Hello reader! SO- this is my first time ever even attempting a Star Wars fic... I've always shied away because of the sheer volume of lore and stories tied to everything. But, I can't hide my Reylo addiction any longer! This could be a one-shot, or possibly turn into something more... that all depends on you!
Cold. Rey was so cold. She couldn't move or even feel her body. All she could sense was the Force and… the whispers. The same whispers that had given her the strength to stand up only moments before.
"Not yet, Rey." One voice whispered, louder than the rest.
Luke?
"Its not your time, Rey," Another faint voice added.
Then, she abruptly felt something she couldn't put words to. She sensed the outline of her body begin to take shape once more. Starting from a small, bright light, a path of life was illuminated as whatever it was began to course throughout her body from her abdomen. It felt warm - hot even - but not uncomfortably so. As seconds passed, her dead limbs began to feel lighter and Rey could feel the cold air on parts of her skin. Her mind paused when it realized it could not feel the ground upon which she had fallen, the dusty and rubble covered floor of the Sith temple that she had felt last before her mind succumbed to the Force.
As the light pervaded throughout her drained body, she felt fleeting emotions pass into her mind, almost as if someone was telling a story with flashes of images. Anger, fear, resolve, relief, and…love?
With great effort and on nothing more than instinct, her bloodied hand slowly moved to the source of the light pouring into her. She felt…a hand?
Rey's eyes were open but unseeing. Color and light began to filter in, giving her a slow and blurry picture of a dark figure looking down on her. Then suddenly, as if someone had snapped their fingers, her vision cleared and she was looking into the tortured, awestruck eyes of Ben Solo.
Rey sat up quickly, realizing she was cradled within his arms and on his lap. One of his large hands softly gripped her neck, holding her close. His eyes roamed over her face rapidly, clearly in disbelief.
"Ben?" She whispered, a mixture of happiness, relief, and her own disbelief rolled into one word.
Ben didn't reply, seemingly stunned, his eyes now unable to leave her own. She moved her hand to his face, her other hand still holding tightly to the other hand he had placed on her body and transferred his life-force through.
The same mixture of feelings she felt were reflected in his eyes, and she felt their Bond vibrate with contentment from their close proximity. Before Rey had time to truly reflect on this sensation, she was leaning forward and feeling the press of his lips, bruised and bloodied against hers, feeling his arms tighten around her as she kissed him. Time stopped, the galaxy paused, and a heavy silence settled as the Bond encompassed Ben and Rey fully.
Parsecs, hours, or days could have passed for all they knew when Rey slowly pulled away, taking in the sight of his face once again, a slight question remaining in her eyes. In reply Ben smiled a toothy grin, a small laugh escaping. It was the epitome of happiness at that exact moment. Relief at being alive, joy at Ben being the one to revive her, triumph from defeating the threat of Palpatine and Sith rule.
The happy moment was not to last, though. Alarm suddenly filled the Bond and Rey reached for the back of Ben's head as he suddenly began to fall backwards. Panic coursed through her newly awakened nerves and she felt Ben's side of the Bond begin to fade.
No. No!
Rey bent over him; her legs awkwardly splayed around him. She put both hands on the sides of his face, his expression now blank when only seconds ago it had been blissful. Bowing her head and closing her eyes, she concentrated. She called on all the Jedi of the past to help her once again. Their Bond, a dyad in the Force, must live on. It represented the ultimate balance of dark and light. How could she achieve that without him?
"A power like life itself…"
He must have given all of his life-force in order to bring her back.
"You fool, you amazing, unthinking, fool." Rey thought at him, still pulling on all the strength she had in the Force, and that which was lent by those who were one with the Force. Sweat and grime began to trickle down the sides of her temples and a drop fell from her nose onto Ben's cheek.
Healing was still relatively new to her, a skill she had only discovered by way of the Jedi texts and through Leia's help. Her first trial of the skill had been on that serpent in the desert on Pasaana, what seemed millennia ago now.
When she had healed Ben from the saber wound that she had inflicted only the day before, it felt almost natural. They were equals in the Force; what was hers was his and vice versa. Ben's final act of giving his life for hers had clearly been inspired by her act while on the remnants of the Death Star on Kef Bir.
