Ben Solo hoisted himself out of the abyss he was thrown into. His body ached as his hands slammed against the stone ground. He looked up to see Rey's lifeless body mere meters away from him.
A sob escaped from him as he made his way over to her, so small and broken. So unlike herself. Her eyes stared ahead unseeing.
He knelt down beside her slowly to encase her in his strong arms. He hugged her as tightly to him as he could, tears rolling down his cheeks and onto her shoulder.
Engulfed by his grief, Ben took no notice of the multiple Force ghosts that appeared behind him.
The ghosts that had helped Rey defeat Palpatine now looked on at Ben cradling Rey's body before them. They were silent, their heads bowed in respect, a few had their eyes closed.
Luke Skywalker was unable to turn away no matter how much the sight of two of his padawans suffering so immensely hurt him.
Only two of the ghosts stepped closer: Obi-Wan Kenobi and Kanan Jarrus.
The loss, the sight before them, it was all too familiar to them both. Obi-Wan and Kanan both looked at Ben holding Rey in his arms and they shook their heads in misery.
They watched as Ben shifted Rey in his arms and placed his hand over her abdomen.
Ben focused his energy and poured his own life force into Rey. After a moment she finally stirred, her small hand covered his much larger one, and she sat up. She stared at him and a smile broke across her face.
"Ben," she whispered.
She reached for his face and gently caressed it before leaning in and placing a kiss on his lips.
It lingered for a moment and both of them were delighted that this moment was allowed to happen after the events that had just occurred.
They broke apart and Ben smiled at Rey, the first genuine smile he ever gave her. She smiled back but it quickly fell as she felt Ben go slack in her arms and he collapsed back against the ground. He was lifeless. Gone.
"No," Rey whispered, harshly. "No!" She yelled, sobbing now and fisting Ben's shirt in her hands. Tears fell freely down her face. She didn't know if they'd ever stop.
Obi-Wan and Kanan, still not noticed by the living Jedi, looked on solemnly at the scene in front of them. They both took more tentative steps toward the couple and stopped. They exchanged glances and an understanding flowed between them. Kanan shook his head. "No," he spoke firmly.
"Not again," Obi-Wan agreed. "We can't let this happen again." He thought of Satine, about how much light she brought into his life, about how her lifeless body felt in his own arms on Mandalore. "No," he said again.
Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano looked at each other after seeing their master's expression. They knew why he was reacting the way he was. They both knew his loss.
Kanan's thoughts went to Hera. Of the pain in her emerald eyes as he contained the explosion on Lothal so she and their crew could escape. "We're not allowing this."
Kanan and Obi-Wan strode forward determinedly to Rey and Ben. The other Jedi behind them followed.
Rey looked up at the approaching ghosts with tears in her eyes. She was met with soft smiles and sad eyes, but Obi-Wan and Kanan bent down to lay their hands on Ben. Anakin and Luke joined them, placing their hands on the last Skywalker.
The four Jedi focused their thoughts, and Ben gasped and sputtered for breath against the ground. Rey's eyes widened and her sobs changed from despairing to joyful. The four Jedi removed their hands and stepped back smiling.
Rey jumped on Ben, lying flush against him on the ground, her hands wrapping around him. "Ben!"
"Rey," Ben whispered hoarsely, and he covered her lips with his own again.
"How do you feel?" Rey asked once they broke apart. "Are you in any pain?"
"No, I'm not," he answered quietly. Rey rolled off him and he sat back up slowly before standing to his full height. He held out a hand for Rey to join him and she took it gladly, letting him help her up.
They both turned toward the Force ghosts behind them: their masters and grandmasters. "Thank you," Rey said as she squeezed Ben's hand. "For everything."
Obi-Wan nodded at her. "You're welcome, Rey. We've all dealt with immense loss. I lost the one I loved before. I didn't want to see that happen again."
"How could I ever repay you?" Ben asked.
Kanan spoke now. "Go and live happily together. I couldn't with the one I loved either. Do it for us. Please."
"That's how you can repay us," Obi-Wan agreed.
Luke and Anakin smiled at them, proud of who Rey and Ben had become.
"Now go," Anakin guided, "go back to your base with your friends. You've won. Palpatine is gone for good this time. Go."
"Thank you, masters," Rey and Ben said in unison. Their eyes met and they smiled at each other before they clasped hands and nodded at the ghosts one more time. "Thank you again." They left the darkness of the Sith temple and never looked back.
