course. The twins were seven years old now and were already exceptionally proficient at wielding their training sabers should they need to defend themselves.

She noted Ben's line of sight as he spoke something she couldn't hear for the distance between them and the din of the crowd. But there, not even twenty feet away from him, their second son was standing at a vendor booth that appeared to be selling various types of confections and pastries.

Rey moved to join her husband, noting how he was warily watching the crowd, or perhaps an individual, as if he had noticed something odd. She caught his eye with an inquiring look but he merely shook his head. It's probably nothing.

Drawing beside him, she curled one arm around his waist and he received her distractedly, his attention still on the crowd. Rey smiled down at their second-born and the one dressed in an all white outfit, much like her own Jedi-themed robes.

He, like his brother, had a head full of untamed black hair that flared around his face and covered his ears, attributes that both boys had naturally inherited from their father. And although Rey adored that genetic trait, she was rather proud of those intelligent hazel eyes shining back at her.

With her other hand Rey gave the boy's messy black mane an affectionate ruffle, resulting in a childish giggle and a delighted grin from him. "And just what has you so excited, Obi?" She asked him, using his nickname as she always did. Only invoking Obi-Wan when she meant business, which was rare since he was the more docile of the two.

"Ani is buying us some yummy pastries called buttersweet puffs!" Obi-Wan replied enthusiastically, though he frowned when he struggled to articulate his following sentence. "Dad says its a com-com-ody!"

"Commodity," Ben corrected lightly, and although his attention was still elsewhere, he gave Rey a rueful glance. "They were originally sold only on Hosnian Prime... Mother was especially fond of them."

Rey nodded her understanding. Her smile saddened as she watched Obi-Wan turn to wait for his brother with keen expectation, oblivious to his parents' weighty exchange. She wasn't inclined to share the harsh reality of a planet's destruction with their young sons just yet. Let them learn to pronounce commodity first.

She watched with a mixture of trepidation and pride as Anakin, her firstborn and the more outgoing of the two finally procured a box of the sweets. Unlike his brother, he wore an entirely black outfit like his father. Although she and Ben had long since been able to differentiate between the two boys by a single glance, due to specific facial expressions and posture alone, Rey had an inexplicable penchant for dressing them in opposite colors.

A sudden spike in the Force threw all of Rey's senses into overdrive as Ben lunged forward, barking so loudly that everyone within the immediate area flinched. "Anakin, drop!"

Rey found herself watching in something of slow motion. Anakin had been proudly marching back to them with his prize in hand when something seemed to catch his eye in the crowd. Then, as if he were locked on to a target like a Nexu on its prey, he swerved to run after it, unaware of the giant, hairy monstrosity that was lumbering along nearby.

Even as Rey moved a mere step behind Ben, her subconscious managed to put a name to the big alien; a Bethany, known for their great size and strength and lacking any natural sense of reasonableness.

Ben's warning reached the boy an instant too late. The Bethany stumbled right into him, causing them both to stagger and drop whatever they carried respectively; Anakin's box of sweets and the alien his mug of some sort of drink.

Before Rey and Ben could reach their wayward son, the situation had escalated as if in a single, drawn out instant. Anakin released a whine of sadness for his ruined parcel but made an attempt to apologize, only to get cut off as the Bethany smacked him across the face and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, lifting him a good five feet off the ground. "You brat! Look what you made me do!"

Feeling the red hot fire of indignation burning through her bones, Rey wasn't even sure what her motherly instincts were about to unleash upon the individual that would dare to hurt one of her sons. Luckily, Ben reached the brute first. "You don't want to do that, friend," he said icily.

The Bethany turned his bestial glare to Ben, his long chin-tusks nearly raking Anakin's nose, his pointed ears twitching in aggravation. "This your whelp that made me spill my drink?"

"Yes, well, he's still learning to mind his surroundings," Ben replied thinly, his own protective ire kept barely in check. He grabbed the Bethany's wrist and forced him to set the boy down despite the alien's presumed greater physical strength. "But you don't mind, because I'll buy you a new drink," he added with a gesture and an influential touch of the Force.