"Fool," Rey thought again. He hadn't needed to give her all that he had. She imagined that the teachings of the dark side on healing and compassion were limited. She and Ben, their dyad of hope, were meant to achieve equality in all things, and now their Bond's life-force most of all.
It was harder to achieve than she thought as Rey began to once again feel her own life-force drip into Ben. Too much, and she would arrive at the same fate as he had. She felt the presence of two Force signatures behind her, and she knew instantly that they were Luke and Leia. Their love, together with Rey's, poured slowly into Ben Solo's broken body.
Minutes ticked by until she felt it. A heartbeat.
Dark eyelashes begin to flutter just before his eyes flew open, resuming their lock on her gaze.
"Rey?" He whispered hoarsely, confusion clouding his face.
In return she flashed a wide smile of elation, sinking her fingers from the side of his face towards the back of his head and into his thick hair that lay tangled around him on the ground.
Ben lunged up, capturing her lips for a second kiss that he thought would have never come. His hands went to her shoulders, lightly pulling her closer as her legs curled at his side and she melted to his touch in return.
When they finally broke away, Ben sat up again, looking down on his own body.
"How?" He spoke softly, still looking down at himself, as if at any moment this gift would be taken away.
"Balance," was Rey's only reply. She gave him a shy smile when he looked back up at her, incredulous.
Silently, Rey moved to take Ben's hand and closed her eyes in concentration. Ben again felt the same flicker of energy as he had that first time they touched hands through their connection. This time, however, it was different. He could feel the energy she was purposely sending him through their Bond. He felt the equality between them, of dark, light, and life. They were an equal match in all things and now he could feel it. She was the balm to the conflict he had felt in his life for so long.
Ben shifted and attempted to move his legs, but stopped suddenly when a jolt of pain shot up from his lower leg.
Concern flashed in Rey's face and she moved to touch the source of his pain, a shattered ankle.
"Don't," Ben croaked, grabbing her hand.
"But, Ben, I can –"
"Rey, we're both barely alive. I can't let you do that, not until you've had time to recover," He looked down at her hand, now covered by both of his much larger hands, almost in a caress.
A moment of defiance crossed Rey's features, but she sighed and gave a slight nod in agreement. He was right, they both were nearly drained and practically surviving on the thread of their Bond. Her own body was starting to throb with its own pains.
The blooming pain was the first sign that their little bubble of frozen time was fading. Looking up to the opening in the temple, both Ben and Rey could see the fleet of the Final Order crumbling from the sky, the Resistance and its friends taking out the last of the threats. The ground began to vibrate beneath them, cracks in the floor spreading.
With a struggle, Rey made it to her feet, reaching her hand down to Ben. He grunted with exertion as he tried to balance on his good foot and lean on her. Her own ribs began to scream out, surely broken or bruised as she breathed deeply and began to help him limp towards the landing where she had left Luke's X-wing.
It suddenly occurred to her that she had no clue how Ben had made it to her here on Exegol. She had stolen his ship on Kef Bir and destroyed it.
"How…How did you even get here?" Rey managed, taking short, quick breaths to avoid the pain in her ribs as they navigated the disintegrating temple.
With his dark hair plastered to his face from the strain of limping, he gave her a surprisingly boyish grin in reply, "I commandeered a TIE fighter."
Of course he had. Because it was all that simple.
"And your lightsaber?"
The grin quickly disappeared and was replaced by a grimace as he looked back towards the ground in front of them. She felt a shiver through the Bond.
"At the bottom of an ocean. We're almost there now," He quickly answered, redirecting their attention to the silhouettes of the two ships.
As they stumbled closer to the ships, Rey pulled them towards Luke's X-wing. Ben halted suddenly, almost making Rey lose her footing and nearly ending with both of them on the ground once again.
When he had first seen the ship, Ben had been relieved. She was there and he had arrived to be with her, to help her. Now, he felt the overwhelming presence of his uncle, of the history behind what the old ship had seen.
Ben stared at the ship and Rey looked towards his face, taking in his stricken profile.
"Well, we can't exactly just fly to the base of the Resistance in a First Order TIE," she huffed, tugging slightly on him to continue.
His only reply was a large sigh as he shook the hair out of his eyes and followed her lead.
Hope you enjoyed my little happier-ending twist to TROS! I'd love it if you could leave even a short review, thanks!