A/N: Thanks for reviewing! We've finally made it to the last section! Enjoy! (There will be a few more chapters, though, don't you worry!)

Part III: Acceptance

Choose the destination but that bridge must be crossed, guess the bottom line is we're cut from different cloths

Rey knelt, defeated, on the ground, thinking of all the things she had done to Ben. All the ways she had hurt him, intentionally or not. There was no reason to bring him back if it would only make him suffer. The worst part was that he would never even tell her of his suffering. He would serve her, love her, give himself for her, and never allow her to return the favor. He'd let her desire for him to be part of the New Republic take over his life, even if it might be the last thing he would want. She wasn't here to bring him back so he could atone for what he had done.

For weeks, she had lost sleep and ate little, unable to overcome the blow of his loss. Part of her soul was missing and she wanted it back. That was what had brought her to this planet of death, she had thought. But maybe it wasn't that simple. She had needed to bring Ben back. Not for herself, not because his absence was an inescapable cavity in her life, but because she was guilty. She was the reason he was gone. She was the one who needed to atone.

She had gone to Tatooine to try to escape the guilt, or maybe make up for it in some small way. It hadn't been for Luke or Master Leia, not really, but because she had hoped serving them would make up for what had happened to the last scion of their house because of her. But that had done nothing to lessen her remorse. So she had returned to the Resistance.

But then all anyone spoke of in the New Republic was the evil of the First Order and of Kylo Ren, and how wonderful it was that he was gone. They spoke little of Leia or Luke, and only in reverent tones. And she hated that reverence, understanding who they were as people and how they, like her, had let Ben Solo down. They had let him down but history remembered them as heroes and him as a terrible villain who deserved his fate.

Maybe bringing him back would set the record straight, she had thought, as she had grown increasingly frustrated with the injustice of it all. If he were here, he could prove to everyone that he was a good man and a good leader. That being on the Dark Side had gone against every authentic part of himself, and that he had only done what he thought he had to do. Maybe then they would understand like she did.

Now that she was here, on the cusp of returning him to the living world, she hesitated. Because what if her shadow self was right? What if he was happier here, kept away from having to defend himself from anyone's wrong impressions of him? Safe from the pain he had endured while alive? Finally at peace?

But what if she was wrong?

"He is here because of me. It doesn't matter what he does with his life after he leaves with me, or even if he leaves. But I am the reason he is stuck in this place, and it's my responsibility to give him a way out. To give him the choice," she added firmly.

"And what if he doesn't want to see you ever again?"

Rey got to her feet. "Then he doesn't have to. But he can do whatever he wants to do, be who he wants to be. He can live."

"Good."

The Dark version of herself disappeared abruptly and Rey frowned in confusion. The feeling didn't last long because she heard footsteps and whirled around to see a shadow approaching.

"Ben!" she cried, running to him.

"Rey," he answered in that soft way of his. "It's really you, isn't it?"

"Yes, of course." She looked up at him with tears of relief in her eyes, absolutely certain that this was no vision – he was here at last. Impulsively, she reached out to wrap her arms around him and was comforted when he immediately responded, pulling her closer. Like he had when she had kissed him. She wanted to kiss him again but didn't want to move from his gentle embrace.

"I've been dreaming, I think. Pleasant dreams. You were in a lot of them. But they didn't feel like this."

He sounded so calm, though a little confused. She listened to his heartbeat and felt her own speed up as she recalled what the Dark version of herself had said. What if he didn't want to go back to a galaxy that had offered him nothing but misery? What if he chose to stay here, enjoying those pleasant dreams? She would have to go back alone, to tell her friends he was happy here. But would she be happy, thinking of him peacefully dreaming? Probably not, she admitted to herself, but she would come to accept it. Eventually.

"Ben – " she began as she regretfully released him and moved back slightly.

"You changed your hair," he interrupted, one hand hesitantly touching the strands and brushing against her skin. Since leaving Tatooine, since that party, she had stopped putting her hair up. It just hadn't seemed worth the effort. Now, though, she blushed and wished suddenly that she had put more care into her appearance. She was surely filthy and in desperate need of a wash.

"I like it down. Or up," he added, seeming concerned that he'd offended her.

She smiled despite herself, glancing at his lips and wishing she could just kiss him instead of having another challenging conversation. "Ben – thank you – but Ben, I have to ask you something."

