"Rey" she heard a familiar voice break through her subconscious. Her heart was lightened at the sound and she pulled herself out of her own mind to find herself laid back in none other than Ben Solo's arms.
She met his eyes and watched some of the worry drain from his features. She took a small moment to drink him in. His dark hair had fallen down and shielded his eyes that were boring into her own. She could feel a smile tugging at her lips as she remembered what Harmaa had told her about him. He was truly her other half, alone as they had both been until now, they were destined to find each other.
She reached up gingerly and tucked the hair off of his face. His gaze never faltered as she looked back at him. "Hi." she said, surprised at how small the word came out. His face flickered with confusion for only a moment before he took a breath and responded "Hi."
They were lost in the other's gaze. Rey noted the shift in the Force she felt around them. Harmaa had been right, and it had been there the whole time. The connection they shared went far beyond them, she could feel their influence emanate from around them. The atmosphere shifted, and the two flowed as one, completely at peace.
At once, they both closed the gap between them. Rey felt his lips softly press to her own, everything and nothing was said as they took their time to breathe the other in. Rey felt his hand move from her side to caress her face, and she moved her own to entwine with the soft hair she had moved before.
Rey felt a hunger bubble in her unlike no other. The gentle touches no longer seemed like enough, and she wanted more. Ben pressed harder into her for a moment before he ended the kiss. Steadying himself inches from her face with a boyish grin. "As much as I'd love to continue we should probably discuss why you're here." he said as his eyes scanned her features, stopping, she noted, on her lips.
Rey groaned in mock frustration, surprising herself at the outburst and quickly feeling her cheeks redden at the outburst. She quickly looked away from him and noted her surroundings, or lack of them, for the first time, attempting to ignore the obvious amusement that was on his face. "I was on Ahch-To." she said desperately trying to shift her focus as she sat up and out of his arms.
He looked at her curiously and waited for her to continue. "Well it's a little hard to explain." She fumbled trying to recall all of what had transpired in the cave. Ben waited patiently, and reached his hand out to grasp hers. She could feel him trying to connect with her, for the first time since he had died she could feel part of the veil that hung between their bond pull away.
"I think I met the Force." she said quietly and waited for his reaction. His face remained unchanged. "The Force?" he questioned. "It's hard to explain. It was this orb, bright but dim. It spoke to me. I guess it told me about itself. How the Force began as one, that was divided into the Light and the Dark, both sides fighting for control they could never seize. The only way for peace is for the two to be one, and I guess symbolically and literally, that's us." she continued and watched as his features contorted in thought.
"I suppose that makes sense to a degree." he mused, absentmindedly moving his thumb over her hand. "I've heard similar stories passed down from both the Jedi and the Sith, though neither one mentioned them coming back together in such a way. It was always spoken as if only one would bring balance, but perhaps that was the wrong interpretation." he said amusedly. "What else did you learn?"
"Not much, I was starting to pass out. Which may explain why I ended up here." she gestured to him. "It did tell me to go to Ronu II. Have you ever heard of it?" Ben's face hardened at the name. "Only briefly during some of my training with Snoke, and none of it was good. It's an old Sith world. There isn't much information about it since even the most powerful Jedi were afraid to go there."
Rey fiddled with a piece of fabric from Ben's tunic and thought about the incoming dangers. It wasn't unsurprising to learn the stone would be found on a Sith world, and she knew from what Harmaa had told her that it wasn't going to be easy. "Well if that's where the Force leads then I'll be ready to follow." she stated with a small shrug of acceptance, but noticed the apprehension in Ben's glance.
"You've said it yourself, Ben. We're a dyad. We are meant to bring balance to the force together. We both have incredible Light and Darkness, and we've both acted on it in opposite ways." she watched his gaze drop in shame at the mention of their actions. Rey would not allow him to fall into the trap of self-pity. She had been there enough to know nothing good could come of it.
She reached over to gently pull his chin back towards her and felt her heart skip once his gaze met hers. "We cannot change the past, Ben. But we can change the future together. You and I are meant to bring true balance back to the Force. The last great force users of either side died at the end of the war. It's up to us to begin a new era, together." she said gently and watched her words wash over his face. She could still see the doubt in his eyes.
"You were right." she said quietly, dropping her hand. He gave her a questioning look in return. "Maybe not exactly, but right nonetheless. We were meant to do this together." She held out her hand to him as he had done for her. "Be with me." she said, barely above a whisper. Rey watched and knew even without their strong connection that he recognized her actions and was slowly letting his walls come down. His hand, strong and firm, took hers without hesitation and he leaned in towards her, stopping just as his lips brushed hers. "Always." he whispered.