Rey and Ben walked out of the cave, their arms wrapped securely around the other. The storm from earlier had ended, leaving the air cold and heavy. Rey felt as though her entire body had been through a war, and perhaps it had. Perhaps everything she'd just gone through to get to Ben was real.

Ben

He walked gingerly beside her, his arm wrapped around her shoulder. A solid form, alive and breathing. She'd done it. She'd brought him back from the world between worlds. He must have sensed her thoughts, for he turned towards her.

"It was real, wasn't it?" he whispered.

She nodded her head, her words failing her. Yes, it had all been real. He wrapped his arms around her, sucking in a loud breath.

Behind them came a loud rumble. They both looked back with a start, taking several long steps away from the cave. The cave shook, vibrated, and then crumbled apart. As they watched, the cave disappeared into the ground. It's duty had been fulfilled. All of its secrets were now buried in the ground below.

Ben pulled her away towards the Millennium Falcon, but her eyes landed upon the ground beside the ship. Luke's cape lay on the ground, and the memory of his sacrifice came to her mind at once. Ben reached down and grabbed the cape, his eyes roaming over the material.

"This is Uncle Luke's," he said, his confused eyes meeting hers.

Rey nodded. "He came here with me. Ben…" She tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but it didn't budge. The cape fell from Ben's hand.

"He's dead, isn't it?" Ben whispered.

"He gave his life to help me get you out," Rey said.

Ben looked around, his eyes haunted with the realization that Luke was gone. "All of those horrible things I said to him…"

Rey cut the distance between them, touching his arm lightly. His eyes moved to her, his tears evident. "He loved you, Ben. None of that mattered to him."

She held him as he cried for the loss of his uncle, for the realization that Luke's final act in this life was to give his life to free Ben. It was the ultimate act of love, of a bond between them that now could never be broken. Old wounds were healed.

They climbed into the Millennium Falcon and left Exegol. Neither would ever return again. But, every so often they would dream of a place with a cave and lightning above their heads. They'd wake up in a cold sweat, not knowing what had just taken place, but as the seconds ticked past their fear would subside and they would drift off to an easier sleep.

Ben flew them to Crait. The entire trip she watched him. She watched how his muscles moved underneath his skin, watched how his black hair brushed his shoulders with every turn of his head. She watched how his chest would rise and fall with every breath he took. Life, pulsing through his veins.

"What did you see in the cave, before you found me?" he asked. "You keep thinking of your parents."

Rey smiled sadly when he looked over at her, waiting for her to answer. "I—I saw many things. Many paths not taken by either of us. I saw what we would have become if things would have been different for us… if we would have turned to the Dark Side."

"You saw us together?" he asked.

She touched his face. "In every life we are together," she whispered.

"You saw your parents, didn't you?" he questioned softly.

She nodded her head, tears blinding her vision. "I finally got to say goodbye."

Ben reached over, his lips touching hers softly and easing her pain. He realized she had made a choice between him and her parents. Rey could have chosen to remain with them for eternity, but in doing so she would have condemned them both. In the end, her job was to let them go.

Ben landed the Millennium Falcon beside the large rock formation of the Resistance base on Crait. Their numbers had grown even larger since the last time Rey was here. People moved about the base, their eyes glancing at the large ship that just landed, but one face in particular looked out at them. Leia walked slowly towards her husband's ship, a look of surprise upon her face.

Rey walked down the platform first, her smile growing once she saw Leia. She stopped, their eyes staring at each other for several seconds before she heard the woman gasp. Rey looked behind her, seeing Ben smiling at his mother.

"B—Ben!" Leia whispered, stunned.

The woman took off in a run, her cries growing louder. "Ben!" She screamed.

Ben ran for his mother, wrapping his arms around her and picking her up off the ground. Rey watched, her smile as wide as the sun. She thought about her own mother, how happy she'd been to see Rey. She felt a pang of sadness shoot through her. No matter how much the sadness grew, Rey knew her mother was okay now. She knew her father was too. They were resting, together, in their everlasting sleep. Nothing would ever harm them again.

Lei reached out for Rey, her watery eyes begging her to join them. Rey allowed her to pull her into the hug. This woman who had lost so much was now welcoming her lost son home.

"Ben?"

Poe, Finn and Rose stood watching the scene before them. Their confused and wide eyes looking straight at Ben. He let go of his mother long enough to run towards his best friends. Rey remained with Leia, her arms wrapped around the woman as the two watched the happy reunion. Tears were shed, questions thrown out at every turn, but their smiles were all the same.

They all sat in the new control room as Rey told them her story. She told them of being on Ahch-To, of how Luke had reached her and pulled her back from feeling nothing. She told them of how he knew the whole time how this would play out, and how he'd given his life to save them both.

"So, he's dead?" Finn asked, shocked.

