A/N: Hi everyone! Not much to say about this one... I just needed to get this smut out of my system. I present to you: an alternate ending to the throne room scene. Enjoy!

Pretty Mouths Tell Dirty Lies

Sparks rained down from the ceiling, mingling with the flames and the ash and the smoke, choking her breath. Rey blinked the fog from her eyes, trying to focus on her surroundings. But the pounding in her head and the aching in her back made it impossible. What happened?

She rubbed at the side of her head, and when she pulled her hand away, she noticed a thin film of blood covering her fingers. It was mixed with black soot and dirt. That explained the ringing in her head and the blurry vision. The last thing she remembered was battling with Ben for Luke's lightsaber, but after that... darkness.

Struggling into a half-sitting position, Rey looked around her at the destroyed throne room, her vision finally clearing. The scarlet curtains that had covered the windows were in tatters now, littered across the floor in various stages of burnt ruin. Now she could see into the deep, crushing blackness of space beyond the windows, and the battle waging just outside. Bodies lay scattered amongst the drapes; bodies Rey and Ben had been responsible for.

Ben.

At the thought of him, the bond seemed to shimmer, pulling at some deep part of her chest. She gritted her teeth against it, willing it to quiet. After what he'd just said to her... what he'd been willing to do...

"Rey?" a muffled voice called through the haze, drawing her attention. Before, she might have called out to him, exalted to find him unharmed. But now...

He strode through the fog, seeming to part the very air around him with his almost predatory gait. Dark eyes fixed on her intensely, and his steps quickened. For all her earlier fury, Rey found she couldn't move under his fiery gaze. Her body seemed paralyzed; rooted to the spot by some gravitational power.

She didn't respond, even as he dropped to his knees next to her and tore his leather gloves from his hands. "Are you hurt?" he questioned tersely, jaw clenching and unclenching reflexively. A hand came to her cheek, then her neck, sending icy shivers down her otherwise enflamed body. She shook her head, but the movement caused a sharp pain to lance up her spine and into her neck. He was fully aware the moment it happened, feeling her pain through the bond as if it were his own.

Slowly, his naked fingers slid across her collarbone and up the side of her neck, raising the hairs where their skin connected. Whatever capability he'd shown with the Force before, Rey had never expected him to use it in this capacity; to heal her pain by taking it on himself. Her breath seemed to leave her body as she felt the Force moving around and through her, sapping the ache away. When the pain was again bearable, Ben withdrew his hand and sat back with his legs tucked under him, broad hands splayed across his thighs.

Her mouth fell open slightly. "Thank you," she said softly, though it seemed so at odds with the current situation.

Ben didn't reply, only continued to gaze at her with those dark eyes she'd only recently come to admire. Finally, he said, "Why did you do it?" The tone of his voice made her shiver. There was pain there, and something else. Was it... betrayal?

Rey wasn't sure of his meaning at first, but she eventually understood. Why had she rejected him? She wasn't altogether sure of the deeper answer herself, but the root of it was simple enough.

"I was afraid," she replied quietly, feeling her lip tremble. Looking past him, she could see the cleft pieces of Luke's lightsaber laying on the lacquered floor, and her heart ached at the loss of such a legacy.

"Legacy," Ben scoffed. Rey had to contain her gasp at realizing he'd heard her thoughts. "What did I tell you? You're still holding on... Can't let go."

"And what about you?" she snapped, feeling her brow scrunch in anger. The image of him battling her for the saber was branded into her mind. She was not the only one who couldn't let go.

He tilted his head slightly, brow pulling tight and leaning forward so that their faces were mere inches apart. "I offered you the galaxy." She saw his hands tighten on his legs, fingers digging into dark fabric.

"At what cost?" she questioned softly, feeling her ire slowly ebb away under the shadow of his closeness. The air around them seemed to buzz with anticipation, thickening from the tension of their heated gazes.

Ben didn't hesitate with his response. "Everything... and nothing at all." His breath whispered against her neck, he was leaning so close. Her gaze travelled down from his eyes to rest on his full, rouge-colored lips... lips she had imagined pressing against her skin only a few moments ago, when they'd been in the elevator. How much had changed in such a short amount of time? And yet... nothing had changed at all.