"Anything," he replied readily.

Wincing, she glanced away, hating herself for the desire to just take him at his word and bring him home with her. "Have you been… experiencing anything unpleasant here?"

He frowned in thought, then looked at her more intently than he had been, like he was waking up from a dream. "Not really. It's peaceful. I've been remembering things from when I was a kid, with my dad and sometimes my mom or Chewie. It's bittersweet, but not unpleasant. Why? Have you?" he wanted to know, sounding upset at the prospect.

Swallowing hard, she fought back tears at his protective impulse. "I have seen a lot of things, but I'm not sure how true they were." They felt true, but she pushed that feeling aside – now was hardly the time to discuss it.

"How long have you been here?" He paused, considering, as he studied her face. "How long have I been here?"

"A few weeks. I just got here."

He nodded slowly, digesting this, then looked her up and down, eyebrows raising at the rope around her waist. "What's this? How did you get here?"

"I found a portal on Exegol and jumped in. Finn insisted I wear this so I could get back."

"Why?" He sounded shocked, which was strange – surely Finn's idea was a good one?

"We weren't sure how it would work, trying to escape this place," she explained and he chuckled, the sound bringing heat to her face as she recalled the only time she had heard it before.

"I meant, why did you jump in?"

She folded her arms over her chest and looked up at him, struck, as always, by his stature. His expression was understanding as he watched her, waiting, and her breath caught in her throat. She wanted to embrace him again, to be gently held by him, but that would make what she had to say next impossible.

"I… I came to make up for what I did to you. I hurt you, and you're here because of me," she hurried on when he looked like he would protest. "I can get you out of here, I think. I can take you anywhere you want to go when we return. I'm sure… I'm sure my friends at the New Republic can set you up doing whatever you want to do. Or," she swallowed hard. "Or you can stay here, if that's what you want."

It took an effort to meet his unwavering gaze and she waited while he regarded her in that way of his, the way that made it seem like he could see into her very soul. Maybe he could.

"Rey," he said quietly and she shuddered, realizing that she might never hear her name spoken so sweetly ever again. "What do you want?"

She pressed her lips together to keep the words in – there were a lot of things that she wanted, but she knew that she did not want him to make this decision because of her. "You to have a choice," she forced out.

His expression softened and he reached out to touch her cheek, featherlight until she leaned into it. Then he cupped her chin and applied the slightest pressure until she met his eyes again. "But what do you want, Rey?"

"You," she whispered.

He leaned down and kissed her, unhesitatingly, as intently as he had responded to her kiss the last time she had seen him. She wrapped her arms around him, then ran her fingers through his hair as she pulled him closer, aching for more, to have as much of him as possible. He had given her no answer yet and, if this was the last time she would see him, she intended to make the most of it.

"Rey," he murmured, drawing back slightly. The sight of his blown pupils and mussed hair made her flush and grin in delight. His smile was more hesitant as he slowly ran his fingers up and down her back. "It's been weeks, you said? What have you been doing? What do you want to do?"

"I've been helping rebuild the Republic, but it's… I haven't enjoyed it. I thought," she paused, feeling suddenly very self-conscious. "I thought I might… I've been teaching Finn about the Force, because he has some aptitude for it. So I was thinking maybe I could help other people. Children. Like I was, like we were. To understand their powers," she explained haltingly, very aware of how his own schooling with the Force had gone and how he might react to her suggestion.

"I'm sure you're a wonderful teacher," he told her and the heat returned to her face.

"You are, too – I mean, you have been. To me," she stumbled on. "You could join me, if you want," she offered quietly.

He was silent for a long moment. She held her breath, aware of how his hands had stilled on her back. Unbidden, the memory of him asking her to join him on the Supremacy returned and she bit her lip, ashamed that her response had been to reach for a weapon instead of talking to him. He was always willing to talk to her, she thought bitterly.

To her dismay, he released her, but only moved far enough away to look at her face with a pensive expression. There were tears on her cheeks and he reached to wipe them away with a frown. Then he met her gaze again. "All you had to do was ask, Rey. I would love to join you." He swallowed hard, then smiled slightly. "How do we get out of here?"

She grinned, never having more relieved in her entire life. "We hope Finn's rope idea works."