A/N: Thank you all so much for being part of this journey with me! Please check out my new fic, 'Thwarted', posted here on FF.

He's moving slowly within her, feeling her around him. His face is buried in her hair and he's feeling her arms along his back. He pulls back slightly and looks into her eyes. The beautiful, clear eyes of his bride. His bride. He doesn't need them as he once did, but tonight he must see her. The Bond flows between them constantly now. They've long since stopped blocking each other.

She reaches up and strokes along his face, her fingers leaving a trail of energy along his cheek. "Rey …" he moans as he thrusts into her. He feels the welcome weight of his ring and smiles as he again plunges deeply into her. He's making love to his wife. Five years since he first saw her and now she's his wife. The thought stirs him and he's losing himself.

He knows that she's been his for a long time now, but somehow this gives him such a sense of belonging. She has claimed him; accepted him. She has given him so much already, but this gift is beyond precious. She is his family, now.

She's rolling her hips against his, using a circular motion that always does something to him. She always feels so incredible. She still makes him almost painfully hard. He's never grown used to what it's like to be with her this way; it always makes him tremble and need. He remembers how he had longed for her, once. How he never thought he would ever have anything but her sublime Light to comfort him. But now, now he has everything he's ever wanted and he's overwhelmed with the beauty of it all.

"Rey, my beautiful, darling wife."

"Say that again," she gasps.

"My wife."

Through the Bond he feels her elation at being his, too. She never talks about it the way that he does, but he knows this means as much to her as it does to him.

She's moaning, her face flushed and oh so open. Her lips are parted and she's breathing quickly. He's moving more urgently now, the languid pace of connection forgotten as passion builds.

"Tell me, tell me I'm yours," Ben pleads.

"Yes, you're mine, you'll always be mine."

"Yes …" he breathes as he tangles his hands in her hair, holding her perfect face on either side as he looks into her deeply.

She wraps her strong legs around him and he feels her heels dig into his back as she's pulling him in deeper, urging him on. His bride, his bride, his bride. He feels her walls caress his length as they begin to contract rhythmically. She uses her arms and legs to encourage him to thrust into her as far as he can go, as if she's trying to bring him within her. He thinks they're so enmeshed now, in all ways.

Her breath is coming in quick pants now and her eyes are growing unfocused. He feels how her pleasure is building and he's right there with her. He wants to be with her completely, in sync, tandem, together in all things.

He's groaning, the exquisite tension forming within him. She's calling out and they're moving so quickly now. There, there it is. They're both at the precipice, about to fall. Her eyes suddenly focus again and she shouts out, "Ben!" and they're falling into each other, pulling their shared orgasm from their most deep and sacred places. He feels her undulate against him as he fills her and pushes into her one final time. They breathe heavily, together, sharing the awe of being one. He knows that they will never be parted.

He leans his forehead against hers and his breathing starts to calm. He doesn't want to withdraw, but he wants to hold her close. He wants to hold his wife close to him. He pulls from her and notices the little frown she always makes at his absence. He smiles and lays on his back, pulling her next to him, her head resting against his chest.

"Do you remember the first time?" Rey asks quietly.

"Of course I do – how could I possibly forget?"

"I think I knew, then, that I would always be yours."

"You certainly didn't share that with me."

"No … I was frightened. You made me … make me feel so much."

"I hope good things."

"Mostly good things." She smiles, and he smiles back.

"I just … I know that sometimes you feel like you were all alone in … wanting, needing … loving, at first. But you weren't. I just couldn't let myself acknowledge it. While you were at the base, those first months, I ached too."

"I … thank you for telling me." He knows it doesn't really matter, but hearing it is wonderful.

Her pensive mood shifts. "Hey, Ben. We got married!"

"Yes we did." She's giggling now, and it races up and down his spine, like always. He's long accepted that her laugh makes him helpless.

"You're my husband!" She's grinning like the wild thing she is.

"Yes, I am. I always will be."

"I know, oh Ben, I know."

"Say that I again, I want to hear you call me your husband again."

"My husband." He lets that fill him up and he tightens his arms around her.

"I will always treasure hearing those words from you."

Her eyes are sleepy and he knows it has been a huge day. She's starting to fade. He watches as sleep takes her. But his mind is too full and he lies there, remembering.

He remembers how she'd first told him she was ready; ready to accept his offer, his hope of marriage. He'd come home from a day of restructuring meetings, surprised still that he was becoming instrumental in rebuilding the galaxy. He was so grateful to be given the chance to create instead of to destroy.

She had been waiting, and she seemed tense. She had been blocking the Bond and he was instantly on alert. She had seemed wary, skittish. But then she had smiled and her face was so open.