His hand swept her hair back from her collar, and those lips were suddenly on her neck, sending shuddering waves of cold all over her body. Against her will, a gasp escaped her throat, and her hand buried in his ebony hair to grip the back of his neck. He trailed soft, gentle kisses down and across her collarbone, nipping at her slightly with his teeth. His right hand cupped her neck, thumb tracing against her jawline.

"Ben," she gasped, shuddering as her eyes flitted closed. Rey felt him move away from her shoulder, and she opened her eyes to see him looking down at her, his eyes softer than before. Like magnets, they drew together, and when his lips landed on her own, she felt as though sparks erupted from her skin.

She gripped the back of his neck harder, pulling him tighter against her as the sparks ignited a fire in her core. Ben groaned slightly, taking hold of her hip and leaning further forward. Rey fell back under the weight of his body, ignoring the pain as her shoulders hit the hard floor. The pain amounted to nothing when compared to his mouth moving against hers. Teeth nipped at her lower lip, and she felt his tongue sweeping out, begging for permission. With a small whimper, she granted him that access.

Not even in her wildest dreams did she imagine kissing a man would feel like this. His tongue entered her mouth, and yet she wasn't uncomfortable. It felt like the most natural thing in the world; their beings pressing against one another and back again like the ebb and flow of the ocean. One of his hands pulled at her hip, tearing at the fabric of her pants with a desperate urgency. Seemingly against her will, her hips rocked against him, grinding into his pelvis and finding his hardening length. Heat rushed to her face at the discovery, but she found herself unable to stop.

She spread her legs apart to allow him to position overtop of her, bracing his hands on either side of her face. As he gazed down at her, Rey imagined she could picture the whole of the galaxy in his dark eyes. The vision she'd seen of him, when they'd touched hands for the first time, had convinced her that he would turn from the dark. For a moment, it seemed that he had, but now...

Whatever awaited them in the future had melted into nothingness. Those lips were on her neck again, more insistent than before and coursing fire through her blood. Fabric was suddenly torn away from her chest, falling aside to the ash-covered floor and leaving her exposed. Ben's eyes raked over her form, his breath coming shallowly to his chest. Her hands gripped his upper arms, and she could feel him suddenly growing tense, looking back at her face.

When he spoke, his voice was ragged and husky with his desire. "I once told you I could take whatever I want... But not this."

Rey shook her head quickly. "You're not taking anything I'll not willingly give," she said, pulling him back down to her. This time, he kissed her slowly, memorizing the feel of her lips against his own. His right hand cupped her breast, squeezing lightly as his thumb feathered across her nipple. Involuntarily, she arched up into him. Her fingers began grappling with the fastenings of his black surcoat, ripping a few of them when she couldn't unfasten them quick enough.

He sat up long enough to shrug the fabric off, leaving him just as exposed as she. Rey drug her nails over his chest, marveling at the hardness and the scar she herself had given him. As she traced the scar, his fingers found the lip of her pants and tugged down, scraping along her thighs and sending a wave of heat to her sex. With agonizing slowness, he dipped two of his fingers into the wetness that was pooling there, drawing a moan out of the deepest part of her chest.

Whatever she'd expected from her first encounter, it was nowhere close to this. A wave of what she could only describe a pure pleasure rolled up her body, causing her to gasp for breath. And when Ben's fingers began toying around her entrance, that pleasure was only multiplied. She bucked her hips against his hand, not really understanding what she was doing. But instinct told her that she wanted more.

"Please," she begged quietly, looking up at him through half-closed eyes and thick lashes.

She could feel his amusement—warm and arrogant—before she heard it in his voice. "Please, what?" Ben articulated the last word demandingly, ceasing the movement of his fingers.

Rey's eyes opened fully, gazing at him in wonder and confusion. "I... I don't know," she admitted with only a little shame.

