Rey crumpled to the ground, boneless and exhausted from trying, in vain, to resist Snoke's mental probe. It felt like someone had run a starship through her skull at lightspeed. Sound and vision were blurred. Her eyes refused to focus. When they did she saw Ben raised into the air, his own lightsaber hovering in front of him, pointed at his chest, the blade ignited, a crackling bloody red.

Rey tried to stand, but her body would not obey her. The best she could do was prop herself up on her elbows so that she was at least halfway sitting up. She tried to cry out for Ben, a useless gesture, her voice was little more than ragged air.

"You thought you could betray me, you pathetic child?" Snoke roared. His voice grating against Rey's pounding head. "You thought you were the heir to Vader? You were nothing more than a boy in a mask – weak and foolish enough to have his heart turned by a girl, one who could never truly care for you. Returned to the light for a pair of pretty eyes that could only ever look at you with derision. I've seen inside her mind, she knows what a monster you are."

Ben cried out in pain as his body jolted under Snoke's iron grasp.

Rey breathed in deeply, calling on the force, calling on the past Jedi, the generations that lived inside of her, to give her strength. She stood. It felt like the ship shuddered beneath her feet.

She extended her arm, let the force flow through her, she pulled at the lightsaber pointed at Ben's chest, let the fingers of the force wrap around it. It trembled in the air, but it did not move. Rey bent her knees, steadied herself and pulled at the saber with all of her might. Her arm was shaking with exertion, her head was still pounding, and this concentrating only made things worse, but she had no other choice. If she failed, Ben died, that was it.

"Such spirit." Snoke said, no obvious strain in his own voice. However, the fact that he had not put his hold on her yet meant that he was extending too much energy in keeping Ben and the saber in place. "Pitiful girl, less than half a Jedi. You think that you can fight me? I cannot die, I cannot be beaten, I cannot -"

Rey felt a familiar burning sensation rise through her. Her blood screamed in her ears, her heart pounding violently against her rib cage as every fiber of her being fought against Snoke. She would not let him take Ben from her. She could see him now, his smile fading, he was falling, he was disapearing before her very eyes. One moment he had been everything she had ever wanted and needed and the next he was gone. She couldn't survive the pain of losing him again, a pain she didn't even fully remember, but one that ached within her even now. It was more than the bond, she realized, it was Ben, who he was becoming – it was who he was. Heat rose in her chest, familiar and angry and dark. A great and terrible energy ripped through her body and she twisted on the balls of her feet to face Snoke.

Veins of violent blue electricity shot from Rey's fingers as she roared something entirely incomprehensible. Rey couldn't see it, but she knew that Ben and the lightsaber had been released from Snoke's hold. The tendrils of raw power wrapped themselves around Snoke's form, stunning, perhaps killing him, rendering him immobile, while at the same time threatening to consume Rey from the inside. The world shook around her, explosions going off in her head. Rey's vision went white and the lightning died.

Snoke's body fell to the ground, twitching from residual lightning coursing through his corpse. Ben pulled himself off of the floor, his lightsaber flying to his hand. He rushed over to Rey, wide-eyed, hair wild. Has face had taken on a sickly pallor from fighting Snoke's influence. He searched her face. Rey drew her own lightsaber to her hand.

"The guards," She breathed.

Sure enough, they were currently being surrounded by the red-armored Elite Praetorian Guards. Ben and Rey nodded quickly at each other and turned, pressing their backs together, a mirror image of their last fight against the guards.

The guards approached slowly, brandishing their weapons, all crackling to life with red electricity. Ben and Rey were both breathing hard, bone tired, but they weren't done yet.

"This is the easy part." Ben said, hoarsely. Rey would have laughed if she had the strength.

Rey swung at a guard carrying an electrified great sword. The sword flung back and Rey buried her blade into the guard's chest, kicking their body away. She pushed two of them back using the force, sending them careening into the far wall, their weapons igniting the red fabric which hung there, the fire spreading quickly.

She pressed her back further into Ben, who pressed against her in return. The way they fought was like a miracle. Two people completely in synch with each other. Their minds and hearts melding into one complete unit, stronger than either of them were separately. They danced with the elite guards; each swing of their blades was like a song. They were unison, they were balance. A spot of peace and tranquility in the fiery chaos that burned around them.

As the last guard fell, Ben whipped around and threw a hand behind Rey, both of their lightsabers dying in their grasps. Rey's legs felt wobbly and she thought that she might crumble at any moment, but Ben just held her closer, he wouldn't let her fall. She felt as safe as she ever had before. Her heart soared as she looked up at him, his dark eyes searching her, adrenaline pumping through both of their veins.

