Please

Rey felt a rush of happiness and relief. He had turned, for her. He had killed Snoke and fought at her side. Both of their faces were covered in sweat from the fight and the heat, and they were both panting heavily in sync with each other, trying to regain their breath. Rey stared at him for a long time, just taking in the moment. She watched how the glow of the flames reflected across his face, his long dark hair that fell messily into his eyes, and his dark and alluring eyes that held her captive even now. Then all of a sudden, a jolt went through her and she suddenly came back to reality.

"The fleet!" she exclaimed. She ran towards the viewpoint and pointed towards the dwindling Resistance fleet. "Order them to stop firing! There's still time to save the fleet!" She spun around to face him, excitement and hope on her face. But Ben wasn't looking at her anymore. He was looking at his master's body as he stood before the throne. She could hear the muffled thuds as the cannons continued firing, and Kylo's footsteps as they echoed throughout the room. He was breathing heavily and his hands were shaking.

Rey suddenly had a bad feeling about this. The smile slipped from her face and her heart sank as she looked at Kylo. She suddenly felt very afraid.

"Ben?" she asked quietly, her voice cutting through the silence. Her arms lowered and her body stilled. She began to feel a horrible numbness creep into her bones.

Kylo inhaled shakily before he managed to speak.

"It's time to let old things die," he said, his voice hoarse and low. He turned to face her. "Snoke, Skywalker, the Sith, the Jedi, the rebels, let it all die." He took a few steps towards her, his gaze was piercing. He inhaled deeply and when he spoke again, Rey's stomach dropped.

"Rey," he said, before lifting his arm and holding out his hand to her. "I want you to join me."

Rey felt scared, sorrowful, disappointed, angry, and desperate all at once. A thousand other emotions that she couldn't possibly name tore through her. Her eyes filled with tears as she slowly comprehended what he was saying.

"We can rule together and bring order to the galaxy," he said, but Rey barely registered the words. They had been said before by so many others, and she was scared to lose him.

"Don't do this, Ben," she pleaded. "Please don't go this way." Her voice broke and she shook her head pleadingly. Her eyes filled with tears and her lower lip shook slightly. She was silently begging him not to do this. She didn't want to lose him to the Dark side. Hell, she didn't want to lose him, period.

Kylo's face became angry as he said, "No, no. You're still holding on!" His voice had risen to a shout. "Let go!" But then his face softened and his voice quieted. He looked at her in a way that no one ever had before, and it made her heart skip a beat, as it broke at the same time.

"Do you want to know the truth about your parents?" he asked. "Or have you always known?"

Despite all of Rey's efforts to keep her emotions at bay, a single tear fell from her eyes onto her cheeks. She didn't want to break down, not now, not here.

Kylo took a few more steps towards her as he continued. "Or have you just hidden it away?" He looked at her with an emotion she couldn't place. "You know the truth. Say it." Rey stood still, not wanting to accept this.

At the sight of her tears, Kylo's voice softened.

"Say it," he repeated gently.

Rey looked down as another tear fell from her eyes. Her voice shook as she spoke.

"They were nobody," she said tearfully as she lifted her eyes to meet his gaze again.

"They were filthy junk traders," he said almost nonchalantly. "Who sold you off for drinking money." Rey didn't want to believe him, but she knew that he was telling the truth. He had never lied to her before, and deep down, some part of her had already known. Rey sniffled and tried to choke back her sobs.

"They're dead in a pauper's grave in the Jakku desert." More tears dripped down her cheeks as Kylo continued.

"You have no place in this story. You come from nothing. You're nothing," he said solemnly. Rey could no longer hold his gaze as her eyes filled with more tears, blurring her vision. She blinked hard and tried to force down a sob that threatened to rise from her throat. She focused on the red armor of one of the fallen guards, the pieces of metal that were still burning, the smell of ozone in the air, anything but Kylo. Couldn't he tell that this was hurting her? That she just wanted him to stop? Or was she more upset with herself for being in denial for so long? She inhaled shakily, still avoiding Kylo's gaze.

Kylo's expression softened and then he spoke again, his voice soft. "But not to me." She looked up at him in surprise, confusion, and longing? She meant something to him, even though she came from nothing. She suddenly realized that he didn't care about her origins or her past. He wanted her, here, now. And despite all of the opposing circumstances, she had come to care for him, as he had come to care for her. After feeling alone for all those years, someone was finally asking her to be part of something. To mean something to someone. Her gaze met his and she realized at how vulnerable he was being right now. He was honest and sincere about this. He genuinely wanted her with him. To not be alone anymore.

