Disclaimer: all the original characters and settings belong to Lucasfilm productions and Walt Disney Studios.

Credits for the cover image to the wonderful Elithien (twitter: elithienart), check out her terrific artwork!

Chapter 1: Stay with me

The blade of Ochi of Bestoon. Where could it be hidden? Rey couldn't leave the ship without it. She deviated from the rest to find it.

After wandering through many rooms and corridors, she felt drawn to a particular one. In the middle of the bright white space stood the charred rests of Darth Vaders's mask. This were Kylo Ren's private quarters. Surprisingly luminous, clean and neat perfection. She didn't know what she expected of his chambers. Perhaps a dark quarter, destroyed walls, battle trophies… this was rather beautiful. But she also noticed how impersonal it looked, devoid of any decoration or meaningful belongings besides his grandfather's mask. She stared at it for a long time. She remembered it from the time she entered his mind on Starkiller base.

She found the Sith dagger on a table on the other side of the room. As soon as she wrapped her fingers around it, a long lost memory came back to her. She was a child, screaming desperately for her parents in the middle of the desert of Jakku, watching impotently as they abandon her… but something was different this time. She couldn't tell what it was, and quite honestly she didn't really want to keep digging.

Suddenly she felt a familiar static in the atmosphere around her, the floor shifted and the light diminished. Another Force connection.

—Rey —Kylo Ren called. She froze immediately and gasped. But he wasn't in the same room. He was on Kijimi, fully masked and covered in snow.— Wherever you are, you are hard to find.

—You are hard to get rid of—he wasn't worth her time.

—I pushed you in the desert because I needed to see it. I needed you to see it. Who you are. I know the rest of your story— he was getting on her last nerve pretty quickly—. Rey-

She ignited her lightsaber.

—You are lying.

—I never lied to you. Your parents were no one. They chose to be, to keep you safe.

—Don't!

—You remember more than you say. I've been in your head.

—I don't want this!

—Search your memories.

—NO!— Rey had enough. The audacity! She hated the fact that he could have knowledge she didn't. She stroked him down with the lightsaber. He quickly drew his own to match her attack. She was beyond furious, her heart beating so hard and fast that she could hear it ringing in her hears.

—Remember them, see them.

More painful memories came back. Rey hugged her mother for the last time. She told her with a trembling voice to be brave, as the little girl stared back at her, frowning in confusion. She knew something was horribly wrong here. She had never seen her parents cry before. Her father promised she would be safe there.

She couldn't believe what was happening. Somebody grabbed her arm, impeding her scape. She stared helplessly as they left her in the middle of the desert. She screamed so hard that her throat hurt. She cried and squirmed, but it was pointless.

—They sold you to protect you— what did he know?

—Stop talking.

—Rey, I know what happened to them— she strikes him again, this time sliding through a fruit basket, leaving the pristine white floor covered in blood red berries. She gives a few more angry blows. She wanted to hurt him, to take back his venomous words. He doesn't attack her back, merely defended himself. He needed her fury, her hatred, to uncover her real self. He also needed to pick her curiosity enough for her to seek him—. Tell me where you are, you don't know the whole story. It was Palpatine who had your parents taken. He was looking for you, but they didn't say where you were, so he gave the order.

This couldn't be true. Her parents couldn't be dead. That would mean she was truly alone, no family would ever come back for her.

—NO!— she attacks once again chaotically, destroying the pedestal that held Vader's mask. Damn it.

—So that's where you are— Ren said while they sparred—. You know why the Emperor's always wanted you dead?

—No— she whispers, confused and tired.

—I'll come tell you.

The force connection suddenly ended. What had she done? Rey needed to get out of there, fast. Her head was running wild. She couldn't trust him. He was just trying to lure her again. But a part of Rey -for which she hated herself- wanted to hear whatever he had to say. He wasn't lying, they didn't lie to each other. Another part of her was afraid to exhume more fragments of her past. It was already painful enough accepting her parent's demise and the consequences of this knowledge. What little hope she had for their return had died the moment those hideous words left Kylo Ren's mouth.

Rey would deal with those thoughts later. Her new priority was to find her friends and get out of the boarder. She ran into C3PO and BB8 being interrogated by stormtroopers. Rey shot them before they could harm the droids.

—Oh, dear! My first laser battle—C3PO said rather cheerfully. Somehow she felt annoyed and moved at the same time.

—Where are the others?

—They haven't come back—she saw Kylo Ren's shuttle landing. Kriff.

—Find them. Go!

Rey decided to walk towards Kylo Ren. She couldn't avoid him any longer. Dozens of stormtroopers surrounded her and Ren as they slowly circled each other, like hungry wolves baring their fangs, waiting for the battle to start.

—Why did the Emperor come for me? Why did he want to kill a child? Tell me—she hated how desperate her voice came out, but she needed to know.

—Because he saw what you would become. You don't just have power. You have his power. You are his granddaughter, you are a Palpatine— each word burned, her heart sinking more and more with every second passing. Her stomach turned, she almost vomited. This couldn't be the truth. She had waited her whole life to know where she came from. She wasn't a Palpatine. She couldn't possibly be one—. My mother was the daughter of Vader, your father was the son of the Emperor. What Palpatine doesn't know is we're a dyad in the Force, Rey. Two that are one.

Things where getting progressively worse. Rey wasn't only a Palpatine, but also irrevocably tied to Kylo Ren. That last part was a little bit easier to accept. She was disgusted with herself for it. A dyad. She would linger on that thought later.