Ben leaned down and kissed her. The kiss was soft and gentle in stark contrast to the fire, destruction, and death that surrounded them. It was intimate, sweet – loving, Rey thought. Rey's body was trembling so hard it felt like the world was shaking around them. It really, really felt like that. Ben pulled back quickly.

"Is the ship shaking?" He asked, with shuddering breath.

They were quiet and still for a moment, both of them staring up at the ceiling. An explosion sounded somewhere nearby and the ship shuddered violently beneath their feet.

"What's happening?" Rey croaked, her voice a mangled mess from screaming.

Both of their attentions turned to the large transperisteel viewport at the back of the throne room. Now that red fabric had all but burned away, they could see the inky blackness of space spread out before them, sparkling with stars. More prominent than the stars, however, was the massive fleet of ships lined up against the Supremacy. Rey's heart skipped a beat, terrified for a moment, until she realized the ships in front of her were not star destroyers, not dreadnaughts.

"The Resistance." She said, breathlessly, grasping the front of Ben's shirt tightly. The Resistance fleet was attacking the ship, and it was larger than she had ever seen it before. "Where did all of those ships come from?" She asked, every word scratching up her throat.

"It's the Republic fleet." Ben breathed. "It was never destroyed because Starkiller…" He choked out a sound that Rey thought was maybe supposed to have been a laugh but sounded more like a cough. "We've got to get out of here."

"The escape shuttle." Rey said, pointing, remembering exactly where it was.

The shuttle was compact and sleek but fit both she and Ben easily. Being the Supreme Leader's escape craft, it was quite fast, if Rey remembered correctly. She sat herself in the pilot's seat. There was no co-pilot position, but there was a second seat built into the wall of the craft where Ben sat, hunched over in the cramped space. Rey's hands shook, whether from exhaustion or nerves she could not tell, probably both, as she primed the ship for flight and ejected them out into the cool darkness of space.

X-Wings and TIE fighters littered the space above, below and all around them. Rey could make out the Raddus in the distance, the long, oblong Mon Calamari-built flagship of Leia Organa, and she made straight for that, or, she did, until two X-Wings swooped up on the shuttle's rear and took fire. Rey swung the ship around wildly, it's controls more responsive than she was used to. Rey pitched the shuttle down and up and around, trying to lose their attackers.

A familiar ship raced by on their right, joining the pursuit. Ben reached over her shoulder to the comm system, punching in a familiar code.

"This is the Falcon," A familiar voice crackled through the speaker of the communicator. "Who is this?"

"Dad, it's Ben. You need to –"

"Ben? What are you doing… We thought you were planet side!" Han's voice yelled through the comm, interrupting his son.

"Well, we aren't. Can you please relay that to the Resistance fighters currently trying to blow us out the sky?" Ben called into the device, his voice desperate and ragged as Rey barely managed to dodge another shot.

Within a moment the fighters pulled off but Rey was still tense, her muscles still taught, her hands had a white-knuckle grip on the steering controls. Ben did not return to his seat, he stayed right behind Rey, his fingers digging into the leather of the pilot's seat, she could feel his shaking breath on her ear. It was not until they pulled into the hangar of the Raddus, surrounded by Resistance members, guns drawn, of course, that Rey allowed herself to relax.

Once the crowd saw and processed who was exiting the First Order shuttle, they immediately rushed back to whatever they had been doing beforehand, some rushing out of the hangar others scrambling into X-Wings and bombers. No one paid Ben and Rey any mind as Ben grabbed Rey's hand and burst into a sprint.

They probably should have gone straight to the med-bay, that would have been the smart thing to do, but their minds were still running on the fire of battle and adrenaline, their blood hot from fighting. Of course, Rey had never been on the Raddus before, it had hit the Supremacy at lightspeed while she was still on the First Order flagship. It was possible Ben had been on the ship before, Rey conceded, it was his mother's, but he didn't seem to know where he was going. This was confirmed when he skidded to a halt, Rey smashing into his back in the process, as he turned to a passing Resistance member.

"Command Deck." He barked. It was not a question; it was a command. The girl, an engineer Rey vaguely recognized, jumped out of her skin at the sound and babbled nearly incoherent directions back at them.

Without an apology or thanks, Ben took off again, this time in the opposite direction.