Rey saw a muscle in Kylo's jaw clench nervously as he asked again, "Join me." He offered her his hand again, and it did not escape Rey that his hand was trembling. He took another step closer to her. When Rey looked at his hand, she felt a flood of emotions wash over her. Confusion, hope, fear, and longing. She didn't want to rule the galaxy. She just wanted him. She didn't know exactly what that meant but at that moment, she did want to take his hand.

Kylo took another step forward, so he was only a pace away from her. His hand was still outstretched to her. Rey looked at him with an expression that held so much emotion within it as if she was begging him to know what she wanted. She looked back up at Kylo to meet his dark eyes. To her surprise, they were scared, vulnerable, and pleading, a gaze that mirrored her own. Kylo continued to hold out his hand and looked at her pleadingly.

"Please," he whispered, his chin trembling. Her heart broke at that simple request. She wanted to take his hand so badly because she didn't want to be alone anymore. Nobody in her life understood her as well as he did. Not Luke, the Resistance, or even Finn. She felt as if her heart was breaking more and more with each passing moment.

Kylo looked into her hazel eyes, and he could see the desire and conflict in there. He desperately prayed that she'd accept. He was terrified, rooted to the spot, unable to look anywhere else. He had been so honest with her, so vulnerable, and even if she didn't know it, she held his heart in her hands. He inhaled shakily, trying not to let his emotions overwhelm him. He didn't even necessarily want her by his side for her power, and where she came from didn't matter. What did matter, is that she understood him and was his equal in almost every way. The loneliness that had tortured him since he was a child vanished when he was with her. Over the past couple of days, he had grown to truly care for her. Snoke was right. He did have compassion for the girl standing before him. She almost looked angelic with the glow of the orange sparks falling all around them reflecting off her face. The sparks fell around them like snow, and he thought of when they had fought in the forest only days ago. He kept his hand outstretched to her, and to hell with his pride. He softly whispered one simple word, "Please." His gaze never left her as her eyes flitted back and forth between him and his outstretched hand. He waited apprehensively, as the muffled boom of the explosions behind them raged.

They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. Rey felt more tears roll down her cheeks and without even realizing it, she was slowly raising her hand. She felt torn apart at that moment. The urge to just take his hand was so strong as if she was being pulled to him like a magnet. She had gotten to see glimpses of the man she had come to see, Ben Solo, underneath the mask of Kylo Ren. But Ben was being swallowed by darkness again, and her heart broke when she realized that.

Kylo kept his hand outstretched. Her fingers were so close to his. They were barely more than two feet apart. Her expression of turmoil and conflict suddenly became one of resolve. She slowly raised her hand towards him. Her hand was shaking and when he looked into her eyes, he saw longing, sorrow, and regret. Before Kylo could comprehend what that meant, suddenly his uncle's lightsaber was yanked from his hand as she pulled it to her with the Force. He flung up his own hand quickly to stop it mid-flight.

Rey reached for the lightsaber but strained when it stopped in mid-air as Kylo pulled it towards him. She increased her concentration, but he matched her at every move. Rey wanted to be free of this turmoil and chaos, but she had already made her choice, even though it tore her apart on the inside. The saber began to shake and tremble, wavering back and forth between the two.

Kylo had flung up his hand to desperately stop her from reaching the lightsaber because somehow he knew that if she did reclaim it, he wouldn't be able to fight her. He couldn't at this point. If she wasn't with him, what did that mean? He didn't even know if they were enemies again, but he couldn't focus on that right now. He channeled every ounce of power he had left in him to pull his uncle's lightsaber towards him.

As more time passed by, both of their pulls became more powerful. It was so much that they slid further away from the saber as they grappled against each others' Force. Rey let out a scream as she strained from the effort and Kylo let out a yell of his own.

The saber hummed and shook violently. Then suddenly, it could no longer take the conflict. In a massive explosion of light, the saber split in two, releasing an immense wave of power. And at that same moment, the Supremecy shook violently, as the Resistance ship rammed into it at lightspeed, tearing it apart. Lightsaber and ship broke simultaneously as the blast threw both Rey and Kylo backward, knocking them unconscious as thunderous explosions rocked the room.

Author's Note: Haha, two updates in a row. Sorry, this quarantine gives me a lot of time to procrastinate but sometimes my creative energy comes in bursts. Ahh, this scene gives me so many feels. Question: do you want me to include the Force bond sessions in The Rise of Skywalker as well? Feedback and reviews are always appreciated!