—We'll kill him together and take the throne— Kylo Ren took his mask off. His dark eyes were insistent, although vulnerable—. You know what you need to do. You know.

He offered Rey his hand once again. Truth was she wanted to be with him, but not like this. She didn't want to join the First Order, even less rule an Empire. She wanted Ben. She wanted the future she saw with him when they touched hands back in Ahch-To. It felt like years ago. Now that future had morphed into something completely different, colder, darker. They were sitting together on the Sith throne.

—I do—Rey wouldn't join him. She waited for the Falcon to come close enough to jump. Finn shouted her name, urging her to hurry, stretching out his hand for her to take it.

Rey sprinted to the edge and jumped, but Finn's hand never touched hers. She fell right into the First Order's ship. Probably bruised several parts of her body, but she couldn't care less in that moment. In her desperation, she threw the dagger. Finn barely caught it. At least they would have what they needed to find Exegol. And, more importantly, Ren wouldn't have it. She knew that last thought was selfish. Nevertheless, it was a small victory against him.

Rey heard both Finn and Poe screaming her name, but it was too late. A few milliseconds later the Falcon disappeared into the space. She really hoped they wouldn't come back for her. At least not in that moment. It was a suicidal mission, although that seemed to be their specialty.

Rey felt Kylo Ren's presence come near her. He offered his hand to help her stand up. How many times had he done that gesture? Always with those dark pleading eyes, ever so expressive. She sighed heavily. It wasn't like she had many options left. Of course, she could always kick him, initiate another lightsaber combat. Shout at the top of her lungs that she would never join him, that he would never turn her. The problem was that she wasn't so sure anymore. She felt the raging anger inside of her, like a pressure rapidly accumulated, seeking for release. She hated the truth now that she knew her true origin. And she was beyond scared. Mainly of herself, of what she could do if she ever turned to the dark side. Of the power she would held and the subsequent effects of it.

She reluctantly took Ren's hand. It wasn't the same with the globes on. She missed the feeling of his skin, a thought that would have redden her face on a different circumstance. Their eyes met for a second. Hers full of fear and conflict. His barely hiding his satisfaction, shining with fulfillment.

—Am I your prisoner now?— she asked.

—No, you are my guest.

—I've heard that before.

—And I still mean it. But you have to behave this time—the nerve! She reached for her lightsaber, but he grabbed her hand before she could do it—. Enough.

—I don't want any of this.

—We both know that's not true. We belong together, search inside you. The connection we have hasn't been seen in generations— Rey hated him for telling her. A dyad. She didn't knew exactly what it meant, but the concept of it intrigued her. It felt like destiny somehow, both fascinating and scary—. Stay with me.

—I'm not joining you.

—I'm not asking you to. At least not now.

—Then what do you want?

—You. We can work together—together. It was so tempting, specially when her mind was raging, more confused than ever before. Rey finally had the answers she looked for her whole life. But she didn't know what to do with them. What to do with him.

—You know very well we want way too different things.

—We both want to destroy the Emperor.

—I want to protect the galaxy, you want to rule it.

—You say it as if they were different things.

—Because they are.

—No. Besides, I can feel the hate inside of you. You want revenge for the family you lost, for the life that was stolen from you. We'll kill the Emperor together—he was pushing inside of her mind, but she wouldn't let him.

—Stop!

—Our destinies lie together. Whether you want it or not.

They kept their internal battle. Rey shielded her mind as well as she could, in a desperate attempt to keep Kylo Ren out. It was becoming increasingly harder every time. Her training had allowed her months of peace, successfully shutting him out. But right now her concentration was failing. Her forehead was covered in glistening beads of sweat. He managed to slip an image inside her mind. They were sitting together on a throne, full covered in black tunics, but this vision was different from the other ones she had foreseen before. They were embracing each other, completely at ease, rejoicing in each other's company. This image was an aberrant merge of the futures each of them had seen. Power. Strength. Calm. Purpose… Belonging. She almost wanted this image to become true. Almost. That future was impossible. One of them had to surrender in order to make it possible for any of that to happen.

She had tried to help him before, but her timing was awful. He wasn't ready back then. And now he had fallen even further into the darkness. His hunger for power was stronger than ever. But she still sensed the conflict inside of him. The light was still there, buried deep beneath layers of darkness, pain and destruction. The feeling of perpetual loneliness was dissipating because of a tiny spark of hope. One that maybe, just maybe, could be a way to bring him back. To bring Ben back.

She decided to stay, at least for now. It was a very risky move, a reckless one that would take more patience and effort than any of her other attempts. The chances weren't promising. He had tried to kill her several times before, and the revelations about her identity and their connection only fueled his ambition. But she wouldn't become a tool for him to gain even more power. She would try her hardest to resist the darkness. And she would come back to her friends, to the Resistance.

Rey took a deep breath.

—I'll stay with you, but I will not become what you want me to be.

—We'll see.

A/N: Thank you for reading!

I re-watched the whole star wars saga a few days ago, and compared to other episodes, The Rise of Skywalker was quite messy (ignoring the prequels because the are iconic AF tbh). The finale felt so rushed and some elements could have been explored further, but that would have taken a X episode or something like that.

I've been wanting to write a fic for Reylo for sooo long! Shipped them since The Last Jedi was released. I was on a very long hiatus from writing (I think 3-4 years maybe? blame uni life for that) but I'd really like to stick around for a while.

So, please tell me what you think! I really appreciate feedback, followers and favorites.