When they arrived at the command deck of the Raddus, it was bustling with activity. Generals, those of whom were not out in the fray, were issuing orders to commanders, their focus on screens and readouts in front of them. Leia was on the other end of the room, staring out the large viewport of the command center, her grip tight on the waist-high terminal in front of her. Ben's pace did not slow until they reached her.

Leia turned to face them, surely sensing her son before seeing him. She wrapped her arms around his frame and Rey let go of his hand, not wanting to intrude. The embrace was a quick one. Ben pulled back, his hands resting on his mother's shoulders.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, his voice still raw.

"We couldn't pass up an opportunity like this, the First Order flagship out here all alone?" She smiled slyly, slightly relieving the tension in her face. "And I heard that my son had gotten himself into trouble." Leia's face grew more serious, her eyes passing between Ben and Rey. "What happened on that ship?"

Rey and Ben were still both gasping for air, their hearts not having had a chance to calm since the Supremacy arrived. They must have looked a sight, Rey realized, covered in blood, sweat and soot. Rey took a look at Ben who was looking at her and her assumption was proven correct. His hair was a mess, thick with sweat and blood, his eyes bloodshot. Ben turned back to his mother.

"Snoke is dead." He said flatly. Leia's eyes went wide.

"Oh, Ben." She said, her hands flying to his shirt. "Ben," was all she could say.

Both Ben and Rey turned their attention to the viewport, or, more accurately, the battle raging on the other side of it. Billowing explosions dotted the Supremacy as X-Wings shot down TIE fighters and vice versa, as surface cannons were destroyed, as bombers dropped their payloads. Escape shuttles rocketed from the First Order flagship, commanders and officers abandoning the losing battle.

Leia's attention also returned to the battle after some time as Ben wrapped his arm around Rey's shoulders and she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him close. Every soul on the command deck waited with bated breath, their hearts beating in time as the Supremacy shuddered into a massive explosion and fell to pieces before them.

Everyone on the command deck was still and silent for a beat, their victory not having been fully processed, and then the entire ship erupted into cheers and hugging and crying. Voices shouted through the communications systems, enraptured, heading back to the people that loved them, to celebrate heroes, both living and fallen.

Something warm rose in Ben's chest, something like… pride? Ben's entire career within the First Order, as Snoke's apprentice, had been fraught with conflict. He had thought he was on the path to who he was meant to be, that sacrifices, no matter how painful, were necessary, but he never felt right. There was no conflict now, this was a victory without pain, a path without compromise.

He looked down at Rey, but she was not smiling. Her head downturned, she seemed sad, tired and in pain. He felt it too, the high of battle was wearing off, the adrenaline in their blood cooling, leaving them running on fumes.

"Where is the med-bay?" Ben asked his mother, practically holding Rey up. His mother pointed him in the right direction, and he headed off as fast as their feet could carry them, which was fairly slowly at this point.

At some point along their journey, Rey stopped moving. She stood stock-still in the middle of a hallway, her focus on the far distance, looking like she was about to faint. She looked down at her hands and began to weep.

Ben pulled her in close to his chest and sank the both of them down to the floor, his back sliding against the wall. He cradled her frame into his, enveloping her as she cried. Tried to think of something to say, but comforting words eluded him, so he stayed silent.

Rey shook with emotion, her body heaving in heavy sobs as she buried her face in his chest, her fingers clawing at the fabric of his vest and shirt. Ben just rocked her slowly. People passed, but most paid them no mind, only a few shot sorry glances their way, most likely assuming they were mourning a fallen friend. It was a strange sensation that surrounded him, the revelry from returning heroes of war mixed with Rey who was falling to pieces in his arms.

"I did it again," She wailed into his chest, her voice muffled. "I let the anger take control, I let the darkness in. It was just like Passaana."

"Passaana wasn't your fault." Ben said, pulling her tighter into him, rocking her slowly, rubbing a hand gently on her back as it shuddered. "I – I pushed you, and this time, you were only trying to -"

"I thought it was over." She choked out between sobs. Ben began to worry that she might hyperventilate. "I thought I had beaten it." Rey was looking at her hands again as though they were a sworn enemy, or disgusting things. Her jaw trembled with sorrow and anger.

"It's never over," He said softly as Rey looked up at him with watery eyes. "Not really. I don't think the dark side ever lets go completely, I don't think it's something you can beat forever." His tone was sad.

Ben had hoped when he had turned back to the light that he would be free from the tug-of-war that imprisoned his soul, but that had been a foolish hope. Ben Solo had been drawn to the darkness since before he could remember, just as Kylo Ren had been tormented by the call to the light. Why would he have thought anything would change now? The dark side was not an enemy that could be slain and forgotten about, it was in its very nature to seduce you with its shortcuts to unimaginable power.

