Following the events after The Last Jedi.
"Just a dream, it was just a dream," she says aloud attempting to calm herself, but the feeling doesn't dissipate, and her heart is still racing. She stands and walks towards the doorway to the fresh air out...
She turns to the original Jedi's beautiful illustrations, gently tracing the image's dark and light sides with her index finger. She looks up and sighs, 'Yes', she reaffirms to herself this was the right course. It was the will of the Force.
Since their arrival on Ahch-To, the woman Rey was is a shadow of the woman she now is; now she is Ben Solo's wife. The Lanais carried out a ceremony for them at one of the monthly festivals on the beach below them. The word wife, however, was too weak to encapsulate the truth of their situation. She belongs to Ben, and he belongs to her. Ben's love for her was a direct, unashamed passion. He shared his deepest feelings with her honestly and openly without doubt or shame, and that included his darkest fears. Rey knew his faults just as he did; he was no longer the prideful, entitled man he'd been but joyful, generous and passionately devoted. He could, however, still be moody and quick to anger at times. Ben was and will always be a wild animal tamed by her hands, and the island helps him control those elements of his personality. He took relief from the cleansing rush of air sprinkled with saltwater on the edges of the cliff. He'd be there now, she knew, with their son. Maz had been right all those years ago. The belonging she'd sought had not been behind her; it had been ahead. At the time, she had thought it was in reference to finding Luke and becoming a Jedi. She knew now, however, it had been about Ben. It had always been about Ben.
Rey rose from her position at the table; her back ached from having sat at the bench too long. She wanted to see them both and watch the twin suns set before night fell.
-X-
Ben crouches down on the cliff edge. A large, dark hooded cloak covers his entire person, sheltering him from the wind. Despite this, his dark hair whips in front of his eyes, but it doesn't affect his focus on the object of his gaze. The wind has turned cold, singing to him of the snow that will be covering the island soon enough. They've been preparing for this with the Lanais for months, salting fish and drying kelp. Opposite him, his intense gaze focuses on his son Bail, who is cross-legged, eyes closed, breathing deeply. He is the exact image of the boy he dreamt of all those years ago, night after night. Even the smell of him makes Ben's stomach turn with the memory of that dream, which has somehow come to fruition. Bail smells of this island- salt and grass and peace. Despite how long they've been here, however, to him, Rey's scent is reminiscent of Jakku, her beautiful skin forever warm and freckled from years in the blistering sun and sand.
"Focus and breathe. Let the Force flow through you," he says encouragingly to Bail.
Slowly, rocks scattered around the boy from earlier practice begin to float around him, and he stacks them in the air. He opens his eyes and smiles at Ben.
"Well done, my boy," he smiles genuinely. Smiling has become more common to him now. He knows he is still quiet and reflective, but joy, smiling, and actual laughter have become commonplace in his day-to-day life. Happiness and belonging were never something he felt he deserved or could have, but he has it, and he is grateful.
Ben senses Rey joining them before he sees or hears her. Knowing her every thought and move gives him peace of mind. Even when she leaves the island to visit the Republic and old friends on the core worlds, he can still feel her across the galaxies and hear her inside his head as he meditates high up on the cliffs or in the caves. She's in his soul, bound forever.
"Congratulations, sweetheart, I'm so proud... lifting rocks?" she laughs, and Ben beams at her from beneath his hood.
Her hood is up, protecting her from the vigorous breeze, but a few long strands of silken brown hair have escaped and fluttered freely around her face. Her beautiful oval eyes are warm and serene. To him, she's glowing, but to him, she's always beautiful; however, right now, her aura within the Force is shimmering. He rises to stand at her side, possessively placing an arm around her waist, the other resting on her stomach. He gazes down at her, allowing himself to fall deeply into her eyes, losing himself in her beauty as she traces the scar that runs across his face with her hand and her eyes glisten.
"Is it true, what I can sense and what I can feel?" he asks her, his hand resting upon her stomach, sensing a change he's felt before.
"Yes, I believe so. We're going to have another baby. I can sense her," she smiles back at him.
"Her?" his eyebrows rise as he questions her.
"I think so. Can't you feel it, feel her?"
He could, a tiny spark in the Force filled with infinite possibilities and futures. He could even see the girl and woman she might become. He didn't need to respond out loud for her to know. He leaned down and kissed her softly, her body pressed against his. His arm wraps just a little tighter around her waist as he deepens the kiss. He could lose himself here. For a moment, and it's just a moment, there is a deepening of shared emotion; they are one. To them, these moments are almost an eternity as their minds become one through the Force. When the kiss ends, he scoops the boy up with one arm and embraces him tightly, ruffling the boy's hair with his face and breathing him in deeply.
His arm still around Rey, they watch as the binary suns set over Ahch-To, casting the world into hues of crimson, pink and yellow before walking back to their home.
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