The Broken Ones | REYLO [Complete]

34. There's A Hero In You

—REY—

The warm, humid air of Ajan Kloss envelops me as I stare out into the lush jungle. After the mission to Mustafar, Poe made the decision to move the Resistance one last time. We had taken refuge on the planet D'Qar after the First Order discovered our base on Dalastine, but Leia felt it was too risky to remain on a planet the Rebellion had already inhabited once.

Finn sits down on my right, perching himself on the empty ammunition crate that has become a makeshift meditation place for me. He doesn't say anything, but I can feel the anxiety rolling off him in waves--though he's been trying very hard to hide it. I place my hand over his and squeeze, wishing more than ever that we could know for certain how this will end. I don't want to know what it's like to live in a galaxy without my people. My family.

Finn snorts and I look at him, noticing a rare smile lighting his face. He's been so serious lately that I haven't seen the old Finn in ages. "Do you remember the first time we met? On Jakku? You kept yelling at me for holding your hand," he laughs, lifting our entwined fingers. "Now you're the one who keeps holding mine."

"I was perfectly capable of running without you holding onto me," I defend myself, feigning offense. "Besides, your hand was sweaty. No one wants to hold a sweaty hand."

"I'd been hiking for hours through a desert dressed in all black!" He retorts, playfully shoving me to the side.

I laugh and shrug. "It was still sweaty."

We fall back into silence, and I look out into the trees again. The jungle is teeming with unseen, vibrant life that seeps into my body and strengthens the flow of the Force within me. I'm reminded of the circle of life, as Luke had once taught me. Life eventually gives way to death, death leads to decay, which feeds new life. Whatever happens to me, or to those I love, life will go on. My mission is not to save my friends and family, it is to restore peace and balance to the entire galaxy. Somehow I have to figure out how to do both.

I feel Ben approaching long before his footsteps can be heard on the new tarmac. Finn glances over his shoulder and tenses. Ben stands awkwardly to the side and I can practically hear him arguing with himself in his head. After a long, silent debate, he decides to sit beside me. His hand finds mine and relief immediately washes over me. The depth of our connection will never cease to amaze me, though the dependency I'm beginning to feel is mildly alarming.

"I never got to thank you, Finn," Ben says after a while. It occurs to me that I don't remember him ever calling Finn by his name before now.

Finn opens and closes his mouth a few times, but no coherent words come out. His eyes are wide as he glances between me and my other half. "I, uh, th-thank me?" He stutters. "For what?"

"For taking care of Rey when I couldn't. For protecting her from me. I don't know how to repay you for keeping her safe."

Finn is silent for a few moments. "No offense, but I didn't do it for you."

"I know," Ben replies quietly, "but I'm still grateful."

I'm not sure how long we stay like this. Poe eventually joins us, sitting at Finn's right side. The air is thick with uncertainty and apprehension, but I've never felt closer to my little family. I think back to what Maz Kanata told me when I'd first heard the Force calling to me. The belonging you seek is not behind you. It is ahead.

I didn't want to listen to her at the time. All I wanted was to return to Jakku, to what was safe and familiar. But she'd been right. Here I am now, sitting among friends, knowing that despite everything that has happened I wouldn't change a single moment of it. Everything happens for a reason, even if that reason isn't clear in the moment. My entire life had been caught up in fear of the unknown, of the higher purpose I felt deep within my soul, yearning to be set free. I knew I didn't belong there. I knew I was meant for something extraordinary, but I stayed because it was what I knew. I was afraid if I left I'd never know my parents. But now I have a new family, simultaneously nothing like I expected and more than I could ever hope for.