He felt it in him always, threatening to rise with the temperature of his blood, with every wound and every annoyance. It was especially hard to suppress when he was fighting, and he had lost that battle a few times since he had turned back to the light, he knew that. It was a crutch, one that he had learned to lean on seven years ago, one that would take time to learn to live without.

Ben just held Rey close and let her cry. He would be here to listen if she wanted to talk, but he wouldn't pressure her. It was everything he had ever wanted from his parents, from his uncle, but was too afraid to ask for, too afraid of their judgement, that they wouldn't understand what he was feeling, that they would be afraid of him. Rey knew that Ben understood. After some time, she looked up at him again, her eyes red-rimmed but drying.

"He was wrong." She said softly. Ben shot her a confused look and she elaborated. "Snoke, he was wrong, he lied."

"Snoke always lies." Ben said tonelessly. He knew that better than anyone.

"He was wrong, about everything. When he was in my mind, he didn't -" She was still looking at him, but her eyes grew more intense, full of meaning, golden flakes glowing within green-brown irises. "I do care about you, Ben." Her voice was nearly a whisper, still scratched from screaming. "I really do."

Ben opened his mouth, but he found that he had no words, though his heart was full of them. He couldn't speak, so instead, he did the next best thing. He leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers, trying to pour everything he felt into the kiss. He willed every ounce of peace that she gave him into her, every comforting thought and word that his mouth could not form, every assurance that she was the best person he had ever known.

Ben loved Rey, he had for a long time. Kylo Ren had thought he loved Rey, but he didn't understand it. Kylo only saw what Rey could bring him, an empress, power, someone to rule by his side and help him crush whatever and whomever stood in their way, never taking into account what Rey wanted. That was why he had asked her to take his hand on the Supremacy, because he was blind to who she really was beyond a powerful force-user and someone who had touched his lonely heart. Ben Solo did love Rey and he wanted to give her whatever it was that she wanted. The fact that one of those things might have been him was almost too much for that lonely heart to bear.

Rey leaned into his kiss for a moment, her face still damp with tears. He could feel how she cared for him and it was nearly enough to make his heart burst. What had he ever done to deserve such grace? She pulled away, leaving him cold and wanting more. She stood slowly on shaky legs.

"I'm alright." She said. Ben stood beside her. She took his hand and they walked to the med-bay together.

The Resistance fleet spent the next day-cycle jumping from one point to the next just in case the First Order was tracking them. Rey, who did very much have a concussion, spent a good amount of that time resting and recovering in the med-bay. Ben's injuries were less severe, but he spent most of his time with her.

That entire day-cycle Ben waited with bated breath, so sure that after Snoke had seen into Rey's mind, that Sidious would know. Ben waited for the sky to open up, rain fire on them, for the Sith Eternal fleet to appear before the Raddus and blow it away, but nothing happened.

At some point, Ben had fetched both of them fresh clothes, a black jacket, trousers and a shirt that buttoned halfway down the front for himself, and for Rey a sky-blue shirt, white pants and arm wraps, he had even managed to find a light-blue swath of fabric to be used in her signature cross-body wrap. Ben had even managed to find a new utility belt for himself, one that wrapped around not only his waist but also his thigh and came equipped with a blaster holster, something he figured could come in handy in a pinch.

Ben had been in the med-bay modifying the belt to include a holster for his lightsaber when Rey had crawled up on the bed he was sat upon, resting herself on the mattress between his legs, her back against his chest. She picked up his lightsaber hilt, which he had set on the bed next to him and began turning it over in her hands.

"What is this for?" She asked. Ben looked up from his work to see her running a finger along the red wire on the exterior of his lightsaber.

"That wire specifically?" He asked, slightly confused. "Um, it helps divert power from the power cell. Why?"

"Why is it on the outside? I've always wondered that, not that I had too much time to think about it when - well, you know." She asked, inspecting it closely. "So much of the inner-workings are just out there, exposed." She mused.

"When I bled my kyber crystal, it cracked which made it more powerful but also unstable. I had to make some… alterations to my original hilt so that it wouldn't explode. I was pretty inexperienced then, so it was kind of a messy job." He half sighed; half laughed. "That's the reason for the quillions too." He reached around her and pointed to the lateral vents on either side of the emitter. "They divert additional heat."

"Hmm," Rey hummed. "So, it's just poorly made, then?" Ben laughed fully, this time.

