Closure

Ben's hand slammed onto the surface of the floor in the temple. He was exhausted and was severely weakened from extensive injuries. But that didn't matter to him now. Not nearly as much as the girl lying motionless on the floor. Grunting in pain, he heaved himself up and out of the chasm and winced as his shattered leg twisted at an unnatural angle. He forced himself to get up and slowly limped towards her, his useless leg dragging behind him. He stumbled and fell to the ground, but that didn't stop him. He crawled towards her body slowly and painfully. When he finally reached her, he awkwardly lifted her and painfully righted himself so that he was cradling Rey's body. Rey. If anything had kept him alive during his fight with his old comrades, the Knights of Ren, and with Palpatine himself, it was her. He had never cared about someone so much in his life.

He looked into her deep brown eyes but was only met with emptiness as she stared past him unseeing. No… dammit, no, Ben thought. He desperately looked around him, breathing heavily. Nobody was here. He was alone. He brought her to his chest and held her in a gentle embrace as close to him as possible. Cold… her body felt so cold. He trembled a bit as he held her, letting his head rest on her shoulder. His hand cradled the back of her neck, entwining with her hair. Ben closed his eyes to prevent tears from rolling down his face as he rocked back and forth. He felt like the pain of losing her was going to consume him. Then he was struck with the memory on the ruins of the Death Star. How Rey had healed him by extending her life force to him. Ben knew what he had to do. Lowering her from his chest and into his lap, he laid his hand over her abdomen. He closed his eyes and focused on his breath. In, and out. In, and out. He reached out to the Force and completely immersed himself in the living energy that bound all living things together. He poured his life force and energy into Rey, channeling it through his hand, ignoring the fact that he could die. He didn't care if he died, as long as Rey lived. He didn't deserve to live anyway and she possessed so much good and light in her. It should have been him that was dead. She had to live, because if she didn't… Ben couldn't even finish the thought.

Then he felt warmth returning to Rey's body, and his hand rose and fell on her abdomen as she took a shallow breath. He felt her slim hand cover his. His eyes flew open and went to Rey's face.

Rey felt warmth flood back to her body along with the comforting feeling of connection and belonging. Her eyes slowly cleared and she blinked in confusion, gazing up into a man's soft brown eyes. She righted herself so she was sitting up in his arms. He stared at her in shock and relief as his hand gently massaged the back of her neck. Rey stared at him for a long moment trying to comprehend what was happening. She had died, and then she was pulled back to life. She looked into his eyes and a great wave of happiness washed over her when she saw whose eyes it was. Ben's eyes. Not Kylo Ren's. A happy smile began to form, her eyes never leaving his.

"Ben." was all she could breathe. She gazed at him and brought her hand up to caress his cheek. His jaw trembled and the corners of his mouth quivered upwards at the sensation of her soft fingers touching his face. Rey's gaze dropped to his lips, and then back to his eyes. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if unsure, but then moved forward to press her lips against his with all the certainty in the world. Ben's arm immediately wrapped around her back to close any distance between them. The taste of each other's lips felt so right and euphoric like this was exactly where they were supposed to be. Ben felt happy for the first time in so long as he kissed the girl he loved with as much passion and urgency as he could.

Rey poured everything she had into the kiss. All of the pent up feelings, the unspoken words she meant to say, everything she wanted to tell him over these past months she pressed them firmly against Ben's lips as she drank him in. He had one arm wrapped around her back and his hand on the back of her neck, deepening the kiss, making her sigh in contentment. Her hands clasped the sides of his face as she moved her lips against his. She was in a state of pure bliss and then she was struck with a realization. Rey loved him. This was the belonging she had searched for all her life. Damn, she was in love with Ben Solo and she never wanted to stop.

