Star Wars: A dyad in the Force 「A Reylo FanFiction」

Act 17: In the aftermath of the night

                                                            Here's to the ones that we got

Cheers to the wish you were here, but you're not

'Cause the drinks bring back all the memories

Of everything, we've been through...

Ajan Kloss, 35 ABY

She had felt a connection with him even before their last embrace. She had felt it during the first moments of his interrogation of her on Starkiller Base. Her encounters with Ben, or when he was known as Kylo Ren, were always overwhelming, yet important. Because he understood her like no one ever had, he pushed her to reach her full potential. Sometimes he acted as her teacher rather than her enemy. Rey could grasp his point of view. And now, she needed them to understand as well. She knew, and she knew it well, that this possibility had zero chance. Maybe Finn would accept some of her feelings. But Poe and the rest would not. And she could not blame them. She didn't want to explain to them his actions so that Ben would be forgiven. She just needed them to know that Kylo Ren had turned. And Ben Solo gave up his life to aid this cause.

She took a sharp breath and closed her eyes, darting once more to the faces of those she had lost: her parents, Han Solo, Master Skywalker, General Organa, and Ben. 'Right, Ben!' she thought and opened her eyes, gazing at the new Generals; Poe and Finn were waiting for her to speak. Finn and Poe would have little understanding or sympathy for her connection to Ben, who had been - and possibly would always bbeKylo Ren to them. She would not bother them with details they would never grasp. After all, it mattered less now, with him gone. She couldn't fault them for seeing him as the villain, given they had witnessed his wrongdoings all these years.

Still, it wasn't easy to forget and ignore the last part of his deeds, even if the others would never understand. It was then that she found some of her strength to explain to them what happened. From the moment Leia called him when he showed up at the most critical time and aided her, to when he brought her back to life. Finn trusted Rey's words. He had felt her die. That meant that someone brought her back to life. Poe didn't argue, but for him, Kylo Ren was still a monster. Even when she explained that he was dead, both looked satisfied with the outcome.

One enemy less.

The celebrations had died, and everyone was sleeping or resting. After Rey narrated Finn and Poe through the events on Exegol, she gave her goodnights and decided to get some rest as well. She walked through the base and found her old room—a small storage unit, where she would hang out and sleep from time to time. There was an old metallic bed. Next to it were her belongings. The textures of the Jedi she got from Luke. Some of her attires iare n another box. She took off the lightsabers and placed them on top of the wooden desk next to the bed. She sat down. Head resting on her hands. And once more, she was drawn into her memory. It was again Ben's face. Only it was an older memory. The first time she had met Kylo Ren. Only now, the memory didn't scare her.

Rey felt the softness, the quiet, the sense of rest. Her eyes were slowly closing as she was sitting there in the storage unit. Her friends seemed to understand that she needed rest and didn't bother her for now. Ben had saved her earlier today, but her wounds were still fresh and aching. But those didn't matter. What matter was she had lost, Ben? Rey felt a blackness slowly reaching her. Her body relaxed, and she leaned against the bed and lay on her side. Soon her feet followed, and before she knew it, she was resting on top of the bed with her eyes closed. The blackness covered her like a blanket, but not a blanket of warmth but a blanket of coldness, making her shiver. She missed the warm nights of Jakku. Her eyes became heavier and heavier until sleep sent her into a dreamless sleep.