She'd said, "Ben, you know that I love you." Oh, how that had had him wary.

"Yes," he'd said cautiously.

"You came into my life like a storm; you tore through everything and I was so confused. But then, you showed me, showed me who you are, who I could be … helped me see myself."

"I never meant to be so destructive to your life." He'd been so confused.

"No, Ben … that's not what I'm trying to say … Force, you were so much better at this."

"I don't understand."

"I just … oh, here." She'd thrust a small box into his hand and looked at the floor.

He'd opened it to find a man's ring. It was beautiful, with strange swirls and made of a metal he couldn't identify.

"Rey, what are you trying to say?"

"I'm … I'm ready. Will you marry me?" He'd been so shocked he'd just stood there with his mouth hanging open, looking, he's sure now, quite stupid.

"I, yes, yes of course Rey, of course!" His brain had taken a moment to catch up but then he'd crushed her to his chest and he had just kept repeating 'yes'.

He'd kissed her so deeply then, still feeling the box in his hand. He'd pulled back and looked at her nervous, loving face.

"Tell me about the ring," he'd asked.

"I … I made it. I used a piece of the Falcon … I thought … your father."

He'd welled up then; so many conflicting feelings had been swirling around inside of him. Remembering his father, what the Falcon had meant to him. That Rey had done this and thought so much about it. She'd obviously been planning it a long time.

He'd been quiet for quite some time before he'd said, "Rey … this is beautiful. You are beautiful. I love you so much more than I can ever begin to explain. I will be a good husband to you. I will never give you cause to regret this."

"I know," she'd said almost shyly.

That had been three years ago. Once she'd accepted him he'd found he hadn't minded waiting … waiting until the galaxy was peaceful and prosperous.

He strokes her hair and listens to the soft sounds of her even breathing. He looks at the ring he's worn since that day. She'd told him it was meant for the wedding but he'd insisted. He had wanted everyone to see that he was hers. His mother had helped him find Rey's slim band. He reaches out and runs his finger lightly over her ring, feeling a slight hum of energy from touching her hand. He's really here. This is his life. He's fought so hard to come back to himself and now he his here.

He's remembering his life before; before Rey changed everything. He thinks of how he'd wrapped himself in the Dark, hoping that that would be the way to himself. How very wrong he had been; how lost. He remembers Snoke and how he'd thrown himself at such unworthy feet. He allows himself to imagine, for a moment, what would have happened if he'd never met Rey. It is an awful concept, and he can't quite believe that one day in the forest might have changed the entire galaxy. He hopes that Snoke's downfall was inevitable, no matter if he'd found his balance or not.

He thinks on those first few months, when he'd lied to himself daily. The Bond had been so weak then, but it had still consumed him utterly – Rey had consumed him utterly. He remembers how he would spend hours in his quarters, floating in her, basking in her incomprehensible goodness.

He thinks about Hux with sadness. They had worked so closely for so many years, and sometimes the only enjoyment he'd had while with the First Order had been verbally sparring with Hux. He knew the man. He'd been able to save him from the gallows, but no more. Hux had contributed to that significantly, refusing to work with the Resistance. He was now imprisoned with the rest of the First Order loyalists. He'd visited a few times, but Hux remained fanatical and Ben had stopped trying. It was difficult to turn his back on Hux. His own personal journey had compelled him to try and reach out to Hux, to help him see the way that he himself had seen … been shown. He'd hoped that some of his hard won wisdom might have helped the erstwhile General.

He remembers when Rey had helped him realize it was time to let it go. He'd just returned from another frustrating, fruitless visit.

"Ben … maybe it's time to stop visiting him."

"But … he's not a bad man. He just can't seem to see his way past his vision for the galaxy, even though it's been proven the wrong path. Twice now."

"I know. I know he's not evil, not like Snoke. In a way he wants the same thing we do."

"Exactly. You never turned your back on me, how can I just let it go?" he had asked.

"You always remember that time oddly. I didn't show up at your door and demand you come into the Light. I didn't do that. It was you; you who made that choice. Hux doesn't want to change. You did," she had said.

"But … you saved me." He had sounded almost confused.

"Ben … oh Ben. No, you saved yourself. I hope you'll see that one day." She still says that, and he still doesn't agree.

She had continued, "You cannot force Hux to change because he has no wish to change. He's chosen this path and you've done everything you can do. I think you need to stop; it only hurts you," she had said kindly. She'd come to him then, putting her arms around him. He'd felt her love and her concern and he'd let himself consider her words.

"Perhaps you are right," he'd conceded.

