Enough

The rain was pouring on Felucia, as it usually was this time of year. What was unusual, Rey noted, was the harsh wind that sent the torrential droplets into a blurred flurry, whipping both her drenched hair and clothes, as well as that of her opponents', along with it.

There was something to be said for the strength of this wind, if it was able to lift the combatant robes of a Jedi and a Sith. Particularly if they were soaked through with both water, sweat, and bitter blood.

Rey squinted through the maelstrom, staring down her tumultuous opponent through the furious steam and sparks that surrounded her yellow saber. Yellow, a Sentinel. Rey thought Master Luke must have at least some sense of humour when suggesting this class, as she was well aware she had played the role of a Sentinel most her life on Jakku. Watching and waiting, yet more than capable of many things all the same.

The man before her, however, remained unclassed and wild. The red of his warped saber did nothing to distinguish him, only to align him, and alignment, Rey mused, was a fickle thing indeed. This man in question, Kylo Ren, bore his fair share of wounds as testament to the past hour they'd spent in a to-and-fro tussle since seeking each other out in this place.

Rey wondered what had incited the need in the first place. They had both been so willing. So willing to meet again, so willing to fight. Their unwitting force bond had made the communication an easy one. They needed to meet, and they needed to reach an ultimatum. All the weeks of holding back in battles, all the hours spent in rapture over their bond, and all the time spent trying to sway the other- trying to save the other- Both knew it was time to decide.

And Rey had had enough.

With a hiss, she retracted her lightsaber and tossed it aside to the sodden ground. Then she waited for the final blow to land. Rey knew they would always be at a deadlock. That much had been obvious when neither had been able to take the final step, and end the other, no matter how many times their roles of victor and loser had be reversed.

Rey had had enough. She decided she would not be the one to end Ben Solo's life.

She stood in silence, with closed eyes and a still mind.

But the blow she was waiting for never came.

Instead, Rey felt a tug at the dormant consciousness that now forever lay in her mind.

Why?The voice was desperate, cracked. Kylo Ren was breaking.

I can't. You refuse to end me, and I refuse to join you. Where does this leave us, Ben?She felt him wince at the name.

Rey…He was scared.

She took a shaky breath, body quivering from the cold, but she carried on unperturbed with a plea she had never voiced before, but he always knew she held in her mind.

Please. You know you're stronger than this. You know you can be free.Rey felt him shudder and recoil from her mental reach, but she persisted, sensing the cracks in his resolve she knew all too well. I'm done fighting you. What happens from here is for you to decide. If you won't face yourself then kill me or flee-Kylo flinched at her words- but I will not strike you down again. Please. The Light calls to you, Ben-Rey realised she had never been this desperate in her life. So much rested on this man's decision …Just let it in.

For a moment, everything was silent in her mind. Rey couldn't feel him anymore, and neither could she feel nor hear the wind or the rain.

The sharp sizzle of a retracting lightsaber brought all the noise gushing back, but Rey found herself enveloped in warmth as she was crushed to Ben Solo's chest, encircled completely by his arms. Once recovered from the immediate shock, Rey pulled him close just as viciously as he had embraced her.

Rey…He still sounded scared, but there was a hopefulness there that had never been present before.

Rey gently pressed her lips against his neck, under his ear, and murmured a soft, "I know".

Ben's presence in her mind, and the tightening of his arms around her, assured her he knew exactly what she meant.