Ƭhat evening Rey was out on the balcony, looking up at the stars that filled the night sky.

Ben stood in the sitting room watching her, admiring her. The way her long brown hair danced in the breeze, the way her hazel eyes seemed to sparkle in the starlight. Her soft lips, the small freckles on her cheeks. She was truly the most beautiful girl in the whole land and his love for her only made her more beautiful.

He didn't care that she had nothing, to him she was more valuable than all of the gold and riches in the world. He loved her so much, but he didn't know how to express his feelings to her. He had never been in love, until the moment he first laid eyes on her. Then he had been flooded with so many unfamiliar feelings for her, so many strange emotions that he had never felt before. He had tried to tell her how he felt, but his words never seemed enough to express how he truly felt about her. Deep down, he knew that she didn't return those feelings and he feared that she never would.

So many times he had longed to caress her cheek or to press his lips to hers. But he couldn't... not if she didn't want him to, not if she didn't love him. He loved her and the only way he could be happy was to know that she was happy. He needed her love, but he was willing to love her even if he knew that she would never love him in return.

He wanted to show her how much he cared about her, he wasn't sure what to say, but he had to do something. He couldn't just pretend that he didn't love her. After he had almost lost her the night before, he realized how much he really did love her, to the point that if it came down to it, he would gladly give up his life to save her.

He took a deep breath and stepped out onto the balcony, he walked over to stand next to her. She turned to look at him, she looked into his eyes and smiled warmly at him. He felt a strange fluttering feeling in his heart, she had never looked at him that way before.

She looked up at the stars again. "It's a beautiful night."

He nodded, not looking away from her, he couldn't stop admiring her. He moved his hand towards her. He wanted to gently touch her face, to run his fingers through her long hair, but he stopped himself. He timidly reached over to touch her hand where it rested on the banister. He gently brushed his fingertips over the top of her hand.

She looked down watching as he slowly moved his fingertips across the surface of her hand. She sighed softly at the wonderful feeling of his gentle touch. She had come to long for the feeling of his touch, and the soft kisses he would place on her hands.

"I wish I could be someone who deserved your love, Rey," he whispered. "But I know that I'm not."

"Ben..." she tried to cut in, but he continued.

"I just want you to be happy, even if that means that I have to let you go."

"I am happy," she answered, in a soft voice.

"You are?"

She nodded, then looked up at the starry sky. "Ben, when you look at the night sky what do you see? Do you see a black sheet of darkness, or the stars that dot it with light?"

"I see the stars... they are beautiful tonight," he whispered, looking away from her for the first time to gaze up at the heavens.

She spoke and his gaze quickly returned to her. "So do I, but without night we would never see the stars. Without darkness we would never truly know the beauty of light."

"You're right," he agreed.

"Life is the same, without pain we wouldn't know the value of joy, without war we wouldn't see the beauty of peace. It hasn't been easy for me. But at least I have a home, a warm dry place to sleep, good food everyday." She turned to look at him. "And that's why I'm happy, Ben. I don't see the pain, the darkness that covers my life. I see the light, the good parts of my life. They may be small and few, but they're still beautiful. And they shine brighter because of the darkness, the pain." She smiled at him. "Now, I have everything that I wished for while I lived on the streets, a home, a safe place to sleep, warm food... well, almost everything."

"Almost? What else did you wish for? I will give it to you if I can. I would do anything for you, Rey."

She looked down at the stone floor of the balcony. "What I want more than anything else, is for someone to truly love me for who I am," she whispered.

"I do Rey, I do love you... with all of my heart," he replied, stepping closer to her.

"I know," she whispered, she turned to face him, then she wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"And so does God, and my parents, " he added, wanting her to know how much she truly was loved. "And Finn and Rose love you too."

Rey squeezed him tighter. "Since my father died, I have been afraid to let others into my heart because I was afraid of losing someone else. But now I realize that I will see my father again. If I don't show others that I care, I am only robbing them of the greatest thing I can give."

Ben nodded.

"Rose said that I could help you, that maybe I could change you. But I think that you were the one who changed me for good instead, " she whispered.

"We both changed each other. God brought us together for a reason, I believe that, " he replied, rubbing her back.

She nodded. "God sent you to me. You're one of my stars, Ben."

"I thought that I was part of the darkness," he whispered.

She squeezed him tighter. "Not anymore, you're my friend."

Ben gently stroked her back, he was happy that Rey saw him as her friend, he wanted to become so much more than that to her. But in this moment, holding her in his arms was more than he had ever hoped, and it felt more wonderful than he had ever imagined. He never wanted to let her go.

"You're so much more than that to me," he whispered. He felt her trembling slightly, she was afraid. He moved to release her not wanting to do anything that made her feel uncomfortable. But she only held him tighter and he knew that while she was just as afraid as he was, she didn't want to let go either. He sighed happily as he wrapped his arms around her again.