Ben smirked slightly before leaning down over her again, caressing her throat as his hair curtained around them. "Let me show you," he growled darkly. Then he bit down on her neck in earnest, causing her to gasp and cry out in pain. How surprised she was, then, to discover that pain giving way to pleasure. Suddenly, she felt the tip of his cock teasing at her entrance, pressing against her and then pulling away.

"Please," she implored him again, digging her nails into the pale flesh of his arms. He gave her that same look he'd given in the elevator, soft yet searching. His gaze rested on her mouth as he slid into her, watching as she gasped softly and arched against him, urging him to push deeper. She felt her walls stretching to accommodate his considerable girth, biting down on her lip from the delicious ache in her belly. His eyes fell closed as he sighed also, grunting slightly when he could go no further.

Suddenly, he pulled back and thrust forcefully, one hand gripping her small, pert breast and the other resting at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. Rey dug her nails into his arm and cried out as he thrust again, hitting a spot that pulsed with pleasure. Rivulets of sweat began to roll down his chiseled arms and across his face as his pace increased steadily. With each thrust, that ache in her belly began to grow, til it was almost unbearable.

Ben's fingers traced her throat, snaking around it lightly and giving her a squeeze. She looked up at him in surprise, but did not protest. The infinitesimal deprivation of air only served to heighten her pleasure.

"What would you give up for me, Rey?" he questioned softly, though there was a hardened edge to his voice. Rey looked into his eyes, struggling not to succumb to that building desire. "What would you give up for this?" An invisible thread seemed to pull at her chest, causing her to arch against him, changing the angle at which he was thrusting and allowing him to delve even deeper.

Rey understood his meaning clear enough; the moment their two bodies had become as one, the feeling had been nearly indescribable. It was as if every lonely thought or feeling she'd ever experienced had been immediately erased, replaced by a fulfillment so satisfying, it nearly brought her to tears. Her broken soul felt repaired, healed by the fullness of their union. And the more she reveled in it, the more she craved it. Was this feeling the result of the Force bond they shared? Could this act be the culmination of that very same bond, destined as their purpose all along?

"Anything," she breathed.

Her voice was no more than a hoarse whisper, but her eyes made up for it with the intensity of her gaze. Ben smirked slightly as he tightened his grip on her throat and slipped a hand beneath her arm, drawing her up to him so that she was in a sitting position. His mouth slammed against hers hotly as the hand beneath her arm slowly slid down to between her thighs. Calloused fingers teased at the bundle of nerves there, drawing lazy circles that elicited an almost pained moan from Rey.

She wrapped her legs around his hips, locking her ankles at his back and grinding against him at a quick rhythm. With every buck of her hips, and stroke of his fingers across her clit, her breathing became heavier. It was like a coil began to tighten, sending waves of pleasure through her body. His cock slammed into her forcefully, adding to that tightness. Her chest felt like it might explode with every breath, but it was the most intoxicating feeling she'd ever experienced.

This was truth; this was union; this was eternity.

Like the explosion that had rocked the room moments ago, her climax peaked through her like a supernova. That coil in her belly released, causing her back to arch her into his chest and a scream to rip from her throat. Waves of pleasure electrified her senses, making her body convulse involuntarily with each rush. Her eyes found his; Ben stared at her in wonder as she writhed against him, though his thrusting only increased as her walls tightened around him.

"Rey," he breathed darkly, voice full of desire. She could only whimper in response, but the look of pure ecstasy on her face in combination with the growing tightness around his cock sent him tumbling over the edge of his own climax. With a deep growl and heavy breath, he pounded against her forcefully, slower this time. She grabbed at his shoulder, pulling him to meet her in a passionate kiss. Slowly, he lowered her back to the floor so that she lay beneath him.

He rested his forehead against hers, eyes shut tightly as the euphoria slowly ebbed away. But even though their passion had been met with ascendancy, that rapture of unity did not dissipate. If anything else, it only seemed to grow as their naked bodies pressed against each other. Ben could feel every inch of her skin, tingling against his own as if electricity passed between them. Their breathing matched in time, like two halves of a whole. Eventually though, he rolled to the side so his back lay against the floor, not even caring about the ash and debris.

