"I was the darkness he was trying to shield you from," he said, with an edge of wry humor. While he now understood Luke's intentions a bit better than he had once, he still couldn't let go of all the bitterness he felt towards his uncle. Perhaps, what hurt the most was Luke's weakness. To a young Ben Solo, his Uncle Luke had seemed invincible.

It was the greatest disappointment, realizing that he was just a man. A man capable of awful mistakes.

"The Jedi forbid personal attachments," he said, his hand curling gently around Rey's slim wrist, his lips pressing to the tips of her fingers.