After he had held her for several wonderful moments, she released him and stepped back half a pace seeming a little embarrassed. They had hugged for far longer than it seemed natural for friends to hug. They had stood there holding each other as she had seen Han and Leia do. It was something so unfamiliar to her, yet it had felt so natural.

Ben was done feeling embarrassed or letting his nerves stop him, there was no reason to be afraid of showing Rey how much he cared about her. He knew now that she needed his affection more than he had ever realized, just as much as he needed hers. He reached over and gently took her hand. He held her hand in his, and with his free hand he brushed his fingers across the top of her's.

She looked down at their hands, then back up at his dark eyes.

"Rey," he whispered.

She swallowed hard. "Yes?"

He leaned down and gently pressed his forehead against hers. "I'm in love with you," he whispered, unable to keep his feelings to himself any longer. He wanted her to know that the love he felt for her was far deeper than just friendship.

She didn't answer, and he wondered if he had gone too far. She was afraid, but he wasn't sure if it was because she didn't want to admit that she didn't feel the same as he did, or because she loved him and didn't know how to express it. Whichever was the case he thought it best to let her be alone to think about her reply, he didn't want to rush or push her into anything.

"It's alright if you don't feel the same way. I just wanted you to know how I feel about you." He brushed his thumb over the top of her hand. "I'm sorry, I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable. I just can't keep pretending that I'm not madly in love with you. But I don't want you to feel pressured into giving me an answer I just had to tell you."

He moved his hand away from her's, but to his surprise she grabbed his hand and gently lifted it her lips. He gasped as she placed slow, soft kisses on top of his hand. He had never known the touch of her lips, how soft and wonderful they felt. He didn't know the feeling of a kiss, except those of his mother which were so long ago that he had forgotten how they felt.

But to be kissed by the girl he was so deeply in love with set his heart ablaze. Rey's kisses made his hand feel warm and his lips longed for hers. She moved his hand and gently pressed it against her cheek. Then she closed her eyes and leaned her head against his palm.

Ben looked at her for a moment before he moved his thumb and gently brushed it over her lips. He wanted to kiss her, but he wasn't sure if he should. He continued brushing his thumb across her soft lips, imagining how it might feel to kiss her. He had never kissed a girl before, but her lips were so soft and warm, he imagined that it would feel wonderful. His mouth yearned to be one with hers. Every part of him want to grab her and pull her closer, to press his lips to hers and pour out his love for her in the form of a deep, passionate kiss.

She let out a small gasp and he wondered if she was imagining it too. "Ben," she whispered.

He stopped and moved his thumb away from her lips, hoping that he hadn't hurt her. Or made her feel uncomfortable, he'd promised that he would never touch her in any way that would make her feel uncomfortable, he could only pray that he hadn't just broken that promise.

She stared at him for a long moment before she finally took a deep breath and spoke. "I love you too." She felt relief wash over her, it felt so wonderful to finally say the words out loud.

His heart rushed and leapt in his chest. "You love me?" He almost didn't believe it, perhaps he had imagined it just as he had imagined sharing a kiss with her.

Rey smiled and nodded, then she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer to her. She timidly reached up to place her hand on his cheek, her eyes met his for a moment before they fell to his mouth lingering there. Then she slowly brushed her lips across his. Her heart danced at the contact between them and she felt as though she could hardly breath.

He gasped, and his heart skipped a beat as she kissed him. It felt even more wonderful than he had imagined, her lips were so soft against his own. His heart was leaping in his chest and his lips tingled from the contact with hers.

He looked into her eyes, but he couldn't hold her gaze, he couldn't stop his eyes from wandering down to her soft pink lips. He leaned down until their lips met again and he kissed her slowly. As he moved his lips across hers, she quickly returned the kiss. He couldn't stop himself from reaching up to caress her cheek with one hand as he massaged the back of her head with the other.

He pressed his lips to hers deepening the kiss, pouring all of his love and affection for her into it. He felt her move her hands to his hair, as he leaned closer, kissing her more deeply and passionately. As their mouths danced together in an honest display of their affection for one another, Ben savored ever detail of it. Her lips were so soft and sweet, her mouth was so warm and inviting. Everything about this moment felt so wonderful, the way her fingers tangled with his black locks on the back of his head, the way she held his cheek in the palm of her left hand. He wished that he could freeze time so that it would never end.

At last their kiss began to subside, until they broke apart and looked at each other. Ben looked down at her lips again, they were moist from kissing him and he thought that he would feel embarrassed, but he didn't. He felt as if he had finally been able to express how he truly felt about her in a way that words never could.

Rey snuggled against him, resting her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her. Somehow holding her felt even more wonderful than it ever had, because now he knew that she was truly happy here in his arms.

As he held her, he memorized every detail of the kiss they had shared moments before, his first kiss...their first kiss, a memory that he wanted to cherish forever. He etched every image, every feeling, the taste of her lips and each simple gentle touch into his memory so that he could treasure it for the rest of his life.