Chapter 10

Rey woke up to a bright light hitting her eyes. She sat up slowly and let herself adjust to her surroundings. After rubbing her eyes, she found that she was in her quarters back at the Resistance Base. She had never felt so drained or fatigued, even with how hard her life had been on Jakku. Rey sat with her legs over the side of her bed and felt the bed shift under her slightly as another was moving behind her. She felt his lips on her neck and she leaned her head back against his shoulder. Then she turned to look into the eyes of Ben Solo, the man who had stuck by her and helped her stay in the light. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she placed a hand on his cheek, a small smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.
"Ben," she whispered before kissing him tenderly on his full lips. He responded in kind and wrapped his arms around her. Rey shifted herself so she was sitting on his lap and let her fingers travel across his chest, which was bare for her. Ben pulled her close as she rested her head on his shoulder, letting his head lay on top of her head. He could feel her tears stream down his chest and kissed her head gently, letting her know he was there for her.
"I'm so sorry Ben. I went straight to the darkness. If it hadn't been for you, the Emperor might have had his way and I would have been his pawn for the rebirth of the Sith. Ben, I'm so so sorry," Rey spoke through her strained sobs. She felt so guilty about what had transpired on Exegol. After all the times she tried to pull Ben to the Light, it was she who succumbed to the darkness that had been growing inside her. "Ben, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry…"
"Shh, Rey, it's ok. You gave yourself to the Dark Side to save me. That is a debt I can never truly repay. You are the only one who has always believed in me. With my father and mother gone, you are my only family left," Ben whispered as he stroked back gently. Rey suddenly pulled back and let his words sink in as she gazed into his eyes. Family. The one thing she had been waiting for, searching for, but could never have. The words of Maz Kanata came to her mind suddenly from when she had first come into contact with Luke Skywalker's lightsaber. Whomever you're waiting for on Jakku, they're never coming back. But there's still someone who could. Rey's eyes welled up with more tears as she looked at Ben, her Ben. She smiled through her tears as she watched Ben's lips curl into his own soft smile that lit a fire inside her. He cupped his hand tenderly behind her neck and pulled her into his kiss, electricity shooting back and forth through their bond. Rey kissed him back and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer to her. She never wanted to let him go. After all this time, after all the years of waiting and counting the days, Rey had finally found her family.