AN: Reposted, with text that actually works! Hallelujah!

Promises and Preludes

Chapter One

She had thought that his face, staring at her in utmost concern and hope and fear, watching as she sat up in his arms, was the most stunning thing she had ever seen in her life.

He was here. He had kept his promise - that she wasn't alone. And he had braved death on multiple fronts to be at her side.

There was no conflict in his gaze. No battle of light versus dark. He was Ben Solo, desperate, broken, bloody.

And hers.

Poor, lonely Rey of Jakku finally had something to call her own.

Her fingers gently skated across his cheek, and the change in his face was dramatic. When was the last time someone had touched him with affection? With genuine love?

He had given her himself. In all ways. Their bond told her what he had done - that the life she felt thundering through her was his.

She let her eyes follow the path her fingers were taking, let them linger for half a moment on his lips.

And then she gave in to what every beat of her heart was telling her to do.

Perhaps he had seen her thoughts through the Force. Perhaps he had read her intentions in the tension of her muscles. Or perhaps he wanted this as much as she did. But he was already reaching for her before her lips even met his.

The bond sang.

He gathered her closer - finally, finally she was in his arms - and she felt overwhelmed. It was a good sort of overwhelmed. They were alive, he had turned, just like she'd always believed he would, and now she was drowning in joy and hope and him.

His lips were soft, the bottom one slightly bloodied. She didn't mind.

When he raised his head and smiled at her, smiled for the very first time at her, she knew she had been wrong earlier. This, this was the most stunning thing she had ever seen. Her very soul ached, and she wondered how a person could be this happy.

At least for the next heartbeat.

And then he fell.

Panicked now, she rested her hand on his cheek, willed him to stay.

"Don't you dare," she hissed at him. "You promised me!"

The bond started to fray.

Ignoring the silent screaming of her heart, she pressed her other hand to his chest. Tried to gather her focus.

This was not happening. He did not get to find her just to leave her behind. He did not get to leave her alone.

The Force wrapped around them both, and she directed it to her will. Her own life force, golden and shimmering where she could sense it, slowly drifted between them. She pushed harder with her mind, and felt the second the small spark that was left in him catch.

With unbroken concentration, she gave as much as she could without irreparable damage to herself. Because then they would be in the same situation again.

Beneath her palms, Ben's eyes opened.

She fought the urge to slap him.

He blinked, looked vaguely surprised to see her.

Without warning, she collapsed next to him, only then realizing how badly she was shaking, how tired she was.

"Rey," he whispered, and she felt him move, felt him reach for her hand. It cost him a lot. He had perhaps half of the life force he should, as did she.

But they were alive.

He did not get to leave her.

Their fingers laced together, and there they laid, heads nearly touching as they absently stared at the spangled sky above them.

Later, when she had the energy, she was going to yell at him. For now, she would be content to just know he was there.

Be with me.

Well. He was.

Eventually, he propped himself up on one elbow to look down at her. "We should leave."

This was undoubtedly true. Even if the threat was gone, this place would never feel anything less than utterly menacing.

She nodded, and he squeezed her hand.

Standing was a trial. Leaving the cathedral was torture.

They leaned on one another, stopping frequently to breathe. She was drenched in sweat by the time the X-Wing and TIE fighters came into view. Beneath her fingers, she could feel Ben's muscles trembling.

And his determination. It mirrored her own.

They were making it out of here. They had come so far, too far to give up now.

"Do you think you can fly?" he asked. They were sitting on the ground again, her head against his shoulder.

The path away from Exegol was not an easy one, even when she was at her best.

"What choice do I have?" she asked. "Can you?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "I suppose I have to."

She closed her eyes. One more obstacle to get through. Just one. Just hold on until they landed safely.

They could do this.

We can, came Ben's voice in her mind. She felt him move, felt him brush his lips across the crown of her head.

Oh, yes. For this, for him, she could do anything.

Several hours later, she made radio contact with the Resistance. She'd barely identified herself when Finn's excited shouting blared into the cockpit. A moment later, she heard Poe's slightly calmer voice.

"You made it out!" His happiness was obvious from lightyears away. "Finn was losing his mind for a while, telling us you were dead, but obviously he just hit his head too many times."

She grinned, even as the implications of that flitted through her brain. "Well, he wasn't entirely wrong, but that's another story. I should be touching down in another hour or so."

"Are you okay?" Poe asked. "I mean, obviously you're alive, but are you okay?"

That was a different question. "I'm…" exhausted beyond what I thought I was physically capable of being without dying "…not great," she settled for saying. "But I think I will be. Okay, I mean."

When Poe spoke again, she heard the leadership in his voice. Heard Leia in his voice. "We'll be waiting for you with med droids as soon as you've landed."

There was a small pause. Then, "Finn, Poe. There's something else you need to know."

The silence on the other end was utterly fraught. "Yes?" Poe finally asked.

She took a breath. "I'm not coming back alone. Someone is with me, and I need you to promise that no one's going to shoot him. I swear I'll explain all of this, but I need your word."

"Him?" Poe asked. "Who's-"

"It's Kylo Ren." Finn's voice was disbelieving, and she wondered again about her first friend. Could it be? Could he really feel Ben?

"What?" Poe demanded. "You're bringing back Kylo Ren? And you want me to not shoot him? You're asking a lot, Rey. Maybe too much."

"I didn't bring back Kylo Ren," she said firmly. "The man I'm bringing back is Ben Solo."

Another heavy pause. "Rey." Poe's voice was conflicted, and she suddenly remembered how close he had been with Leia.

"Poe, please." She gave a shaky laugh. "Also, I'm a little afraid we're sharing a life force at the moment, so if you kill him, I rather suspect I'll die, too." This was…not entirely false. It was a thought that had crossed her mind, certainly.

