Force Dyad

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A/N-thank you very much to everyone who kindly read and reviewed the last chapter.

Chapter Sixty-Nine-A Surprise Visitor

There was something so genuinely sweet in that moment Ben proposed, his heart fully open and vulnerable, that it took longer than it should have for Rey to respond. Instead, she just stared and stared at him, her own heart beating in tandem with his.

"Rey, say something!" Ben begged after a while. "Your silence is killing me!"

Clarity hit her like a quarterstaff to the jaw, and she was left gasping. "Did you just ask me to marry you? Or am I dreaming?"

"I did." Ben didn't know whether to laugh or cry with frustration. It had been such a spontaneous thing. He hoped she wasn't expecting him to ask again, he didn't think he had the courage.

"Wow." Rey breathed. "I don't know what to say…."

"Yes, would be good! Say yes!" Ben pleaded.

"YES! A THOUSAND TIMES YES!" Rey cried as she leaned down and rained frantic kisses all over his face.

Ben's joyful laughter was like ripples in a still pond after a stone had been thrown in. It radiated outwards, free and pure, his dark eyes sparkling with happiness.

Rey looked down at him in delight, her face and eyes glowing with inner euphoria. She felt like her heart was going to burst, it was so full of love for him. "I love you, Ben Solo." She murmured softly, leaning forward so she could kiss him.

But before their lips connected, Rey felt Ben's fingers grasp her tightly around the waist. She let out a surprised gasp when her world suddenly tilted on its axis as Ben rolled them over until she was lying beneath him. He hovered above her, his hungry gaze roaming her face and body.

Rey stared up at him, her breathing quickening slightly at the intensity shining in his eyes. Her long hair fanned out around her like a satin pillow, dark brown against the deep green of the soft grass. A pink blush spread across her cheeks; it was like catnip to Ben's soul. "Do you have any idea how incredibly beautiful you are?" He said huskily.

"And what would that make you?" Rey asked playfully.

"Lucky?"

"Idiot." Rey raised her head off the ground as she sought his lips, but Ben backed away, remaining tantalisingly out of reach. "Don't tease me, Ben." She pouted.

"I don't know about you, but I wouldn't mind if this lasted forever." Ben said right before he kissed her.

Rey shuddered in anticipation at the feel of his mouth on hers. She reached up and hooked her arms around his neck, drawing him closer. Ben wanted to savour every second, the kiss initially steeped in so much passion, turned tender. The world around them ceased to exist, blurred and indistinct as they became lost in one another.

Ben and Rey were not aware of the rain at first, so caught up in the heat of their passion, the cold splatters didn't register. It was only when it turned from a light drizzle into a heavy downpour that they broke apart. The rain traced sweet patterns on Rey's glistening skin as Ben pushed himself back onto his feet and pulled her up with him. As the clouds gathered above, her soul stirred, the air electrified as it anticipated the quenching storm.

Ben pulled Rey in for another kiss. There was something so heavenly about a kiss in the rain, a tender moment that just couldn't wait. It was a burst of love that so desperately needed to be expressed, a connection showing the strength of the feeling, the mutual need, like a rebellion against the elements. They clung to one another, not caring that the water was soaking through their clothes to chill their skin.


It was with great reluctance that Ben and Rey left their small piece of paradise behind them and returned to the Resistance base. They hadn't really spoken about what was coming next. Thus far they had kept their relationship to themselves, reluctant to share the knowledge of their coming together with anyone-not even those closest to them were in on the secret, though a few suspected.

There was such freedom in that, yet also a powerful sense of being home, of belonging, in their ability to see one another as they truly were. In that was the secret to their strong bond, of how it had formed when they were very young. Two pure hearts had formed an attachment, their mutual love evolving and changing in multiple ways as they grew to adulthood.

A surprise was waiting for them back at the base. As Ben was helping Rey off the speeder bike, a familiar figure emerged from the shadows of the hangar bay.

Rey was the first to spot her. "Ben, its Magda!" She cried like an excitable child as she pointed to the female Mon Calamari matriarch who was slowly making her way toward them in the distance. "Did you know she was coming? Was this part of the surprise?"

"I had no idea." Ben said, feeling mystified.

Magda was so attached to her beloved inn in the black-market port on Trask that he was stunned that she had taken time away from it to visit them. He watched Rey lift the long skirts of her dress to stop them impeding her movement as she took off at a fast sprint toward Magda, her face shining with happiness.

