Chapter Text
“Finn? I’m heading out!”
Rey groped around in her bag, looking for the keys to her ship.
“All this force power and I still can’t keep track of my own keys,” she muttered to herself as she ducked down to see if they might have fallen under her desk.
Late afternoon sun was streaming through the large bay window of The Skywalker Center while she searched, casting a warm glow on overstuffed podchairs in the now-empty front hall. In around 20 minutes, it would be full of people ready to attend the “Force Meditation for Beginners” adult education class Finn taught once a week. Over the past five years their force research center had actually been pretty successful. It definitely wasn’t a Jedi temple but Rey was proud of it.
“Rey? Were you saying something? I was just sweeping up...”
“Still got it,” Rey suddenly popped from behind the desk with her keys, causing Finn to jerkily swing the broom as if it were a lightsaber.
“Oi!”
“Sorry Rey, you came out of...” Finn fumbled with the broom as Rey giggled.
“No, that was a nice block,” she said, smirking. “I want to see more of that in class.”
“Of course, Master Rey,” he retorted with a mock bow.
“Oh shut up,” Rey said, pushing him playfully.
She always thought master was a weird word. Needless to say, they didn’t use it much at the center.
“Anyway, I was saying that I’m off to pick up Kidd from school. Do you need anything else before I leave?”
“Nah, get going. I know you miss him.”
Rey sigh-smiled. She did miss him. It had only been a week since Kidd started “real school” as he called it, and she felt like her heart would break from not having her son with her at the center all day. Kidd, on the other hand was loving it and had already seemed to make friends with everyone in his class.
“Alright. See you tomorrow,” she said, giving Finn a quick hug. “And say hi to Poe for me.”
“And you tell that kid of yours he had a Dejarik rematch coming tomorrow night. This time Uncle Finn is not letting him win.”
Rey rolled her eyes. “Suuuuure.”
Finn watched her disappear into the bustling Coruscant streets and grimaced.
“Say hi to Poe,” he said out loud to himself as he settled into a chair behind the front desk. He pulled out his messenger beacon and again read the most recent message.
“Will be at work late again, don’t wait up for me.”
Well, no one ever said it would be easy to be a prime minister’s husband.
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Rey leaped behind the couch, tipping her head so she could still see Kidd’s small frame as gripped a toy blaster, one socked foot up on the caf table.
“Pew pew,” he said, aiming the blaster at the couch.
“You’ll have to do better than that, scum,” she said in her best impersonation of a Hutt voice.
This was Rey’s favorite part of the day. The time where she wasn’t worrying about dinner or school tasks or lesson planning or having people over. The smell of food cooking in the oven, light cantina band music over the radio and Kidd’s silly blaster sounds. Bliss.
Rey could hear Kidd moving around to the other side of the couch, so she slid as quietly as possible around the corner. For a moment they were both silent, waiting for each other to make a move. Rey resisted the temptation to reach into his mind with the force. Even if she was his mom, it was still rude.
And she knew him so well she didn’t really need it. They stood at nearly the same second. She was able to deflect his blaster shots with her staff.
“Zhushhnnn,” she said, making her own silly noise.
Then, Rey saw a strange look fall over Kidd’s face.
“Who is that man behind you?” he said, his eyes growing wide.
“Ah, you think you’re clever, don’t you, scoundrel? Well that won’t work on me,” Rey said, really hamming up the voice this time. “Never turn your back on on a blaster!”
“No mommy look…” but before Kidd even finished, Rey could feel it. That energy. Hot, like being next to a raging fire. You know it's dangerous but it’s also the most comforting thing you’ve ever felt.
Rey couldn’t breathe.
It couldn’t be.
It couldn’t.
After all these years looking searching the force, Rey had all but given up hope. She had felt this energy before — when Kidd was born, when she found out she was pregnant on Tatooine. But never this strong.
“Mommy why are you crying? Are you alright?”
Rey hadn’t even realized there were tears flowing out of her eyes.
“I’m fine, sweetheart,” she said, holding up a hand to her damp cheek.
Rey gulped and finally made herself turn around.
It couldn’t be true, yet there he was. Standing in her doorway. His dark mop of hair falling around his face in that same way that haunted her dreams, every night.
“Ben,” Rey could hardly get it out through her tears.
For a moment, Ben was paralyzed as he looked at the scene. He felt like his heart had grown into his throat.
How could he have taken so long to come back? How could he have missed years of this?
It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Would he mess it up?
But, seeing Rey’s tears put him in action. In two quick strides he was there, embracing her, while his loose black tunic soaked up her tears. Being with her always had the most incredible impact on him, even back when she would only fight him.
Like his soul was sighing, finally relaxed.
“I’m so sorry,” Ben said, his voice muffled by one of Rey’s buns.
When they held each other time seemed to melt away. Maybe not so much for Kidd, though.
“You’re my dad?” Ben and Rey turned to their son, who was sitting on the couch staring at them with a puzzled expression.
Rey tried to compose herself, but she felt as if she had been transported to a different reality.
“Honey, what did I tell you…”
“I know, I know,” Kidd said with a small frown. “Don’t use the force to go into peoples’ heads. I’m so confused.”
“That’s true,” said Ben, in that deep, soft voice Rey had missed so much. “I’m your dad.”
Ben had no idea what he was going to say next. In fact, he was just realizing he should have spent some time during those years trying to get himself out of the World Between Worlds thinking about what he would do if it worked.
Ben would have to improvise. He pulled Rey over to sit down next to Kidd.
“That’s an impressive use of the force, kid.”
“You know my name!”
Ben raised an eyebrow at Rey and smiled.
This would be an interesting night.