She heard Poe swear quietly. "Alright," he finally said, and she closed her eyes for a second in relief. She really hadn't had much of a Plan B. "But understand that we're going to have a long talk when you get here."

"Yes," she agreed. "It may have to be from the medical ward, but I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

She ended the transmission with fingers that trembled.

From his TIE fighter, Ben snorted over the comm link that had been open the entire time. "I suppose that could have gone worse," he noted.

"Yes," she agreed. "At least they won't kill you on sight."

"Definitely better than some welcomes I've had," he said, and she knew he wasn't joking.

They didn't speak much after that, both focused on making it to their destinations without passing out at the controls.

As promised, medical droids were waiting for them, along with Finn, Poe, and Rose. She felt the atmosphere tense as Ben landed his TIE just behind hers.

She opened the cockpit, summoned her remaining strength, and climbed out, landing very ignobly on the grass. Her legs would't hold her. When she looked up, the world tilted violently, darkness gathering at the corners of her vision.

The last thing she saw were Ben's black clad legs coming into view. She tried to keep her eyes open long enough to see his face, but her sight went dark and she was plunged into deep, blissful peace.

When she woke, it took her a full minute to remember where she was and what had happened. She sat up in a rush, heart racing.

She was in a large room, though it was rather empty at the moment, with screens and beds and medical equipment scattered haphazardly about.

"Ben!" she said, eyes searching desperately.

"Right here, sweetheart." His voice was quiet.

She turned.

He was in the bed just behind hers, half sitting up. His messy hair and heavy lids told her that he had been asleep. But his smile was soft, and she grinned back.

"What happened?" she wanted to know.

He shrugged, looking amused. "You fainted. Your friends all looked at me like I had something to do with it."

Which was sort of true, but that was neither here nor there.

"Chewie carried you in here," he went on. "And then I made a spectacle of myself by fainting, too." He sounded less than pleased. "I think that catches you up nicely."

"How are you feeling?" She was taking a mental inventory of herself. Heavy head, aching limbs. Sitting up still took far too much effort. But…but there was something different.

Ben considered her question. "Slightly better, I think. Still far from recovered, but better. You?"

Slowly, she nodded. "I think very much the same. Slightly better."

Moving with caution, he swung his legs down and stood, making sure he was balanced before he crossed to her. She saw he wasn't blood spattered anymore, though his clothes were still the same.

He sat on the edge of her bed, and the bond delighted in his nearness. She delighted in his nearness.

The med bay doors opened, Finn and Poe entering. Their expressions were identical as they took in the scene before them - surprised and happy that she was awake, surprised and decidedly unhappy that Ben was on her bed.

Well, they could just deal with that, then. She scooted closer to him.

It did not go unnoticed.

"Glad to see you're both up," Poe said, an edge to his voice. "Feeling better?"

She shrugged. "I've felt worse." Then she sighed. She did not need to pick a fight with her two best friends over something they did not understand. "I suppose you'd like an explanation for all of this."

Finn nodded slowly. "Yeah, that'd be nice," he replied, trying and failing to sound casual.

She gave both of them a wry smile, then exchanged a glance with Ben.

Tell them anything you want, he told her through the bond.

"I'm trying to think of where I should begin," she admitted.

"Ahch To," Ben supplied. "The first time it happened. Start there."

It was as good of a place as any.

She took a deep breath.

Finn and Poe were an excellent audience, though they did interrupt with questions rather frequently. Sometimes she even had answers for them, though more often she simply had to give her best guess. Ben could occasionally fill in gaps in their knowledge, but this was new territory for him as well.

The longer she spoke, the easier the words came. When she was finished, having glossed over some of the more personal details, Finn and Poe stared.

"So, wait," Poe said, glancing at her before fixing his gaze on Ben. "You killed Snoke?"

Ben nodded once, and she shivered slightly in remembrance.

"And he's like, in your head, all the time?" Finn asked her.

"Not always, no," she said, "but if I search for him, I can find him."

"Can you control it? This bond?" Poe wondered.

"Sometimes, maybe," Ben answered. "It can't be switched off, but it's getting easier to…manage."

"And…you died. Really, for real." Finn was as serious as she had ever seen him.

"I did," she answered, and she could feel Ben's memory of it. His grief. His devastation. Suddenly, she needed to be alone with him. Just him.

She was saved having to construct any sort of ploy when the med droids returned to check both of their vitals, sternly telling Ben off until he retreated to his own bed, clearly hoping they would go away quicker if he humored them.

Finn and Poe took their cue as the droids urged her to lay back down. It was easy to give in - the retelling of everything that had led to this point had left her exhausted.

"Take it easy," Poe said. "Get some sleep. I can't have the star of the Resistance running around with half a life force. It's a bad look for the victors."

She found a smile for him and for Finn, even as she knew the two of them would likely spend the next several hours talking about her.

That was alright though. It was rather a lot to take in at once.

Besides, they hadn't even threatened to kill Ben yet, which, under the circumstances, she was willing to take as a gesture of pure goodwill.

When the droids left, she rolled to face Ben, who looked as worn out as she felt. They should sleep, and yet…

And yet she wanted to be next to him. Wanted him to wrap his arms around her. Wanted it so badly she thought she might start weeping.

He caught her thoughts, dark eyes becoming luminous. Slowly, he waved a hand, and she started slightly as her bed began to drift towards his.

It settled with a slight bump, their thin mattresses now flush.

Eyes half closed, he reached out, gathered her close. Gratefully, she curled into his chest, one palm pressed against his heartbeat. And, oh, how she wanted to stay awake, to remember every second of this. The warmth of his skin, the feel of his fingers carding through her hair.

But she just couldn't.

She felt him kiss her temple, and she swore he whispered something, but she was already gone.