Leia didn't respond until it seemed Ben was finished speaking. She would have been lying if she said that at least part of it wasn't because she needed to come to grips with the memory Ben had unintentionally sent her and the knowledge that he'd actively wanted to die. Begged Luke to kill him, even. So that was what Luke had meant...
But the idea that she could think him weak? That was what ultimately made her move. She stepped forward, closing the distance between them and wrapping her arms around her son. "Oh, Ben...", she aid. "None of us ever thought you were weak. None of us think so now. It took more strength than most people would have had to hand your lightsaber over to your father. To come out from behind the mask that Kylo Ren was and come back to us. You're a very strong person, and I'm so glad you are because it gave is all a second chance."
She was quiet for a brief moment after that before speaking again, though she didn't let go of him. "None of us knew you were in the temple when it burned," she said quietly. "The heat damaged the security recordings, and by the time we got there... by the time we got there, it was all over."
Nothing but charred rubble and bodies. Ben had been gone. Luke had been gone. They'd found R2, inactive, next to a small holorecorder containing a cryptic message from Luke, but beyond that... there was nothing. She'd lost everything. Her world reduced to ashes. Again.
But she remembered that night too, even if she hadn't been there. The events had jolted her out of a dead sleep, what Luke probably would have called a 'disturbance in the Force'. Given that Luke had once mentioned to her that Obi-Wan had described sensing the death of Alderaan the same way, she was tempted to believe that the greatest gift of the Jedi wasn't the Force, but understatement; 'disturbance' did not in any way cover anything she had felt that he might have called that.
But Ben didn't need her own memory of that dark night. Not right now. But perhaps another memory would help. "I never thought you enjoyed those kinds of confrontations," she said gently. "Just that that's the kind of thing that usually happens when two people who care about each other at the same time they're carrying a lot of anger and hurt for one another meet."
"But I don't think you know what's in Luke quite as well as you think you do," she said. "I'd like to show you something, if you'll let me." She nudged gently against his mental walls, a knock at the door. Accompanying it was an equally gentle wash of warmth and love. You don't need those. Not with me, Ben.
Never be sorry for awesome tags of feels.
But the idea that she could think him weak? That was what ultimately made her move. She stepped forward, closing the distance between them and wrapping her arms around her son. "Oh, Ben...", she aid. "None of us ever thought you were weak. None of us think so now. It took more strength than most people would have had to hand your lightsaber over to your father. To come out from behind the mask that Kylo Ren was and come back to us. You're a very strong person, and I'm so glad you are because it gave is all a second chance."
She was quiet for a brief moment after that before speaking again, though she didn't let go of him. "None of us knew you were in the temple when it burned," she said quietly. "The heat damaged the security recordings, and by the time we got there... by the time we got there, it was all over."
Nothing but charred rubble and bodies. Ben had been gone. Luke had been gone. They'd found R2, inactive, next to a small holorecorder containing a cryptic message from Luke, but beyond that... there was nothing. She'd lost everything. Her world reduced to ashes. Again.
But she remembered that night too, even if she hadn't been there. The events had jolted her out of a dead sleep, what Luke probably would have called a 'disturbance in the Force'. Given that Luke had once mentioned to her that Obi-Wan had described sensing the death of Alderaan the same way, she was tempted to believe that the greatest gift of the Jedi wasn't the Force, but understatement; 'disturbance' did not in any way cover anything she had felt that he might have called that.
But Ben didn't need her own memory of that dark night. Not right now. But perhaps another memory would help. "I never thought you enjoyed those kinds of confrontations," she said gently. "Just that that's the kind of thing that usually happens when two people who care about each other at the same time they're carrying a lot of anger and hurt for one another meet."
"But I don't think you know what's in Luke quite as well as you think you do," she said. "I'd like to show you something, if you'll let me." She nudged gently against his mental walls, a knock at the door. Accompanying it was an equally gentle wash of warmth and love. You don't need those. Not with me, Ben.