"No," Leia said, a smile upon her face. Everyone in the room stared at her, dumbfounded. If he wasn't dead where was he? "There is a difference between dying and becoming nothing and what my brother has done. He lives on in spirit, in the Force. He came to me last night, and I knew then he'd passed through." She grabbed Ben's hand, squeezing. "He told me everything was going to be okay now."

There was silence throughout the group as their minds came to terms with what Leia was saying. She knew Luke became one with the Force. She had felt it when it happened. But, he would always be with them, always just a thought away. It made Rey smile.

They sat around talking for hours. Rey told them what she'd done to find Ben and how she'd done it. She didn't go into much detail about what was in the cave, for her mind was slowly beginning to forget. The details came more slowly to her memory, although she didn't think she'd ever forget the mask Dark Ben had worn. Another feeling of dejá-vu made her shiver.

Rey allowed Ben to pull her through the base in the late hours of the night. They entered a room with a small bed and nothing more. She looked at him, waiting. He turned to her, wrapping his arms around her and breathing deeply. She hung on to him, never wanting to let him go again.

"Now, what do we do?" she whispered.

He pulled her to the bed. They climbed in, a tangle of arms and legs. She wanted to be as close to him as possible. She needed to feel him. She needed to breathe in his warm masculine scent. She whispered over and over to herself that he was back. Perhaps one day she'd truly believe it.

"Now, we sleep," he whispered, and that is exactly what they did. After everything they had gone through there was nothing left to do but to sleep.

Five years later…

Rey looked out over the massive estate that was her new home for about three weeks now. She and Ben had gotten married shortly after the events of Exegol in a tiny ceremony at the waterfall on D'Qar. They'd thought to get married somewhere else where the memories wouldn't threaten to hurt them, but the waterfall seemed the right place.

They'd remained with the Resistance for a few years, helping them with whatever was needed. Peace had finally come to the galaxy, and they knew their time had come to leave, to start living their lives. Finn and Rose had married two years later and welcomed their first child… a girl. Leia decided it was time to retire, to live out the rest of her days enjoying the life she had left. She had chosen Poe Dameron as her successor.

Rey leaned against the wooden banister, her eyes looking out at the beauty before her. Leia passed her, squeezing her shoulder. They'd come to Naboo to live. The planet held a beauty never seen before by Rey. It felt right the moment they landed. Leia had come with them, deciding to live with them. Rey and Ben were thrilled.

Their home? The childhood home of Leia's mother, Padmé Amidala. It had been vacant for years, and Rey took on the painstaking task of fixing it up. She loved every moment of it. Late at night when she was working on the house, when everyone was sleeping, she could have sworn she heard laughter. It made her smile.

"Excuse me, ma'am." Rey turned to see an old woman smiling at her. "I didn't mean to intrude, it's just no one has been in this house for many years."

"Please, come in," Rey said, smiling politely. "We just moved in."

"Oh? Did you know the original owners?"

"Sadly, no," Rey answered. "But, my husband's family owned the house."

The woman nodded, smiling. "Our child queen grew up in this house… Queen Amidala. Such a shame at how her life ended. It's good to hear laughter coming from the estate again. It's been so long."

Rey nodded, not knowing what to say. She knew Padmé's story. Ben had told her how she had died of a broken heart when she lost his grandfather. She'd just given up the will to live. A shiver ran down her spine, for Rey knew what the woman had felt. The emptiness and void that remained with the loss. She'd known that exact loss, but her story had turned out much differently.

Rey turned her eyes towards the lake, the laughter floating to her ears on the wind. Yes, her ending had been different.

"What's your name, child?"

"Rey," she answered, never taking her eyes off the two people chasing one another. "Rey Solo."

A little boy of four, Han Luke Solo, turned his smile towards his mother, the smile growing wider. He waved at her, giggling. Ben turned to see what had captured his son's attention, their eyes meeting. Ben's smile grew like his son's as he slowly began to walk towards her.

For just a moment, Rey could have sworn she saw a shadow sitting on the ground below her. It was there one minute and gone the next. A feeling of dejá-vu clouded her mind for a moment, as if she'd seen this in another time. She didn't have long to linger on it as her husband's arms slid around her waist and picked her up. He slowly twirled her around as his lips captured her own.

"I love you," he breathed.

"I love you, too… always," she said, a feeling of peace and belonging filling her soul.

Theirs, was a story that was told throughout generations. That, of Rey and her Ben Solo and the lengths they went through for each other. The power of the Dyad. The power of love. All was right in the galaxy once more.

A/N: Thank you guys so much for taking the time to read this story! For the ones that have commented... thank you. You guys kept me going. This story ate away at me, until I got it out, and it was a blast. Rey and Ben deserved a happy ending! I'm working on a modern AU staring these two that I'm so excited about, so keep a look out for that story coming soon. Again, thank you so much for reading. Until next time...