AN: I don't own Star Wars, everyone knows that. And yeah, why am I writing a Ben-survives AU when there are a million and one of them already? Well, before TROS came out, I knew there was a big possibility that Ben would die, but I thought there would be a whole lot of potential with him having to LIVE with what he did. There's also a whole lot of potential to be had with Rey and Ben having to exist as a dyad, so yeah. This fic idea won't leave me alone, so I'm writing it.

Also, just so we're clear, this WON'T be the standard "Rey and Ben live happily ever after" fixfic. Even with Ben redeeming himself, they'd still have a LOT of issues to get through, so if you're looking for a fic full of Reylo fluff, look elsewhere – you'll definitely find plenty of those.

"Dyad's Blessing, Dyad's Curse"

By EsmeAmelia

Chapter 1

"Ben . . ."

He gazed down at her with those brown eyes, the eyes she had seen countless times before, but now it felt different. Now she felt no rage, no instability, just . . . peace.

Light.

Only then did she realize that he had saved her, brought her back from . . . where? Where had she been? She couldn't remember, but now she was back. Back because of him.

Reflexively, she grabbed his face and pulled him into a kiss. Her first kiss, maybe his too, but he responded as if they'd kissed a hundred times. Energy flowed between them, linking them, as if sealing them as a dyad.

Once she pulled out of the kiss, she saw his smile.

Though the Force had been linking them for well over a year, she'd never seen him smile. She might have even thought him incapable of the action, but there his smile was – beautiful, relaxed, as if a great burden had finally been lifted.

But then the smile vanished, and Rey felt a disturbance in the Force crash on her like a tidal wave.

Something was wrong . . .

"NO!" she screamed as his body fell backwards to the cold ground. "NO!" Again without thinking, she thrust her hand onto his chest, pouring her energy into him as he had done to her moments ago. He couldn't die . . . not now . . . he wouldn't die . . .

She felt his hand weakly gripping her wrist. "Rey . . ." he gasped out in a soft, raspy voice ". . . don't. It's okay . . ."

"No, it's NOT okay!" She squeezed her eyes shut, concentrating all her focus on letting her energy pour into him, ignoring how it made her head spin and her lungs gasp for air. He wouldn't die, he would live as Ben Solo again, this wouldn't be the end . . .

She collapsed on top of him.

. . .

Rey awoke in someone's arms, but that was all her mind processed beyond the soreness that spread throughout her body. She felt like she could fall back into unconsciousness in mere seconds, maybe she even wanted to. Yes . . . go out . . . forget the pain . . .

"Rey? Rey, are you awake?"

The voice . . . it sounded familiar . . .

Finn!

Her eyes opened to blurs, but her nose recognized the dusty, lived-in smell of the Falcon. "Finn?" It hurt her throat just to utter that one word.

"Rey!" Finn exclaimed, squeezing her closer to him as a joyful sob escaped his mouth. "What went on down there? I mean, you were dead, but then you weren't, and then you passed out . . ."

Dead . . . the word triggered memories of what had happened before . . .

"Ben!" she exclaimed. "Where is he? Is he all right?"

Finn's voice lowered. "He's in custody."

"I need to see him." Rey blinked rapidly, fiercely trying to bring his face into focus.

"Rey, I don't think that's a good . . ."

"He won't hurt me," said Rey. "He saved me."

Finn sighed. "All right."

He carried her down the Falcon's hall to the sick bay, where Ben lay unmoving on the bed, his face bruised and battered, an oxygen mask covering his mouth and nose. As Finn gently placed her on the seat next to the bed, she gripped his hand, which was unresponsive but the skin was pliable and semi-warm, showing that he was alive. She quickly reached out with her senses and yes, that familiar Force-signature was there, weak but there.

"Will he be all right?" Still her voice was raspy and her throat sore.

"Don't ask me – I'm no doctor," said Finn. "But . . . Rey, what did he do exactly?"

Rey took a deep breath. Filling her lungs with air felt good despite the pain. "Remember what I did to the serpent in the cave? He did that to me – and then I did it back to him."

"Wait, wait," said Finn, gripping her shoulder. "Are you saying you can bring people back from the dead with the Force?"

"I don't think you can normally," said Rey, looking into his eyes, "but he and I . . . there's a connection between us, it's called being a dyad in the Force." She gulped – how could she explain this when she didn't fully understand it herself? "I think it started when Snoke linked our minds, but I don't think he meant for us to link like this."

Finn stared at her, blinking as if he wasn't sure whether or not to believe her. "So, what does it mean exactly? It's something more than just you two appearing to each other – which is really weird in itself?"

"Yes," said Rey. She rested her head against Finn's chest, letting him wrap his arms around her, giving her that embrace that always made her feel safe despite whatever might be happening. "He called it 'two that are one.' I think . . . I think our souls are connected, not just our minds."

She heard him gulp. "Your soul linked . . . with his? I don't . . . I don't know what to say. Is there a way to undo it?"

"I don't know." Then it occurred to her that she had never thought about splitting the connection or even wondered if it could be done. Why was that?

"Maybe Luke's books have something about this dyad thing," said Finn.

"Maybe," Rey repeated.

"Rey, listen," said Finn, pulling out of the embrace only enough to look into her eyes, "if he hurts you in any way, physically, emotionally, I don't care, you tell me."

"He won't."

"Well forgive me if I'm not so sure about that."

"He saved me."

"And killed his dad, and ordered me and others to kill innocent villagers, and took over the galaxy, and tried to kill both of us over and over, and invaded your mind and Poe's mind . . ."

"I know, I know," said Rey, putting her hand on his chest. "Finn, I don't expect you or anyone else to forgive him."

Finn gulped again, looking over Rey's shoulder at Ben's unconscious body. "But Leia died trying to reach him . . ." He said it as if he were trying to make sense of the whole thing.

Rey winced, a sudden rush of dizziness overtaking her head. "Could I . . . could I have some water?"

"Of course," said Finn. "I'll be right back."

Once Finn left, Rey ran her hand through Ben's sweat-drenched hair. "You'll get through this, Ben. You'll wake up soon and show everyone that you've left Kylo Ren behind . . . right?"