His dark eyes haunted her dreams. The reflection of their colliding lightsabers in the white snow, with the planet rolling violently beneath their feet and the very earth cracking apart, haunted her waking hours. She heard the deep timbre of his voice in her ears, felt his warm breath cascading down her neck.

Kylo Ren, a murdering monster with no soul, haunted Rey's every minute. She relived the moment in that forsaken torture chamber, the moment their minds bonded together and their energy melded as she reached deep into his mind at the same time he reached into hers and saw the darkness and the loneliness echoed within her own soul mirrored in his.

So, she spent her time doing everything possible to keep his dark eyes from her thoughts, to keep the way he looked at her as they fought in the forest as far away from her as possible.

It was not working very well.

"Rey, we've prepared the Falcon, and it's ready to take you to Ahch-To when you're ready," General Leia said, jolting Rey from her thoughts. She blinked slowly and nodded. She swore she could almost feel Kylo Ren hovering at her side, could almost feel his warmth against her arm and her side, feel his breath against her ear. She ignored the goosebumps pebbling down her arm and her side and the shiver rolling down her spine to pool low in her belly.

She could sense Leia's knowing gaze, and quickly stood and announced she would leave as soon as possible. Somehow, she believed the rebel general knew exactly what, or rather who, plagued her thoughts. The strange power lingering within her rose, and she clenched her fist to keep her anger from exploding out of her. She walked into her temporary quarters on the base and slammed her fist against the wall. The door slammed shut behind her hard enough to shake the metal walls, and her dresser and bed lifted a few inches off the ground before crashing back down.

Cursing, she quickly grabbed the few belongings that had been scattered around the floor and put them in her pack. She reached out for her staff, and it flew into her hand from the corner of the room. Rey bit her lip and tried to calm her tumultuous emotions. She closed her eyes and reached out for the peace and clarity she'd felt in her fight against Kylo Ren in the forest of Starkiller, but it slipped from her grasp like fine grained sand falling from between her fingers.

"Master Skywalker, I hope you can help me," she whispered to herself. Shaking her head, she took in a deep breath and began walking towards, the ship hangar to find Chewy and the Falcon and to begin her journey to find a long-lost Jedi master.

He could feel her presence with him constantly. Like a persistent and annoying thorn in his side that wouldn't go away and stung him with every movement. Every second of every cycle she was there, in the corner of his mind. Her presence only reminded him of the scars she left, both physical and mental. He was still being treated in the med bay for the damage she inflicted as an untrained, untested, and unwelcome presence in the force.

If she managed to best him, with all his years of training and all his natural gifts, after just picking up a lightsaber once, imagine what power she could wield with the right tutelage. As constant as the pain in his mind and his body, so was the vision of what they could do together.

He knew she hated him, could feel it through their mysterious connection. Yet they were connected through the force. Something in the universe bound them together. They were bonded. They were meant to be.

He received updates on the aftermath of Starkiller from Hux via holo-com, and while he hadn't seen his Master yet, Snoke's presence hovered just outside the borders of his mind. The anger and disappointment were palpable, even from across the galaxy. He knew he would have to face his Master soon, and that it would be nearly impossible to hide his connection to the girl. But Kylo Ren was not raised to be a quitter.

"Kid, if there's anything your mom taught me it's that we don't quit."

Memories of a time long past, with flying lessons in the cockpit of a ship too old and run down to be called anything but a relic of a war long past, and of a woman in white with hair in intricate and fascinating braids looking down on him with love in her eyes flooded the forefront of his mind. Cursing, Kylo swung out with the force, smashing the med droid to pieces with brush of his fingers and crushing the tables and equipment surrounding him.

The past was dead. There was only him, and the girl. Bonded together in a universe trying its hardest to tear itself apart.

He would crush the rebel alliance, bring a new order to the galaxy and show her that he was meant for her, that they were the only two that could truly understand one another, that they could be unstoppable together.

To say that Luke Skywalker was excited to see her was a drastic overstatement. Upon seeing her walk up the mountain and hold out his weapon from years past, the Jedi Master promptly tossed the lightsaber- and the memories that accompanied it- over a cliff and locked himself in a hut.

That was three days ago.