/
After the Resistance's shock at seeing an Imperial era TIE Fighter and a Rebellion era T-65 X-Wing Fighter descend on their base, a reunion hug for Rey, Finn, and Poe took place as well as one for Ben and Chewbacca. Rey had to coax Chewie to set Ben down even though she was fairly sure by Ben's laughter that he didn't mind.
But the two of them had some things to take care of, so Ben and Rey changed clothes and left on the Millennium Falcon for Mygeeto.
On Exegol they had used Ben's family lightsabers, but they knew they needed their own. Especially with the plans they had for their new lives.
They touched down on the planet and exited the Falcon to enter the crystal cave they had heard of there. Once inside, their respective songs of their crystals split them up.
They had no fear as they could both feel the past Jedi with them on their journey. The Force guided them as the high pitch song Rey heard took her left and Ben's led him right.
Rey's crystal was low to the ground underneath a small pool of water. She reached down into it, the water numbing her hand from the cold, and pulled it out. She smiled at the clear kyber in her hand before she left the temple to wait for Ben.
Ben's took longer for him to find. It was deep within a stone wall. He held out his hand and used the Force to call it out to him, cracking the stone as he did. The melodious singing of the crystal was a comfort, letting him know he was still worthy even after all the pain and torment he had caused.
He met up with Rey outside the temple. As soon as she met his eyes, he held up his crystal and smiled and she followed suit. He ran to her and grabbed her spinning her around in a hug before she leaned up to kiss him.
"Come on, darling," Rey urged, "now that we have our kyber we have something else to take care of."
/
Rey and Ben left Mygeeto and set course for another system.
They touched down on the forest moon of Endor, the Skywalker lightsabers with them.
It had taken them a bit of consideration during their journey before they decided to lay the sabers where the last war ended. Where the two fallen Skywalkers had turned back to the light: Anakin above on the second Death Star and Ben on Endor's ocean moon Kef Bir. It felt right to the both of them.
They walked carefully through the trees admiring the greenery around them. A small brown creature watched them from behind a moss-covered log. Ben spotted it and waved slowly. "Ewoks," he told Rey. "Native to the moon. They helped my parents and the other rebels win here."
Rey bent down to the ewok's height. "Hello," she whispered to their new little friend. "We have two things we'd like to bury here. Would that be all right?" She opened the satchel she wore around her shoulder to reveal the two lightsaber hilts to the creature. The ewok made a high pitch noise in response. "Is that a yes?" The ewok squeaked again and Rey and Ben felt its acceptance and agreement.
"Thank you," Ben told the creature before it scurried away from them.
Rey stood back up and took Ben's hand. He led her to a massive tree in front of them. In the distance above them they could see a few treehouses and Ben remembered the few stories his mother had told him about this place when he was younger; about running from stormtroopers and scout troopers amidst the trees, working tirelessly to power down the Imperial shield generator, and what it had been like to look up and see the Death Star above them, knowing Luke was up there trying to save Anakin Skywalker's life.
Rey pulled the two lightsabers out of her bag and tied them in a piece of cloth. She set them on the forest floor and Ben placed his hand over hers. Together they moved the dirt beneath their hands and felt the sabers sink below the ground.
The Skywalker twins' lightsabers were together and safe.
Now, with their kyber crystals still safe in Rey's bag, it was time to build their own.
/
The Falcon came out of hyperspace and they watched the orange of Tatooine grow closer. They touched down outside of the Lars homestead: the former home of Ben's great grandmother and his uncle years after that. They could feel Anakin and Luke with them as they wandered around the home.
Rey and Ben came here to look for parts, any scrap they could take without disturbing much of the land or home. They had heard some of the stories about this house, this planet. They wanted to make some good from the bad.
They found a wide range of metal pieces and different pliable materials, that they knew must have been Luke's, down in the garage below ground. They sat on the ground with brushes to buff out the years of dust and grime that the metal was caked in.
In the middle of her brushing, Rey paused, looking off into the distance. Ben noticed and reached for her hand to squeeze it, to remind her she was no longer that lonely scavenger cleaning to eat on Jakku. She jumped a little at his touch, but came to, leaning over to give him a soft kiss on his temple. "Thank you, Ben." No more words passed between them.
After they had a pile of cleaned metal, cord, and the other materials between them, they decided to separate to build. They chose their preferred pieces, took their kyber crystals, and walked to opposite ends of the homestead. Rey in the garage and Ben outside in the sand. They each scattered their parts around themselves and closed their eyes.
