Summary: Rey saw the darkness in him, but she also saw the light. She just hoped that when they met again, she would see Ben Solo and not Kylo Ren standing in front of her. [SW: TLJ spoilers]

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or any characters affiliated with it.

"I don't want them to know the secrets,
I don't want them to know the way I loved you,
I don't think they'd understand it, no,
I don't think they would accept me, no,
I loved and I loved and I lost you."

Hurts like Hell, Fleurie

Keep Marching On
01: Rey

"You're a nobody. But not to me."

Those words rang throughout Rey's mind. She remembered the emotion behind his voice, saw the raw want in his eyes – she saw how open he had been with her in that moment, both physically and mentally. She saw not Kylo Ren, the First Order's Henchman, but Ben Solo, seeking out someone just like him, someone who could understand him.

And because of this, Rey didn't know how to think about it.

Everyone was so quick to label Kylo – no, Ben, he was Ben – as a traitor and as a monster like she had done, but in reality, there was so much they didn't understand, so much that even she didn't understand. Most thought he was too far gone for redemption, but that was far from the truth.

He couldn't have been closer.

She saw the similarities between the two of them as well – she felt it. They both suffered from loneliness, from abandonment, from betrayal from those they thought loved them.

She just...she wished she had more time.

"No, Rey, don't think like that," she muttered to herself. That type of mentality was toxic – as much as she wanted him to change, he was the one who needed to take that step out of the darkness and into the light. She had thought that she was enough, that their bond with one another was enough...but she now knew.

It would be his decision, and his alone.

Taking a look at her surroundings, she saw how tired everyone looked, saw the slight defeat in their eyes. And as she led the last person into the Millenium Falcon, she felt the bond connect with Ben once more.

Rey opened her eyes and saw him kneeling within the command room, his head turned to her. There were no words between them but the pain in both of their eyes said enough.

He had gotten what he wanted – Snoke dead, the First Order at his command. Yet, he looked so...defeated. For the first time in years, he had never felt loneliness like he did now. Despite being a leader, looked up to by everyone in the First Order, he was alone in a vast universe.

Rey, on the other hand, felt a loneliness unlike his. She may have surrounded by comrades and friends, but a part of her was missing. This missing piece had always been there, just never noticed until she met him all those months ago, when the bond was first ignited. It was an emptiness that she had gotten used to once more – because she was always adjusting to loss, to the pain that always came with realizing that her parents were never coming back – it was only when she had touched hands with Ben that it disappeared, allowing her for the first time in her life to feel whole.

Only...it didn't last. That feeling of whole quickly disappeared, just like Ben Solo did. All those days, confiding in each other, seeing Kylo disappear and Ben appear, made her feel happy and not alone in the universe. That maybe, just maybe, they had a chance at winning this accursed war.

So why did he have to ruin it? Why?

She now knew that the emptiness in her was one that only Ben Solo could fill, not Kylo Ren – not the broken man kneeling in front of her. When their eyes met for the last time, Rey knew he saw the disappointment in her eyes. She felt his pain, as well, for losing what could have been.

What would have been.

Steeling her heart, she pressed the button to the door and watched it close as a lone tear streamed down her face. A tear fell from his eye as well, identical to hers, and as the click of the lock cut their connection, closing their bond, it had done the same to her control. Immediately, she pressed a hand against her heart as she began sobbing, quietly, at the emptiness she felt once more. She fell on the ground to her knees as she mourned. She had gotten so accustomed to the fullness through the past few days that the pain, it was almost unbearable. How was she going to survive, to go forward?

"Rey, my dear," a voice said behind her. Rey felt a hand on her shoulder and she whirled around, seeing General Organa kneeling behind her. "You'll survive, like us all. We can only look toward in the future." Still crying, she nodded her head as Leia pulled her into an embrace.

And as the Millennium Falcon left the planet, Rey hoped that when they were to meet again, she would see Ben Solo and not Kylo Ren standing in front of her.

A/N: Uh...hi? I know I need to be working on my other stories but...C'mon! Do you really expect me NOT to write something for Reylo after seeing The Last Jedi? I always shipped them but now...THEY GOTTA BE ENDGAME, RIGHT?

Anyways, I hope you liked this. I might write something from Kylo's perspective so I guess keep a lookout for chapter 2.

Maybe.

Anyways, please leave a review because this is the first time I've written something for Star Wars and it's kinda intimidating, for some reason.

Until next time!~