Three days on Ahch-To without a single word from the hero of the universe. Not even a glance. He just went about his business and ignored her at every turn. She was alone again. A solitary girl wandering around a foreign land, trying to find a connection with anyone, again.

The lingering presence in the back of her mind prodded at her consciousness, making itself known once more. Scowling, Rey mentally pushed that connection down and did her best to stifle it. She had no time to deal with him. Or so she told herself. Their connection grew stronger when she was feeling at her worst, when the loneliness and solitude were too much to bear and the silence was overwhelmingly loud.

It was on the fourth day, when she gave up on following Luke to the cliffs where he fished, that everything changed.

As she was strolling along the green hills, enthralled by the endless water surrounding the perfectly green island, there was a moment of sudden quiet, then a soft ring in her ears. The crunching of Luke's footsteps against the grass and stone faded, and the rushing sound of the ocean intensified to a constant crescendo filling her ears. Turning, she felt something brush against her mind in the force, beckoning her to join it. Her footsteps faltered, and she turned on her heels and stepped towards the source of the energy calling her. It felt achingly familiar, like how she pictured a family member welcoming her home with open arms. Fog swarmed near the base of a cliff hiding around a wall of stone and dirt. The mist was churning and rolling in the shadow of the earth, each sweeping motion drawing her closer. She followed the light into the fog and neared a barren tree swathed in mist.

The energy intensified with each step, rising and rising higher until she stepped into the shadowy opening in the trunk of the tree. With a resounding echo, the energy disappeared just as easily as it came. The cave was eerily familiar. She'd seen it, in her dreams. She had dreamt of this very island, this very cave that was filled with the energy of the light and hadn't realized it.

Awestruck, she walked up to the ancient tomes lying on a shelf, a ray of sunshine piercing through the cracks of the bark and bathing them in warm sunlight. She reached out with tentative fingers, wanting to feel the power residing within the knowledge written in the books.

"Who are you?"

He could feel her turmoil through their bond. It was faint, but there. She discovered something, with Skywalker. Learned something that brought up inner conflict, the same as him. He didn't know what Skywalker was teaching her, but he had to stop it. She was all he had left. Snoke, eager to let his apprentice fail, sent him on another mission to end the rebels. It failed, again.

Now, he was stuck on his master's ship, following the rebel starships through a dead and empty corner of the galaxy. He waited, impatiently, for the med droid to finish removing the healing mesh covering the scars on his face and chest. His thoughts turned inwards, towards the girl. She was growing stronger already, he could feel it. Her potential both excited and terrified him.

He was so focused on his internal musings that he did not notice how the force bent around him, how the air went still. His ears popped, and he felt the connection between him and the girl gape open until he could see her before him.

They stared at each other, mirroring expressions of confusion and awe. Kylo opened his mouth to speak but unsure of what to say, knowing he had to say something, when Rey's gaze closed off and hot anger filled her dark eyes. Snarling, she lifted the blaster in her hand and shot at him.

A choked gasp caught in his throat and he clutched at his gut, already bracing for the pain that never came. He let loose a shaky breath and looked back up to see her gone. He stood and rushed out into the hall, his feet sliding against the smooth black tile.

There she stood, looking gloriously furious. He could feel the waves of her anger through the force, and a hint of what felt like curiosity. Kylo's mind whirred. How was this possible? He asked his questions aloud without really knowing, and the girl just glared up at him.

There was another pulse of the force between them, then her image dissolved away, and he was left alone in the hall. He smiled to himself and clenched his hands. He was right. Their connection was proof, that she was meant to be by his side and they were destined to be together.

Panting, Rey swung her staff again, going through the motions ingrained in her muscle memory since her youth, when she'd first picked up her staff from a rubble pile on Jakku. She'd been barely tall enough or strong enough to heft the staff into any kind of defensive position, but she managed. She taught herself how to use it as a weapon, leaning on her instincts to learn.

The memory of his face, his eyes, looking at her with such wonder and curiosity filled her with conflicting emotions. On one hand, she wished for Kylo to die a terrible, painful death, but the other wanted to help him. She could sense the light fighting against the dark inside of him, could feel the conflict in his soul.

Luke decided to teach her three lessons, after their encounter in the cave. She could still hear his voice calling her nobody, nothing, undeserving of his tutelage. It was in those moments of her master's dismissal and disregard she realized how hard it must have been for Ben, to have such incredible responsibility placed on his young shoulders along with heaps of power in the force. She could almost understand how he'd turned to the dark side, all those years ago.

Almost.

Her gaze caught on her bag, lying near a small pile of stones just out of reach, and the silver glint of metal within. She paused her routine, stared at her staff, then cast it to the side and summoned the lightsaber to her hands with a mere thought.

Blue energy ignited from the hilt, the energetic hum filling the air and static dancing across her skin. The weapon fit nicely in her grip, the weight just right. She cautiously spun the blade to get a feel for how the hilt shifted in her hand. For the fight on Starkiller she'd operated on pure instinct alone. She barely knew what she was doing until it was already done. She could hardly remember how she twisted Kylo's wretched lightsaber out of his grip, or how she'd pulled off half the maneuvers she somehow did.

The blade sung in the air, the crackling energy seeming to relish in being free. Smirking, Rey resumed her training, but with the lightsaber. It crackled and whirred with each wave and strike. She lost herself to the power rushing through her veins. The bond within her opened and she felt his presence in the back of her mind. She hardly noticed the dark energy flowing from him and into her, hardly cared. She could only feel the power thrumming with every beat of her heart, hear the air curl around the blade of energy as if it cut through the molecules themselves.

Her movements became more violent and less controlled. She felt his approval through their bond. and felt pride wash through her. She was strong. She was unstoppable. She had the power to move mountains and part the seas. They were stronger than anyone else, they were meant-

A crack resounded in the valley, and stone fell away as the lightsaber ripped through the ancient rock before her and crumbled and fell down the mountaintop. Shock froze her body as she watched the red hot burning stone roll and crush a cart of the native dwellers way below the cliffs. Ice replaced the hot adrenaline in her blood as she felt Luke's disappointment from his perch above her.

She hadn't realized he was watching. Now she watched his back as he walked away from her, from the shining blue energy still in her hands, and from the slick dark energy clinging to her. She clenched her jaw and her fists. What right did he have to judge her? He was just a sad old man hiding from the world and his own mistakes like a coward.

He'll disappoint you."

Kylo's voice, muted in her memory. She grimaced and mentally scolded herself for letting her thoughts drift so far away from her. She practically threw the cursed lightsaber into her bag and grumbled under her breath as she returned to her hut.

Kylo was jerked from his meditative state by a violent tug on the bond between him and the girl. He opened his eyes with a soft gasp and saw her sitting before him shivering under a thick blanket and soaked to the bone. Her eyes were filled with tears and she looked just as surprised to see him as he was to see her. Her surprise melted away to an emptiness he could feel echo in his own soul.

He did not ask what happened and chose to remain silent and let her open up to him instead. After a few moments of shared silence, she spoke. She spoke of an inky pit full of the energy of the dark side and a vision of herself reflected infinitely. With each word of her confession he felt his certainty in their shared fate cementing harder together. She too was tempted by the darkness. She too was filled with a black hole of loneliness and sorrow.

"I felt so alone," she sobbed. He watched the tears fall from her face and before he could stop himself he responded:

"You're not alone."

Her gaze flicked up to meet his and he saw her pupils dilate and her shocked inhale.

"Neither are you." Her voice was a gentle whisper in his ear. He felt his lips quiver when she let the blanket around her shoulders drop slightly and reached out an open hand towards him. Kylo could feel her desire beneath the confusion and fear clouding her thoughts. Their bond sang, and the power of the force rang between them.

He lifted his own hand, and carefully removed his glove, trying to force his fingers not to shake with nervousness. His dark gaze locked with hers and he found himself unable to look away from her wide eyes. Somehow his hand knew where hers would be, as if the force was pulling them together.

The power ringing in their shared bond crashed into a violent crescendo when his fingertips brushed her skin. He felt his breath sucked from his body as he was transported in his mind, a vision playing in the background of his thoughts while his conscious self remained tethered to the feeling of her skin against his and the sound of her panting and the heat from her body washing over him through their connection.

There was a funnel open between their minds, channeling their thoughts and emotions until he could barely recognize where his soul ended and hers began. Their energies started to meld together into one, but their connection was suddenly interrupted.

He could see the cobblestone hut surrounding her and hear the rain pounding outside, and he could almost feel the dirt and stone beneath him. Before his connection was cemented in place, Skywalker burst into the hut, his horror palpable in the force. He screamed and sent a wave of energy crashing between them, breaking the connection.

Kylo blinked slowly in his empty room. Gone was the rain and the hut and the girl. He was back in his own body on his ship and she was gone. The last thing he remembered was Skywalker's enraged face screaming at them. He felt a flash of fear and worry for the girl, knowing all too well his uncle's past actions on a pupil that went against his teachings.

Thankfully his fear faded as the vision he saw when they touched hands flashed in his mind. He had nothing to fear. He knew the girl would come to him and they would be together, at last.

She could still feel the rage burning through her veins and pumping in her heart as she and Chewie flew the Falcon out towards the outer reaches of the galaxy where she could feel the pull of her connection to Kylo growing stronger.

Coward. Luke Skywalker was nothing but a coward too afraid to face his own mistakes and regrets and running away from the chaos he created. She clenched her jaw and busied her hands with fixing her hair. Her nimble fingers hesitated when she finished the first ponytail. She had kept her hair in the triple bun style ever since she was a child, vainly hoping her family would recognize her after all the years past if she had the same hair.

What an idiotic child she was. The past was over, and there was nothing she could do to change it. She could only change the future. The vision she saw when her fingers met his played on repeat in her mind and she felt excitement bubble within her.

She knew her hope was ridiculous, she was willingly walking straight into the enemy's claws. But Kylo was waiting for her. She could feel it. His presence in her mind was stronger now and she could sense his every emotion and thought if she concentrated on their bond.

Something dark and unknown dwelled within her when she thought of their bond and their potential. She could feel his desire for their union, for their joined power bringing balance to the galaxy. She knew what he wanted most, and a hidden part of her craved the exact same thing.

Rey no longer felt the ever-present loneliness that haunted her every moment. She no longer felt the yearn for her family. She could only feel Kylo. His presence flooded and overwhelmed her senses. She knew Chewbacca was concerned for her wellbeing and hesitant to go through with her plan. Hell, a few hours ago she never would have imagined she would be sending herself to Kylo Ren and Snoke like a helping of meal portions on a silver platter.

But nevertheless, she couldn't imagine any other path. She had to go to him. He would be the turning point in the war. They were matched in the force, equals. They would fix the mistakes of the past together.

She explained her plan to Chewie while crawling into the pod without really hearing what she was saying. Their connection was so powerful now that they were the closest they'd ever been since the battle. Butterflies fluttered excitedly in her stomach and she could hear the loud pounding of her heart and feel the adrenaline pumping through her blood.

She felt him reach into her mind and stroke a shadowy finger down the inner walls of her mind. Soon, his voice echoed. A warmth bloomed in her belly, spreading throughout her entire body. She'd been so blind. They were matched, destined. And soon they would be together.

And they would be unstoppable.

He felt her presence sweeping across the stars, getting closer and closer with each passing moment. He knew he would have to kill Snoke, somehow, before they could truly change the galaxy. Oh, the potential in their combined gifts was all he could think about. His desire for the girl was overwhelming decades of teachings against such carnal needs and dependency.

Skywalker taught him about the peace in isolation and Snoke taught him about passion. Both of his former masters pushed him to remain alone and unwanted, but now everything was changed. He felt the girl's, Rey's, shared lust. He had never felt the need for the presence of others in his life until she appeared in it. Once he delved into her mind and saw the sea of longing rolling within her, he found the same waves battering at his own soul and bringing old wishes up to the surface.

Her warmth reached out over their connection to fill his mind. He felt a shiver crawl down his spine at her presence. She was within his reach. She sent him a vision of a pod shooting through space towards the Supremacy and he shot to his feet.

She was here.

Here's an offering to the Reylo gods, may they deem it worthy of the fandom. This is part one of two, and it's my take on how TLJ should have ended, with (if possible) even more reylo. I was inspired by the Heather's soundtrack, specifically "Meant to Be" so give that a listen while reading, or for angsty reylo feels.

I hope you enjoyed, and please let me know what you thought about this in the comments! I love hearing from readers!