"I generally am," she'd teased. Mostly.

And so he had stopped visiting. He still checks on him through various channels, ensuring that Hux continues to be alright, but he has not seen him in a long time.

The galaxy is growing, finally finding the balance that had eluded generations of leaders. The new seat of power no longer exists in a particular system, but on a fleet of ships. It is simply called the Coalition and it is much less powerful than the Republics of old. Planets join if they wish and remain independent as they will. Resources are offered to planets still recovering from the First Order, but fealty is not required. The Coalition keeps space safe and certain activities are not tolerated. The slave trade is of particular concern at present. But so long as no one system attempts to dominate another, the Coalition does not dictate.

Phasma had succeeded beyond anyone's wildest expectations. She had led a huge team in reconnecting the Stormtroopers to their families. It had been an almost incomprehensible project, with hundreds of thousands of displaced men and women needing new purpose and direction. But she was as efficient and dedicated as ever and she had done more than almost anyone to heal the rifts between factions. It had become quite clear to Ben that Phasma loved her troopers and that devotion never wavered. Most of the Coalition's forces are now made up of former Stormtroopers; individuals who had nowhere else to go or had simply believed strongly in the new vision.

Luke has rebuilt his academy and has shed the title of Jedi. They simply call themselves Force-users. They had used the Bond to identify potential pupils and all had been invited to come to learn, or simply to be a part of the community. Rey is heavily involved, but he keeps away. It would be too much for his uncle … and himself, if he's honest. Rey's trips to the New Academy are always hard for him. But she's always with him through the Bond and he's learned to cope.

His mother … she has surprised him most of all. He had assumed that she would be deeply involved in the government. But once the last remnants of the First Order had been rooted out, Leia had withdrawn from public life. After months of living on starships, moving throughout the galaxy, working to fix the broken systems, she had come with them when they had settled on D'Qar. Now she lives close by and has a quiet life, punctuated by asking increasingly frequent questions about grandchildren. She usually goes with Rey to the New Academy, unwilling to lose contact with her brother again.

He'd asked her once, why she had left her life's work. She'd smiled sadly and said, "My life's work was you, Ben. I just didn't see it until it was almost too late."

He looks around their bedroom and smiles at the large jar by the bed, almost full of small pebbles. It's nearly time for another and he wonders how many there will be, one day.

Rey mumbles in her sleep and shifts slightly. He's remembering how she looked today, when he'd first seen her in her wedding dress. Seeing her in her simple, flowing white gown … seeing his bride for the first time, it had been everything he could do to keep himself from running to her and pulling her to him. But he'd stood firm, waiting at the dais, flanked by Finn and Poe. Watching her walk to him, he'd felt so many things, been flooded with so many memories. His eyes had stung with tears to know that she was going to finally, finally truly be his. They were sealing their lives together in the most permanent of ways and he had been filled with the most perfect joy. All his dreams were coming true.

When he'd kissed her for the first time as her husband, it was as if something within him had shifted, settled. The small voice in his head that whispered that he would lose her was finally silenced and he'd wanted to stand there kissing her forever. Eventually he'd heard his mother clear her throat and he'd pulled back. He'd looked into Rey's infinite, complex, adoring eyes and he'd known that he'd held nothing back. He was hers and she was his, and nothing could change that now.

He feels that moment again; how the ever-present doubt that had followed him since he was a boy had finally quieted. Rey has chosen him. In front of all of their friends and family, she has claimed him as her own. He had been so fractured before she came into his life, and now he is whole. He marvels at the changes that have been wrought in him. He no longer feels lost, weak, alone. He is strong, he is found, he is complete.

He leans over, softly kisses her forehead and whispers, "I love you, Rey."

He settles down to sleep, pulling her closer to him. He closes his eyes with his arms around his darling wife and drifts.

Oh golly Meaghan M/Juulna (Best Beta in the Beta Biz) we did it! All done! Finis! Thank you so much my wonderful friend.

Thank you to everyone who has read, followed, favorited, or reviewed. This has been a life-changing experience and I am grateful to each and every one of you.

If you're looking for something new to read, please check out my new fic, 'Thwarted'. The first chapter is up here on FF and I will update on Mondays and Thursdays.

Here is the summary:

He stands over Snoke's dead body, toeing it with his boot.

"You never should have stood between us."

It has been nine months since Starkiller and Kylo Ren has become something more. The Light still pulls at him from time to time but after the price he has paid, he has been relentless in his pursuit of the Dark. And then when Snoke had dared stand in his way, tried to take Rey from him … new power had been born that day. Black and deep. The endless abyss that is Kylo Ren in love.