The Bethany looked about ready to give Ben a shove before his eyes glazed over and he nodded compliance. "I don't mind, because you're gonna buy me a new drink!" He then allowed Ben to lead him towards a vendor, leaving the boy on the ground, his offense completely forgotten.

Rey was kneeling at her son's side before he had even touched the ground, ready to send the huge beast-man flying if Ben's diplomacy failed. "Hold still Ani, let me see your eye."

"I'm sorry Mom," Anakin whined, flinching slightly as she touched the injury where the alien's fist had landed. He sniffed back a sob and pushed Obi-Wan away when his brother drew too close to inspect the injury curiously. "I didn't mean to bump into him, but he stumbled right into me, almost like it was on purpose!"

"I know, love," Rey told him and took a moment to concentrate on the swelling. Once she had healed the worst of the damage she leaned close and gave the afflicted spot a gentle kiss. "Now then, what did we learn?"

Anakin stared back, blinking blankly as he worked out an answer. "Steer clear of big drunk men?"

"Yes, there's that." Rey chuckled in response, the answer earning him another affectionate kiss before pining him with a stern look. "Be more aware of your surroundings, Ani. Your father and I won't always be nearby to protect you." She brushed at his mussed bangs and straightened his disheveled clothes. "What were you chasing in the first place?"

Anakin nodded his understanding with a pout, weathering her fussing with only a frown before recollection dawned on him. "Oh! I think I saw a Wolf-Cat and I thought maybe I could catch it..."

"A Wolf-Cat?" Obi-Wan wondered dubiously, though his voice betrayed a keen curiosity. "From Grandma's stories of Alderaan? I thought she said those were extinct!"

Anakin nodded, then shrugged, unsure. "It looked just the way Grandma described them. Mostly white with green and blue markings, although this one was kinda small..."

Rey smiled as she listened to her boys talk fondly about Leia. Shorty after their birth, the older woman had "moved in" by parking her small starship yacht on their homestead on Takodana. There she remained for the first few years of the twins' lives, claiming that she wanted to help out and experience their youth while she had the chance. And although she currently resided on Kashyyyk with Chewie, living out her retired years away from the politics of the galaxy, her loving influence on the twins was still clearly apparent.

Anakin looked up to her from his conversation with his brother, his eyes shining bright and hopeful despite his recent negative experience with the Bethany. "Can I go look for it, Mom?"

Rey considered his request for a careful moment. She knew well the possible dangers of letting him out of her sight, but anything her boys would have to face on their own could not be worse than her own trials when she was their age.

Also, trying to keep Anakin reined in was like trying to keep an Akk dog on a leash, it would forever test at its tether, never accepting the boundary. She eventually decided that so long as he learned his lesson, it wouldn't hurt to let him venture around for awhile, especially since she could track his location via his comlink.

She nodded her assent and checked her own comlink to make sure they were properly synced. "Do as I said. Mind your surroundings," she instructed and the boy nodded dutifully. "And don't let your goal blind you to the opportunities around you. Always be ready to help someone in need, even if that means sacrificing your own advantage." She gave his chin a nudge with one hand when he seemed to get weary of the lecture. "Remember our code, Ani?"

Anakin sighed dramatically, eager to get moving, but he nodded again. "Though the galaxy is darkness, our compassion gives it light."

"Good," Rey replied with a nod of approval and ruffled his hair in dismissal. "Go on then."

Anakin needed no further prompt and took off like a shot, though he was acutely more wary of all the beings roving about around him.

Rey looked down to Obi-Wan with a curious expression. "You're not going with him?"

The boy shook his head no. Apprehensively he reached to grasp her hand with his right and began nibbling at the thumbnail of his left, a nervous, or perhaps a contemplative habit. Rey wasn't sure which.

She smiled down at him with a warm affection. Her sweet, timid Obi-Wan. The complete opposite of Anakin, who was both outgoing and always on the move. Granted, she loved them both equally and for different reasons. Whereas Obi-Wan was almost always by her side, willing to help with chores beyond his years or amiably coping with any random cuddle session, Anakin never failed to make her laugh with his sharp wit and ceaseless antics.

With a twinge of worry, she looked back up just in time to see Anakin vanish into the crowd in his pursuit of a prospective new pet; not that Ben would approve of the new addition on the Falcon, but she was confident in her abilities to win the debate later on.

