Ben couldn't sleep.

Before her restlessness became tangible, he felt the hum of it beneath his skin, and attributed it to his own disquiet. But as the night wore on, it became clear enough that it was coming from outside of himself, her fitful sleep crashing like a wave into his wakeful mind.

Dressing, Ben set out on foot, intent on joining her at the Falcon, his restlessness quickly turning to distress. Something was wrong, something big, and by the time he made his way into the trees, her fear and her fury overwhelmed him— hollowing him out and filling him up until there was only her.

His mother's lightsaber in hand, Ben broke into a run, her screams cutting through the Force, calling to him. When he saw it in his mind's eye, the vision of them there, side by side, he nearly lost his footing. His heart hammered in his chest, a sick twist in his gut at the echo of the ecstatic relief he'd felt in the moments when she'd felt close to accepting this destiny.

"Rey, stop," he said, breaking through the trees. Somehow, it wasn't a surprise to find the throne there, waiting for them.