EXEGOL

On his knees, cradling a fading Rey in his arms, Ben Solo was perfectly motionless. His eyes were closed, his demeanor as far from Kylo Ren as one side of the galaxy is from the other. This was the moment of truth. If she did not survive, he would simply kill himself. There was no other reason to live. The New Republic would despise him and likely execute him for all the evils he committed—all the destruction and death he had caused.

His hand still clamped over her wound, he shifted once more and hugged her again. He finally had someone to hold onto. The mist and ashes of the environment wept with him as the booms and explosions of falling ships enclosed Rey and Ben. It was as if a dam had been broken. He simply couldn't hold back the torrents of tears anymore as he cried into her shoulder. What if it was all a nightmare? A long, brutal nightmare? What if he wakes up back in Luke's Jedi Temple, and all of this was a neat trick his brain pulled to entertain him? Perhaps he had read about his grandfather's dark side too much. He possessed that tendency to want to be anyone other than what his parents wanted.

The emotion he expelled created a stronger connection to the Force than he ever could have imagined. He felt a strange stretching sensation where the mortal gash lay.

Before he had enough time to question this, Rey twitched once. He didn't move a muscle. All sorts of fears rampaged through his mind. But he took the brute force of each. He was used to it, anyway.

As the two were well-nigh wrapped around each other, she jittered again. Without warning, life began to stir. Hands and fingers stretched around his rib cage and gripped tightly.

There was a cough. Another. At this point, Ben couldn't give a damn. He eased out of the embrace, his blood pressure spiking.

"Rey...?" he asked, almost stuttering over himself. He steadied her neck with his hand.

She seemed delirious and spaced out. Half-shut, her eyes rolled back and forth. "Is this...real?" she asked.

He huffed a laugh but tried with every pound of his leftover emotional being to maintain composure. "I'm not sure."

Her head rotated in his palm. "Where is everyone? What—What happened?"

What didn't happen? he thought.

"We won."

"We?" she groaned. "Who are you?" The question speared his very soul. As quickly as it had left Rey's lips, her eyes widened as if infused with life. "Ben?"

He nodded his head ever so slightly and gulped. She remembered his name—the name he spent most of his life running from. That's a win, right?

She gazed into his eyes like how he literally always did. There was something more this time. She didn't see fear, pain, and confusion swirling within them.

The sky began to clear, the darkness of the Sith dissipating. The parent star of Exegol rose behind Ben's head, its heavenly rays spreading outward behind the messy mop of hair. It was as if the Force spoke to Rey through the angelic portrait before her. The light was rising on the Skywalker family. The night scurried away, darkness forever out of reach. Well, at least for the foreseeable future.

She leaned forward and began to close the distance. Taking it all in, she brushed her fingers over his face to make sure he was physical. He smiled, one hand crawling around her waist. His eyes were like green lights. The fire in her stomach wouldn't be quenched, so she gave in.

Without a second thought, Rey attacked his lips. She was sick of waiting. And to be honest, he was too.

But he didn't retaliate. It was a beautiful feeling. Time stopped, the noises above muted just for this one moment. For Ben, it was a long time coming. It felt like destiny. Like the Force had willed this thing from the beginning. And who could fight that?

She seemed to pour every last drop of affection into the kiss, lasting several seconds as he matched her intensity. He maintained control, though. He wouldn't let the chaos of his emotions control him anymore. That died with Kylo Ren.

Neither wanted to pull away, but after everything they'd been through, dying from a lack of oxygen would be the worst ending ever. Plus, there'd be time for more.

When she did, Rey smiled. Happiness oozed out of her in a way she never felt. It was wonderful.

Ben swore he never saw such a toothy smile. But it was a full blown smile—the first in a long line. Hers forced him to match it.

In all her encounters with Kylo, she never imagined he'd boast such a heartwarming expression. Well, she kind of did. But not like this. His smile made her tingle all over. It was ridiculous.

"Be with me," Ben finally said, his voice full of tremors. He paused, much like how he did when lent her his hand in Snoke's Throne Room. "Please."

"Well, I must be the worst master in the history of the Jedi," a voice said. Rey jumped to a standing position, which shoved Ben off-balance and onto the ground. "It looks like you fell for the pair of pretty eyes. You know, my life was doing pretty well until I got you two students. Doing everything opposite I taught you."

Rey giggled. "Master Skywalker?" she asked. "Is it you?"

The blue-haloed figure smiled. "Yes, Rey."

Ben coughed a laugh and stood up, his long-sleeved shirt sopping wet. "Luke."

"Hello, Ben."

The fact the Luke Skywalker now talked and moved in front of him didn't haunt him as it once did. He was almost...glad.

"I'm sorry," Ben said. "I'm sorry. F-For everything."

"It was all me, nephew," Luke said, waving him off. "But the Force will always have its way, just as it had its way with my destiny. He approached Ben, who took a step back. He wasn't used to this. "I never realized you were destined for such great things. That's how I failed you. You can't hold back the Cosmic Force. My fear is the reason for all this." He turned to Rey. "But overcoming fear is the destiny of a Jedi."