She found herself at a momentary loss for words when her remaining boy tugged for her attention, his question seemingly random. "Hey Mom, Dad's really strong, huh?"

She blinked down at him, silent as she glanced to see Ben had finished his business with the Bethany and was headed their way. She smiled wryly. "He's the strongest person I know."

Obi-Wan frowned, appearing a little frustrated by her answer. "How come he didn't beat up that big bully then?..." His small voice rose an octave or two with what sounded like dread. "He wasn't scared of him, was he?"

For a moment, Rey could only blink back at her son again in a mild stupor. She very nearly laughed outright at the question. If only he knew how close his father had come to completely thrashing the overgrown furball. Or how close she had come, for that matter. "No, my love, he wasn't afraid of the bully." She knelt down to his level and touched his forehead, then his chest, where his heart was. "True strength is knowing when to fight, and when to make peace."

Obi-Wan still looked frustrated, a pout on his lips; Force he looked so much like his father when he didn't get what he wanted. "But how do we know when to fight?"

"You'll know," Rey said with a patient smile. "The Force will guide you, if you're calm, if you listen."

Obi-Wan tipped his head at that, then smiled back with a nod. "I think I understand."

"Understand what?" Ben wanted to know. He drew beside them and Rey rose to respond.

"Just a lesson in restraint."

"Hmm." Ben gave a nod of approval but glanced around expectantly. "Did you lose our troublemaker again?"

Rey shrugged casually and started walking in the direction Anakin had disappeared, Obi-Wan still attached to one hand. "Oh you know what I say, fall off the Fathier, get right back on." She gave her husband an inquiring look as he fell into step beside her. "Did the big guy give you any trouble?"

"That drunk Bantha-brain?" Ben scoffed derisively. "I bought him a drink and now he thinks we're friends. I Force-induced him into a nap. Hopefully he'll forget all about us by the time he wakes up." He gave his head a chuck, indicating Anakin. "What's he after this time?"

Rey smirked. "He may or may not be chasing down a new pet."

Ben's reply was almost instantaneous. "No."

Before Rey could even begin the debate, Obi-Wan spoke up with the most pleading of expressions. "But Dad, it might be a Wolf-Cat! Wouldn't it be great if we could take it to show Grandma?"

Ben turned his gaze to the side, probably to avoid his son's beseeching eyes. "I think she would appreciate those buttersweet puffs more."

"We can still pick those up on our way back," Rey suggested and drew up a wicked grin. "Besides, it would be rude of you to leave without saying goodbye to your new friend."

"Funny," Ben deadpanned.

Rey was not ignorant to the fact that he was avoiding the argument about the boys' prospective new pet. But she would bide her time. If nothing else, she had learned patience over the past few years. And for Ben, it was tolerance, even when it came to not impaling the big brute that had threatening his son.

"Are we getting close to Ani?" Obi-Wan wanted to know as they passed from the commercial district into a residential block, the crowd around them thinning substantially.

Rey checked the tracker on her comlink and she nodded affirmation. "He's not far and he's stationary, surprisingly."

By the time they caught up with the boy, he was standing outside of a dwelling, speaking to two familiar looking, brown furred aliens. "You have got to be joking," Ben grumbled and Rey smirked with a quiet amusement. Both beings were Bethany just like the one from earlier, except that one was much shorter, probably a child, while the other was closer to the size of their first encounter.

"With the Force, there is no coincidence?" Rey ventured to her husband, unable to keep that amusing lilt out of her tone.

There wasn't enough time for Ben to reply properly, so he settled for incoherent mutterings as they approached Anakin and his new acquaintances. "Oh, Mom, Dad!" the boy's eyes lit up when he noticed them. "I did what you said, Mom! This girl was stuck on the roof and I helped her get down with the Force, but it turns out-"

"Alright, slow down Ani," Rey cut in gently and bent forward, hands on knees to engage with the young Bethany. "Why were you stuck on the roof?"

When the young female drew up a sheepish expression, hesitating, the one Rey assumed was her mother gave her a prompting nudge. "Oh, well I was trying to get this little one down... But I got stuck myself, and not even Mother could get me down..."