Eventually, Rey relaxed and slowly, gently pulled apart just the slightest bit, their foreheads still touching and breath still mixing. With her hands still holding his face, Ben slowly opened his eyes and found Rey's beautiful face with happiness written all over it. Ben laughed softly and smiled widely, something he hadn't done in a long time. Rey had never seen him smile and her fingers traced the outline of his smile to memorize every aspect of its beauty. She wanted to see him smile every day and kriff she wanted to kiss him again as he looked at her with such affection. Their minds were completely immersed together and while neither of them voiced it out loud, they didn't need those three little words to tell the other how they felt. Ben was finally at peace now that Rey was safe and alive.

Then Ben felt his strength rapidly fading from him, and the smile slipped from his face revealing a serene look of tranquility. Rey's eyebrows bunched together into confusion, then into a concerned and horrified expression when she realized what Ben had sacrificed. As Ben fell backward to the ground, she gripped his shoulders to try to slow his descent. But as he fell to the ground, she knew he was gone. She leaned over him and intertwined her fingers in his, squeezing tightly. She had never seen him so peaceful and so fulfilled. Her hand still clutching his, his body slowly faded and disappeared, leaving only his black clothes behind.

Rey felt tears fall down her face and felt like something had been taken from her. She didn't feel whole anymore. What was it that Ben had called it? A dyad. Two that were one. A rare and extraordinary bond not seen for generations. She felt like half of herself had just gotten ripped away from her. More tears flowed down her face and she cried where she sat, bent over Ben's clothes. She had finally had him, and then he was ripped away from her leaving only half of her essence left. When Exogal started to shake as the planet began to collapse, she composed herself enough to proceed to Luke's X-Wing. She got into the cockpit with tear-stained cheeks. Rey knew that Ben had become one with the Force and that he was redeemed so she focused on that instead of the gaping hole in her heart as she left Exogal with Ben's shirt in her lap.

Upon her return to the base, she saw Finn and Poe running towards her. The three of them collided for a giant group hug as they celebrated their victory, but also mourned Leia's passing. Unbeknownst to her friends, Rey also mourned the death of Ben Solo. Rey was happy for the Resistance, but it felt too bittersweet to be a true victory.

After burying Luke and Leia's sabers on Tatooine, Rey pulled a cylinder of metal out of her bag and flicked a switch. Her yellow lightsaber ignited, humming with energy as she held it in the air.

Suddenly, she heard a hoarse voice say, "No one's been here in years." Rey looked up to see an old woman who was passing by staring at her curiously. "Who are you?" the woman asked.

Standing up and turning off her lightsaber, she replied, "I'm Rey."

"Rey who?" the woman persisted.

Rey paused for a moment, unsure of how to respond. She didn't want the name Palpatine, she left it behind her on Exogal. But she didn't have another family name. She glanced to her side and saw the shimmering blue glow of Luke and Leia's Force ghosts smiling at her. They gave her an encouraging nod and knowing smiles. Rey smiled at the sight of her old masters. They both gave her warm smiles before disappearing from her sight. Rey turned back to the old woman.

"Rey Skywalker," she answered with a smile. The old woman nodded slightly before continuing on her path. Rey followed BB-8 to watch the double sunset. At the top of the dune, she closed her eyes for a moment and murmured, "Be with me." She didn't want to be alone.

"You're not alone," she heard a voice echo. She opened her eyes to see Ben surrounded in a glowing blue aura in front of her giving her a gentle smile. She gazed at him and slowly gave a sad smile back.

"Neither are you," she answered. Ben reached out his hand, and Rey put her hand forward without hesitating this time. She felt the slightest touch of skin on her fingers before Ben's ghost slowly faded away.

"I love you," she said to his fading figure.

Ben looked at her tenderly and said, "I know." as he disappeared. Rey felt tears on her cheeks, but she no longer felt incomplete and torn apart. As she gazed at the double sunset, Luke's words came back to her.

No one's ever really gone.

She smiled as BB-8 whistled before turning towards the two suns as part of one sunset. A dyad, two that are one. She thought. She felt a warm presence inside her and she knew that Ben would always be a part of her. Like Anakin and Luke Skywalker once did, Rey stood on top of a dune of sand as she watched the suns set in preparation for the new future ahead.

Author's Note: Hello! This is my first writing so constructive criticism is appreciated! Thank you! :)