Gulping once more, Ben nodded but said nothing.

"Looks like I was right after all," Rey said, winking at Luke. "There was good in him."

Luke nodded and pursed his lips. "I am what you grow beyond. I didn't trust you. I didn't trust in the Force."

Out of nowhere, there was a blinding pulse of light. A shadow appeared to walk to them as its brightness faded.

"It wouldn't be the first time, my son," the figure called. It was Anakin Skywalker. He looked...older. Wrinkles and a long gray beard.

"It appears you fulfilled the prophecy, father," Luke replied.

Anakin stepped next to his son, his robes flowing in the cooling breeze. "The fight is now over. Balance has been restored."

Ben and Rey both stared. He had saved them. The grandson of Anakin Skywalker couldn't believe his eyes. This was the man he worshiped?

"Grandfather?" he asked.

"Ben Solo," Anakin answered. "I really hated it that you kept Vader's helmet. But the past is the past—let it die, remember?"

He shook profusely. "I looked up to you...for so long. Why did you not intervene? Why did you let become who I was?"

Anakin looked him straight in the eyes, as if peering into his very soul. "Unlike my son here, I knew what the Force desired. What it sets into motion, no man, no Sith, no Jedi can stop. It rules all, decides all, is all. That is why, my grandson."

"And Palpatine?" Rey asked.

He grinned. "I couldn't have beaten him without you, Rey. I know the Skywalker lineage is safe with you." She blushed, but he continued. "Come here, Ben. Walk with Luke and I."

ONE HOUR LATER

Rey ran through the vast fleet of ships that landed on the surface of Exegol. When she found Poe and Finn, she ran to them like a bat out of Hell.

"Rey!" Finn shouted. BB8 rolled over behind Poe, who almost tripped over the excited droid.

"Poe! Finn!" They embraced each other, Finn almost tackling Rey to the ground.

"You are a difficult woman," Poe joked.

"I know," she replied. They remained in the three-sided hug for around a minute, savoring the feeling. They had won. The galaxy rose up, thanks to the spectacular work of Lando and Chewie. The Sith Fleet, the First Order, the Final Order—whatever stupid name the Emperor dubbed it—had been annihilated by the sheer will of people.

Their foreheads nearly touching, Rey said, "I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" Poe asked.

She gulped. "I—"

"Rey!" a voice called out. Finn recognized it immediately, as did Poe.

They all turned to see Ben Solo waiting on the smooth, trap door steps of the Millennium Falcon.

Poe began to advance with anger, as did Finn. "What the hell is he doing here?!" Poe cried.

"No, wait, stop!" Rey commanded. She scurried around them to block their path. "It is all right. That is Ben Solo."

"Well around here, he's known as Kylo Ren," Poe retorted, glaring his way. He was surprised to find that Ben did not scowl back. He just looked to the ground.

"I'm going away for a little while, my friends," Rey stated.

"With him?!" Finn retorted. His jaw dropped to the floor.

She nodded.

"I'm going away. It is the will of the Force. He's changed. We're about to start anew. This is the destiny of the Skywalkers."

Finn calmed down a bit while Poe locked onto Ben's form, which walked back into his father's ship.

His expression deep in seriousness, Finn gave Rey a long and hard look. "Do you trust him?"

She nodded again. "With my life."

"Where will you be going?" Poe questioned, furrowing his brow.

"Nowhere too far to come back," Rey answered. "We will see each other again. I promise."

She hugged them both and walked away, not looking back. Stunned, they followed her figure until it disappeared inside the Falcon.

As the celebration kicked off across the tens of thousands of light-years of space, Han Solo's prized ship, the champion of the Kessel Run, ignited its engines. The blue glow pushed the ship up and away with a ground-shaking boom.

Once outside Exegol's gravitational grasp, Rey turned to Ben, who looked out at the ocean of stars and the expanse of the universe. He never found time to notice its beauty until now.

"What did Anakin and Luke tell you?"

Ben stayed quiet, then smiled. He looked to her. "I'll tell you...one day. I promise." He gazed with those irresistible, hungry eyes. "For now, just be with me."

He reached out his hand. She reciprocated, her fingers dwarfed by his own.

"Where will we go?" Rey asked, smiling like an idiot.

"Wherever you feel. Do what you have done all this time, Rey. You trusted me. So now, trust in the Force."

Their hands interlocked, Rey and Ben pressed the buttons to jump into hyperspace. The stars stretched infinitely as light burst into the cockpit. And for the first time, he didn't have any idea where he was going, and neither did she. A new destiny burned bright on their horizon. At long last, the destiny of the Skywalker lineage was trusted to the Force.

As the ship made the jump, Ben heard a voice whisper to him. He didn't recognize it, but something felt so right about it. Its words were straightforward and uncomplicated, and sounded just as the ship blasted forward and into the wide-open expanse of space.

My namesake, the Force will be with you. Always.