It wasn't until then that Rey noticed the small, curious white fluff ball curled up in the girl's arm. It poked its head up in that moment, alert with big pointed ears, a triangular snout and intricate blue and green markings running up and down the length of its compact, quadruped body. "Is that-"

"A Wolf-Cat, just like I said!" Anakin proclaimed, the very epitome of excitement. "Turns out they own a whole bunch of em'!"

Sure enough, Rey glanced over to a transparasteel coop where a number of the small animals were yelping and playing under the watchful eye of their much larger parents. Her attention was drawn away when the presumed Bethany mother spoke up. "The boy tells me that my husband gave you all some trouble earlier." She sighed, muttering an "I don't know what to do with that man" and then shook her furry head, glancing between Ben and Rey expectantly. "That's two debts I owe you. Please, name your price."

"That won't be necessary-" Rey started but Anakin cut in suddenly.

"Could we have one of the cubs?" His plea was eager and desperate.

"Anakin," Rey warned, though she was at a loss as to how to rebuke him in the moment.

"What?" the boy whined back, completely unaware that he had said anything wrong. "She was asking..."

Sighing in defeat, Rey looked to meet the Bethany mother's gaze, noting how she blinked with an amiable surprise. "By all means, take whichever one you want." She gestured to the coop, then seemed to notice Obi-Wan standing between his parents and probably looking a bit left out. "Actually, take two! One for each boy, and each debt. By the gods, we have too many of the critters as it is."

Anakin and Obi-Wan were suddenly standing side by side and staring up at their parents, big eyes hopeful and beseeching. "Can we Mom? Dad?"

Rey grinned back at them and gave her husband a curious look. "Well I'm fine with it." Both boys turned on their father in tandem with the most pathetic expressions, lips trembling for effect.

Ben growled with annoyance but he eventually knelt down in front of them, peering at each boy pointedly. "You have to take care of them yourselves." The boys nodded fervently. "If I step in creature scat even one time, they go." They nodded a little more slowly, seeming to understand the gravity of the terms. "Fine then." He stood up and waved them off.

The twins scampered over to the coop with a wail of victory, the young Bethany and her mother with them as they pointed out various personalities in the litter.

Smiling complacently, Rey eased over to wrap an arm around her husband's waist and he hers. "Wise choice, love... But you're going to step in scat more than once."

"I know," Ben grumbled back. But even he could not fight off a smirk when they watched Obi-Wan lift one of the tiny creatures and it licked his face, causing a raucous round of laughter. "But they don't."

Much later on in the Falcon, after the boys had spent a few hours prepping their shared room for their new pets, Rey declared the bedtime hour and began tucking them in even as they yawned plaintively. She couldn't help but smile warmly as their respective Wolf-Cat pups curled up on their pillows beside their heads.

"Goodnight my little starfighter," Rey murmured as she gave Anakin's forehead a tender kiss. She then turned to the other bunk and did the same to Obi-Wan. "Sweet dreams my precious peacekeeper."

Ben was waiting for her as he always did, leaning in the doorway and watching her nightly ritual with a lazy interest. "You coddle them too much," he told her softly, receiving her in a loose embrace. It was nothing more than a mild observation, and Rey was not inclined to take it as an objection or an instigation to argue.

"I know." She smiled defiantly. "And I don't think I care."

Pulling her closer, Ben nuzzled into her hair, his reply low and muffled. "Neither do I."

Leaning into his touch contentedly, Rey felt like she had waited a thousand years to reach this moment of bliss, to have this family of her own. Decidedly, she would wait another thousand if it meant reaching the same outcome; to find Ben, her beloved counterweight, all over again; to raise their children together in unity; to patrol the galaxy like the Jedi of faded legends.

Giving their boys one last glance before heading off to bed themselves, Rey caught herself in a brief vision of the future. She had long ago accepted the reality that she would not be with her children forever. However, somewhere deep inside her soul, the Force resonated a vague yet faithful assurance. A promise that she and Ben at least, would be together for all eternity, be it one form or another.

Because with the Force, there is no death.

There is peace, and purpose.

…

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~ Fin-Fin ~