They breathed, they listened, they felt.
Rey felt the natives on the planet, the creatures living in the heat, Ben. He was concentrating but apprehensive. She could feel his doubt, his pain, but also his light. The warm bright spark of light that was just Ben.
Ben took a deep breath. The last time he had done this he had caused nothing but suffering. His own and others. He wouldn't do that again; he'd never allow himself. Neither would Rey.
He felt three hands on him at that moment: his grandfather's, his uncle's, and his mother's.
Ben reached out with the Force and felt the moisture beneath the sand, the people wandering in Mos Eisley, he could feel Rey. She was warm, happy, radiant. And she was worried about him. He didn't want her to worry about him, she brought him peace.
Once both Jedi had fully built lightsabers and had bonded with their crystals, they stood up to meet outside the home above ground. They each had smiles on their faces and a new lightsaber in their hands. They both drew their new weapons up and Rey nodded at Ben to ignite his saber first.
Ben took a deep breath and looked at his hilt. He decided to use the crossguard design again. It was silver like his grandfather's but had bronze accents like his uncle's and mother's. He slid the switch on his hilt and a bright beam of purple light ignited in front of them. After a second the crossguard blades lit too. Ben's jaw dropped and Rey gasped.
Purple meant reconstruction, balance.
The steady hum that filled Ben's ears made him cry. This crystal wasn't cracked or damaged, like he used to be, it was whole like he was now.
Rey squeezed his hand and he looked at her, tears still in his eyes. He smiled at her through them, his voice heavy with emotion, "your turn."
Rey's saber resembled her staff. She had taken it apart to help create her new weapon. She turned the switch she built onto the hilt and a yellow blade ignited. Ben looked at her in awe.
"The color of a sentinel," he breathed, and Rey beamed at him.
Ben encased her cheek with his free hand and leaned down to kiss her. Rey's free hand landed on his chest, his heart beating strongly beneath it. Their blades were still lit, crossed at their sides as they kissed.
Purple and yellow.
Ben and Rey.
Ben turned his saber off and clipped it on his belt so he could place his other hand on Rey's waist and bring her closer. She turned hers off to run a hand through Ben's hair.
They never wanted to separate. They had been twice before, and they decided they never would be again after that moment. Their understanding flowed through their minds, their bodies, their kiss.
They were a dyad. Two halves of one whole.
They broke apart from their kiss out of breath and giddy. Rey brought Ben's forehead down to hers, one hand never leaving his dark hair. Ben pecked her lips again and they laughed lightly.
A noise beside them caught their attention and they turned to find an elderly woman leading an animal. "It's been so long," she said to the young couple. "Who are you?"
Ben and Rey looked at each other. Rey decided to speak, "He's Ben and I'm Rey…" she paused to look at the resilient man beside her. "Solo."
Ben's head shot toward Rey. She just looked at him with a nod and a smile. He took her hand in his own trembling one, she squeezed it lovingly. "Yes," Ben's voice shook, "Rey and Ben Solo. But we won't be staying."
The old woman nodded, satisfied, and went on her way.
Ben kissed Rey's hand and they began to walk back towards the Falcon. Before they stepped onto the gangway, they turned to take one last look at the homestead.
Ben wrapped his arms around Rey from behind and she rested her head against his shoulder to admire the binary sunset.
Standing a small distance from them, they noticed their masters were watching them. Their family was watching them. The dyad smiled at the Force ghosts and turned to board the Millennium Falcon hand in hand.
The Force ghosts watched happily as Ben and Rey left, but none were more elated than Obi-Wan Kenobi and Kanan Jarrus. They were able to watch the two Jedi, the destined dyad in the Force, smile and laugh and love: To have entirely what they were not able to have in their own lifetimes.
This is completely self-indulgent, written to give these two the happy ending they deserve and should have gotten. I really thought Ben and Rey would break the mold. But alas... For a franchise all about hope, it really doesn't give anyone's love a chance, huh? Obitine and Kanera are two of my other favorite Star Wars couples, and I just can't believe Obi-Wan and Kanan would just chill while these two cradled each other in their arms, I mean come on.
Also, don't get me wrong, I love Anidala too, and I know I could have fit that in a bit more, but I personally just wanted to focus on Obi and Kanan.
Thank you for reading!