talentedscavenger | Closed to rampageous

Ben/Kylo Ren with Rey AU--post TROS

"Ben?" His name fell from Rey's lips, looking into his dark eyes and feeling his arm around her. Both of them surviving Palpatine, putting an end to his plans once and for all. The stone statues were leveled, crumbling into rocks and pebbles. T

he cave didn't echo the sounds and whispers of the Siths of the Past. Though there was Darkness, there was still light, enough to illuminate their area, allowing Rey to take in Ben's handsome face. Stars, they were so close to dying--no, she had died, but he brought her back. He healed her.

"Ben?" she whispered again, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill over. Her hand cupping his face, thumb brushing over his cheek.

The First Order was nothing. It was all ash and rubble. The Imperial ships, the Final Order, would never leave atmo, and the rest of the Galaxy would not longer fear the shadows and Darkness of the Empire or its ghosts. Her friends--the Resistance could go home victorious and...have a future.

They could have a future where Darkness didn't linger or cast a shadow over all of them.

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It didn't dawn on Rey at that moment how Ben might have reacted to see Luke's old ship. She was focused on getting both of them out alive. Between the two of them, no one else was going to die. Not right now. Her mind was focused on escaping, breaking the atmosphere and then making the jump to lightspeed. Ben's body was behind her, proof that he was with her, that he hadn't faded away into the Force.

His silence though, was concerning. She didn't know if he had fallen asleep, or fell into meditation. The former was more concerning, as she didn't have a medpack on her to help patch him up. If he suffered any injuries to his head...he might not wake up.

No, she wouldn't dwell on that. She focused her mind on that faint, familiar thread--their bond. He was alive...he was okay.

"..It'll be sometime before we reach the Resistance base," she whispered, knowing (logically) that's where they should go. Where she had to go, to see Finn and Poe and make sure everyone else was fine.

But, for Ben...it would be a different story. Maybe she could persuade Poe and Finn into letting her handle Ben. Yes, his sins were great, but...he wasn't that man anymore. He saved her, and that had to count for something.

He could feel her mind brushing against their bond, bright and concerned, as though reassuring herself that it-- that he was still there. It was easier to speak this way, in a sense; emotions and impressions were less complicated than words by far. So he reached back, offering up a jumbled collection of alive/resting-focus-wounded/apology--

Or, better translated as: he was still alive, merely meditating to keep from leaking pain across their bond and distracting her.

And- ah, the Resistance base. That explained both her eagerness and her apprehension. The only thing he could offer back in response to Rey's words was acceptance.

He wouldn't begrudge them their justice - after all, Kylo Ren and Ben Solo's hands were one and the same.

Rey released a breath she didn't know she had been holding until he reached back through their bond. It was fragile because of Palpatine, but it was there. A thread or tiny threads that connected them together. A way for them to communicate with each other....and remind herself that she wasn't alone. She sent back a feeling of relief that was still laced with apprehension.

Ben could accept his fate, but Rey....they needed more time. They needed time to figure something out. Time for Ben and their bond to heal.

No. The word came through clearly through their bond as she changed course. Ahch-To wouldn't be too far away. He could heal there. They could have time there. Surely, Poe and Finn would understand? She would send communication to them once they landed, but for now, she was focused on getting them to the planet Luke had sequestered himself to...a planet where she nearly repeated the same thing.

Rest. It'll be okay.

The force of her No resonated so strongly that it nearly shook Ben out of his meditation; instinctively, he reached back to reassure her - as tired as he was, though, he couldn't even be sure she felt it. For a brief moment, the faint impression of coordinates flickered across their bond-- and then nothing. Nothing, until a very clear order to rest.

It was the easiest order he'd ever followed. He allowed his acknowledgement to filter through the bond, followed by trust, then allowed himself to just breathe and sink deeper into the trance.

She felt him sink deeper into that trance, resting as she had asked. Well, not so much asked, but ordered. Rey didn't mean for it to become an order, but she wanted to reassure him that things were fine. The sense of trust that was sent through their bond made her heart rise. He trusted her...a trust she wouldn't betray.

Making the jump to lightspeed, she focused on getting them to Ahch-To.

An hour later, they landed on the planet's surface, near the huts. Some of the residents saw her ship land and started to gather. Rey had a feeling they knew Ben was hurt and came prepared to aide in his recovery.

We're here. Maybe she could try to Force heal him now that she was able to focus on him and not flying.

He was slower to stir this time; Rey's call echoed through their bond, but Ben had submerged himself deep into the wellspring of Force that pooled within. He'd never been particularly gifted at healing - too tempestuous as a padawan and too soaked in darkness as Kylo Ren - but he remembered enough to at least make an attempt. It wasn't nearly enough to mend his broken bones or close his wounds, but by the time they landed on Ahch-To, he was looking a little less deathly pale.

Dragging himself out of the trance took some effort - his body wanted to heal itself - but the gentle thump of the X-Wing landing and the thrum of We're here was enough encouragement. Hauling himself back to awareness, Ben shook his head, before raising his gaze to their surroundings. Oh. He'd seen this place before.

"Your island."

"Ahch-To," Rey supplied. It wasn't her island. Rather, it was the island she found Luke on. The map to Skywalker that R2 had a piece of. The entire island was alive with the Force. It could help them both...and if not, then the huts had to have a med pack, or bacta on it. Or, as a last resort, she could attempt to heal him once they made it to a bed.

Rey wasn't sure if they could be called nuns or not, but the islanders had gathered by the ship. She opened the cockpit and carefully climbed out. Once on solid ground, she outstretched to Ben's to help guide him down. Her eyes looked at the nuns who seemed ready to help them..or she hoped that was their motive.

"Come on, we can get you to a bed and start to heal you."

It was the island in her dreams: a rocky scrap of green jutting out of a vast ocean, stark and timeless. Ahch-To, Skywalker's island, the Force's island... the name didn't matter to Ben, who stubbornly clung to it being Rey's, if only to himself. She had a better claim to it any than anyone else, after all.

...well, save for the natives, that is.

Peering down from the cockpit, Ben took a breath, then hauled himself over the side of the fuselage. It was quite possibly the most graceless exit he'd ever made from any vehicle; his arms shook faintly as he lowered himself, sliding down the hull in a vain attempt to keep from jostling his shattered leg on impact. He didn't crumple once his feet hit the dirt, but it was a near thing - his hand trembled when he took Rey's, grip just a little too tight.

"Lead on."

Rey didn't say anything when Ben took her hand. He could squeeze it as much as he wanted. He could tighten his hold to the point of hurting her, and she wouldn't say anything. He was in more pain than her. At this point, she was close to succumbing to exhaustion, but she was too stubborn to give in.

Palaptine was too stubborn to die....a family trait.

No, she didn't want to think about it that way. She focused her efforts on Ben, holding his hand and attempting to sling his arm around her, to use her as a crutch. Granted, he was taller than her, but she was determined to help him in any way she could.

"This way," Rey murmured softly, careful to walk with him down the grassy path to one of the huts. The nuns parted for them, and followed behind with some darting off to gather more supplies. They could sense how tired both Force Users were.

In hindsight, Rey should have checked to see if anyone was using the hut they came upon, but Ben's injuries were at the forefront of her mind. Luckily, the hut seemed vacant. She tapped into the Force, just barely enough to open the door for them and lead Ben to a bed.

Closed to rampageous

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