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"We're going home, Ben." Rey's voice is so clear, so sure. Not the slightest hint of uncertainty or doubt. She lifts her chin toward the horizon, where the dark line of the sea meets the flat, slate sky. "And everything will finally be okay."
His strong, beautiful girl. What did he ever do to deserve this kind of compassion, this blind faith in him, this unwavering sense of devotion?
His wretched, bleeding soul knows one thing for sure. He could live a million lifetimes, across a million different galaxies, and never be good enough for her.
He shakes his head. "They'll never forgive me, Rey. They'll never forgive Kylo Ren." A hard lump lodges itself in his throat as the familiar weight of regret and shame settles over him. "I can't even forgive myself."
She whirls on him, anger flashing in her hazel eyes. "Kylo Ren died so Ben Solo could live. And you were taken away before you even got that chance." Her gaze softens, and she gives him a gentle, reassuring smile. "I've been searching for years to find you, to find a way to give you that chance." She tilts her head to the side, and if he didn't know better, he would think the gesture was almost flirtatious, even a bit coy. His stomach swoops despite himself. "You're not going to start saying no to me now, are you, Ben?"
He shakes his head, blood rushing to his cheeks like some silly schoolboy, because of course not, he'd never say no to her. Especially not now, not after everything she's sacrificed to be here, to find him, to bring him back.
The echo of her voice suddenly resonates in his mind. A memory, a whisper, a desperate plea into the Force. Chanted endlessly, as the months began stacking up, stretching into years, and yet she never gave up. Never gave up on him. Even when it seemed like all hope was lost.
Be with me.
She smiles at him, dimples and all, brighter than a thousand Jakku suns, and reaches out her hand.
"Let's go home, Ben."
And even though there are so many reasons why he shouldn't, he takes it.
He pulls in a deep breath, brackish air filling his lungs, really feeling alive for the first time since– well, for the first time ever.
He studies her face, beautiful and brave and resolved. He'll never deserve her, not in a million years.
But that doesn't mean he doesn't at least want the chance to try.