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((Author's Note: Hi everyone this is my first official Reylo writing. I've always enjoyed reading Reylo but never felt confident enough to write it. That is until an artist by the name of Claire (theriseofswolo on twitter) created a beautiful drawing of Rey and Ben that sparked my creativity to the point that I knew I had to write this. Artwork linked at bottom of story!))

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"Rey....."

Someone is calling her name.

But she doesn't feel like answering.

"Rey?"

She groans, irritated that someone would try and disturb her sleep.

"Can you hear me?"

No.

Well technically she could, but she didn't want to.

All she wants is to stay curled up in her bed. She had been restless for hours, like every other night. No amount of tossing and turning could bring her comfort.

So now that the blissful oblivion that is sleep finally has finally taken her, she doesn't like being bothered.

This has been her life since settling on Tatooine. She's able to keep herself busy during the day, but at night?

That's when loneliness creeps in.

Slowly and inconspicuously, like a spider crawling along its web.

"Rey, are you there?"

She had already said 'No'.

Because waking up now would mean another night awake with a pain reminiscent of her heart being chipped away at.

Piece by piece until there's nothing but an empty hole.

She whimpers at the memory. Not wanting to experience that type of pain ever again.

But this is her life now.

This is what it feels like without her dyad...her other half.

Without Ben.

"Sweetheart, I need you to hear me."

Her eyes flutter open then because no one has ever called her that before, and the only person who she's imagined calling her that is—

"Ben?"

She turns over and finds him kneeling beside her.

But she is no longer in her bed and they aren't in her bedroom. Around them is nothing but darkness.

Except...it's not the type of bleak darkness.

There's a glow...a warmth.

As if the moon is bathing them in her light.

But there is no moon or sky for that matter.

In fact, there isn't even a floor.

Ripples of light fan out from where Ben crouches, giving the appearance that he's sitting atop a pool of water.

That's when she notices that he isn't wearing a stitch of clothing.

"I'm dreaming," she states, because this wouldn't be the first time she's seen him in dreams.

Like her own personal tormentor, her mind has a nasty habit of conjuring him when she's at her most vulnerable. The sound of his voice, a flash of him from the corner of her eye, or fantasies where his life force hadn't faded away on Exegol.

But Ben shakes his head, looking far too beautiful for someone who had died bloody and bruised. "It's not a dream, