"Overthrow Palpatine with me."
He stared at her, desperately searching for words to say. Anything but "Yes."
"Why are you doing this?" Kylo Ren asked. His voice was shaking. He hoped Rey wouldn't notice, but of course she would. Always.
She saw through him like glass; hiding behind a mask didn't help.
"I'm tired of this fucking war. Let's end it," she said, as if it were the easiest thing to say in the world.
Kylo Ren looked at her for a moment and asked,
"You just want to escape all this, don't you? This war." His voice pierced her like cold ice.
"God, yes," she whispered. No lies.
"People will die," Ben said. He hated the way his words came out. They sounded almost caring.
Rey took another step closer to the edge, closer to death.
"I just want to be free."
"I know."
Another step. "Would you give that to me, Ben?" Her voice almost sounded pleading, raw in the wind. "Would you give me this freedom?"
"You know I can't."
I wish I wanted to.
All the warmness that lingered on Rey's face died. She took a breath and tried again.
"You don't have to give me anything. Just help me end this, Ben. Kill Palpatine with me," she implored.
Rey moved to take another step backwards but her foot met air so she stopped.
"What do I have to win from this?" Kylo asked indifferently. Deep down, he knew that nothing really mattered to him anymore.
"You can rule the Empire as it's new lord… That's what you always wanted, wasn't it?" There was an unmistakable tone of bitterness.
He knew he shouldn't ask, but goddammit, Ben simply couldn't resist.
"What are you going to do after the war?"
Rey didn't avert her gaze, answered sharply and maybe even truthfully. "I'll rule with you."
She wasn't offering that because she wanted to. Ben knew her well enough to tell that. The answer was quite simple: There was nowhere left for Rey to go. Everything else had burned.
That, or she'd set fire to it.
"You sure about this?" Kylo asked. It felt like Rey had set fire to him, too.
"Yes." No hesitation.
He was standing directly in front of Rey now. He never noticed when he got so close.
"If we do this, all you'll have left waiting for you is a dark throne and a broken Empire." His tone was soft, too soft. "You said you wanted freedom," he whispered.
"I do," Rey breathed, her voice breaking at last. "But I think I just lost it."
A lone tear rolled down her cheek and dropped insignificantly to the ground. Ben's lingering scar prickled with pain.
She raised her gaze to met his; Kylo Ren looked into the endless void that was her eyes and lost himself in them. Her eyes were steady, confident in everything.
But also sad.
"I'll do it," he whispered, weakly. "I'll do it," he said again, stronger this time; more resolute.
Rey nodded but didn't say anything. What else was there to say? There were no doubts or hesitations left. The answer was clear. It was time to throw everything away, time to let the past die.
Kylo Ren took Rey's waiting hand and pulled her to him.
They were covered in blood and their wounds stung from the embrace.
They were enemies and they made each other bleed and cry.
But that didn't matter.
Words didn't matter.
The kiss she gave him was enough.