Ben quickly followed in her wake, shooting a sly wink in her direction as he soon outpaced her. Rey stuck her tongue out at him in retaliation, her brow furrowing in concentration as she increased her speed, determined to reach Magda first. She loved the feeling of speed, of accessing her reserve tank when the opposition was all out.

Breathing steady, heart strong-Rey soon took the lead again, though she guessed that Ben had slowed his pace deliberately to match hers. She kept running, her feet kissing the land, relishing the prospect of getting to spend time with the female Mon Calamari again. Magda was like the mother she'd never had, and she had missed her comforting presence terribly.

"Mags!"

Rey and Ben collided as they reached Magda at the same time. They tumbled into her outspread arms collectively, and she gathered them close, her large goggle like eyes as wet with tears as theirs as they rejoiced in their reunion. "My children." She whispered hoarsely.


They all hugged for a long time. Magda was the first to break away, her features suspended between grief and joy. Seconds passed, her brain taking them in, struggling to comprehend how much they had grown. Ben was so tall now, she had to strain her neck to look up at him. And Rey, no longer a child but a fully grown woman-as beautiful as Ben was handsome. With one webbed hand on each of their faces, she gazed at them with affection. She had only to look into their eyes to see that what she guessed would eventually come to pass had already happened.

"I am so happy for you both."

Ben and Rey exchanged a loving look. Magda was as shrewd as she always was. That she had immediately guessed their secret came as no surprise to either of them. One of Ben's hands clasped around Rey's lower back, the other stroking her hair.

"I love her, Mags."

"Well, that's always been obvious." Magda said sagely.

"And I love him."

Magda laughed. "And that goes without saying."

With each soft touch from Ben, more tears fell from Rey's eyes, tears she didn't bother wiping away. She wasn't the only one openly crying, Magda was too.

Even Ben's eyes were moist, he was smiling so wide it made his cheeks hurt. "I can't believe you're here, Mags. Its so good to see you. We were planning to visit, but you beat us to it. Is it just you, or did you bring the whole family?"

The light in Magda's eyes faded. Something seemed to snap inside, snap like brittle glass, the shards tearing at her guts. She couldn't speak, the blood leaving her face as she reached out to grip both Ben and Rey for support. Alarmed, they held onto her, both their faces registering shock at her sudden display of grief.

"Mags, what is it?" Rey pleaded thickly. "What's happened?"

"My family…the inn…all gone…the First Order obliterated everything. Besides myself, the only other one who survived was my grandson, Denny." Magda's bulbous eyes closed in despair as she sagged against them.

"No!" Rey sobbed. Magda's family was her family. She had lived with them, played with them, grown with them. Denny was the youngest. He would be the equivalent of a fourteen-year-old now. He had called her pretty once…she wrapped her arms around Magda and held her tight.

Ben's jaw worked with grief as he tried to contain his own tears. His brain couldn't formulate a coherent thought. Magda had showered him with a maternal love that Leia Organa had always struggled to express. She had taken him and Rey in, making them a part of her own family, she had been a source of advice and comfort during the lowest moments in his life. Magda was the one he had reached out to during his darkest time, when he thought he lost Rey forever, when the darkness threatened to consume him entirely. With her heartfelt advice and unwavering support, she had helped set him back on the right path.

And now almost everything she loved had been taken from her. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right. Ben's eyes narrowed as he vowed vengeance on the First Order and Snoke for what they had taken from those he loved the most.

In the distance Ben saw his mother approaching with Kaydel Connix by her side. She couldn't have chosen a worst time to appear. Ben's eyes met Leia's; she gave him an arch look that made him feel like a naughty child that was about to be chastised.

Kaydel caught his mother's attention, talking quietly in her ear. Kaydel wore her hair in braids now, wrapped around her head like a crown-just like his mother. A lot of young women on the base were doing the same, Leia's Alderaanian hairstyle had become a symbol among those young females who openly admired the strong general. Ben was glad that Rey wasn't one of them.

"Ben, where have you and Rey been? You can't just skip out on your duties when you feel like it." Leia reprimanded as she stopped in front of them, her lips pursing slightly in disapproval as she observed the grief-stricken female calamari standing between them. "And who's this?" She demanded impatiently.

Before Ben could issue a sharp retort and call his mother out on her rudeness, Magda raised her head sharply, the tears glistening in her eyes drying up as she glared at the Resistance general. "Madam, I would prefer you to address me directly." She said imperiously. "And I suggest you improve your tone if you expect an answer."

A/N-thanks for reading. Please review!