As they lay there in the wake of what they'd done, utterly silent, a creeping feeling began to enter his heart; a small voice, nagging at the back of his mind. He'd never expected them to end up here—not that he hadn't wished for or dreamt of it a thousand times before—but now that they had, he was still left with questions. The most prominent of which...

"Why did you lie?" he asked quietly, resting a hand atop his chest as he stared at the dark ceiling.

"Mmm?" was all the reply he got. Rey turned her head to look at him, a small, magnificent smile on her face. It pained him that he could not return it.

"You said you would give up anything," he continued, eyes roaming over her face. The curve of her mouth and the slant of her brow; the hazel of her eyes and the line of her jaw. As the silence stretched on, her smile fell. They lay facing each other for quite some time, and Ben watched as tears brimmed at her eyes... those beautiful, endless eyes.

"I've never felt like this before," she admitted quietly. "I feel like... like I haven't lived til today. But the truth of it is... I have, Ben. We both have."

"We can forget about that, about them," he replied, a little more forceful this time. "I know you felt it, Rey. The two of us... we're the balance."

Her brow scrunched slightly and she sat up on an elbow, shifting the ash all around them. "I can't just abandon my friends, Ben. They've done as much for me as you have."

"But in the end," he said, his voice pleading as he rose up to meet her, "it'll just be us. The visions... we can still make them come true." He placed one of his large hands on her cheek and kissed her deeply, willing her—begging her—to feel his sincerity. Whatever had come before, it didn't matter any longer. There was only them, and the whole of the galaxy for the taking.

But Rey would never forsake those who'd delivered her from the wasteland of her childhood. If not for them, she never would have found Luke, and thereby the avenue to discovering that which had been most lacking in her life. Ben was her absolution; the pinnacle of her journey towards finding her place in the galaxy. But if he could not let go...

Slowly, she pulled away, staring at him with deep sadness. His face was desperate, but she could not give into that desperation. "Ben... we are not alone in the galaxy. Our loneliness doesn't have to be satisfied by just each other. There are people who love me... and someone who still loves you, Ben."

A dark look passed over his face, and his mouth twisted into a snarl. "My mother is dead," he growled fiercely. "I don't have anyone... just you."

Rey's heart fell into her stomach, and she felt her eyes grow wide. "Dead?" she questioned pathetically. "B-but... I don't—"

"It's too late for that," he continued, heedless to her protestations. "If you leave me now... there's nothing for me."

Slowly, Rey turned away from him, gathering up the tattered pieces of fabric that lay all around her—pieces that mirrored the state of her heart uncannily—and painstakingly tying them into some semblance of a cover. As she dressed, Ben could feel her closing herself off to him. Finally, she looked back up at him, unspeakable sadness written all over her face.

"It didn't have to be this way, Ben," she said softly. Without another word, she stood in one fluid motion and walked across the debris-littered floor.

He watched her, mouth hanging slightly agape in speechlessness. When she stooped down to pick up the ruined pieces of Anakin's lightsaber, something within him broke. After everything... He was on his feet before he knew what was happening, bare from the waist-up still.

"You're a liar, Rey!" he roared, fist clenched at his side. She looked back at him over her shoulder, cradling the pieces in her hands.

If she meant to respond to him, she didn't. There was nothing more to be said; nothing that could express the desolation she felt in her heart. The angry, broken man that stood before her was beyond reason. If the love that she had so willingly given was not enough to soothe his agony... She didn't know what would.

"Goodbye, Ben."

At the words, Rey felt her heart shatter, but she turned away from him all the same. He felt his eyes following her as she exited the ruined throne room, abandoning the destruction and creation that had been wrought here. She had done all she could for him; it was impossible to love him without losing herself in the process. So until he could confront and quiet his demons on his own, Rey walked away. Much to her surprise, he didn't try to stop her. She continued on, back into the elevator. Maybe a part of him knew that he had to do this on his own; she hoped so.

Hope was all she had.

That's all! Thanks for reading, please review and let me know what you think! :D