"I guess," He said between laughter. "Everything being exposed does make modifications and repairs much easier, though. I guess that's why I haven't fixed it."

"It just seems dangerous." Rey said, shaking her head, sounding as serious as ever.

"I'll have you make my next one," Ben promised, placing a tentative kiss into her hair. They were doing that now, just giving each other casual kisses, light ones on the temple or knuckles or wrists. Ben was forever surprised that Rey let him, that she didn't pull away, that she kissed him back.

"That's good." Rey sighed against him. "Does it hurt?" She asked after a moment.

"Does what hurt?" Ben asked, furrowing brows she could not see.

"Bleeding your crystal?"

"Oh," Ben said, the process of bleeding his crystal is not something he had thought of in quite some time. "Yes, but it's not really physical pain." Ben thought, wondering how to best explain it. "You have to channel pain, hate, rage – all of that into the crystal, and it fights back, it doesn't want to be bled…" He trailed off. "It is sort of physical too, I guess. It's – it's hard to explain, sorry."

"Can it be undone?" Rey asked, her voice light, no judgement, just pure curiosity.

"Yes, well, it has been, I knew someone who did that once, but I wouldn't know how to." Ben's mind took him back in time, back to when he was very young. His uncle introducing him to a woman, she had known his grandfather, had been his padawan. Her lightsabers had been white, blinding and brilliant, the crystals healed and reformed.

"If you could, would you want to?" She turned her head to look up at him.

"Maybe." Ben answered noncommittally.

Later that day, Ben had been summoned for a tense meeting with his mother. It had not gone... well and he had been trying to distract himself by grabbing himself and Rey something to eat. She was well enough by then to have left the med-bay, but Rey preferred to eat in private. Ben didn't press it and he didn't mind people watching him and whispering in his presence. In fact, it meant that they were unafraid of him enough not to, which was a nice change of pace. A shout drew his attention in an empty hallway.

"Hey!" Called the voice, it's masculine tone was vaguely familiar.

Ben turned slowly. He said nothing to the ex-stormtrooper at the other end of the hall, merely raised his eyebrows and nodded his head gesturing the other man to continue. FN-2187 stepped forward once, terror written all over his face, although it was clear he was trying to hide it.

"You…" The man began, his voice raised, but then his eyes scanned the hall, worried, looking for spying eyes and ears. He drew nearer. "I know who you are." FN-2187 whispered.

"Hmm?" Ben hummed dispassionately. Of course, FN-2187 knew who he was, or who he had been. Ben did not particularly care one way or another. He knew that his mother and Rey were both nervous about the truth of his history in the First Order getting out, the fact that he had once been Kylo Ren, but the way Ben saw it, it was inevitable.

"Y-you're Kylo Ren." FN-2187 stammered. Ben merely sighed and rolled his eyes, ready for this conversation to be over.

"I was." He agreed. "Thank you for letting me know. Are we done here?" The ex-stormtrooper seemed taken aback, he shook his head. This was clearly not how he imagined this conversation would go.

"Ar – No!" The man's eyes widened as he stomped a foot on the ground. "Rey, the girl that saved me, don't hurt her." The words were laced with a pathetic threat. Or what, Ben was tempted to ask, curious to see what the trooper thought he could do to stop him, but he held back.

"I have no plans to." Ben said flatly, though he was holding back a laugh.

"First Order!" Cried another man's voice, this one painfully familiar as well. Ben closed his eyes, exhausted. One hand raising to rub at the low throbbing developing in his right temple. Ben opened his eyes to see Dameron, the pilot all smiles, one arm wrapped over the shoulders of the ex-stormtrooper by his side. FN-2187 seemed to relax a bit in the presence of a friendly face, but still looked warily at Ben.

"Yes?" Ben sighed.

"We haven't seen you since the action in Pressy's Tumble, didn't get to thank you for saving our skins!" The pilot laughed, shaking the man next to him who was stock-still, the ex-stormtrooper's face was a picture of discomfort.

"Don't mention it." Ben mumbled half-heartedly.

"We're just going to visit with Rey, where you off to?"

"Food." Ben sighed, his jaw setting hard.

"Oh!" Dameron brightened, he turned to FN-2187. "You hungry, buddy?" The ex-stormtrooper said nothing, but the pilot continued. "I'll go with this guy, get us some grub and I'll meet back up with you at Rey's room, okay?"

Ben had already begun walking away, his pace brisker than it would normally be, still, he could hear the pilot scrambling behind him to catch up.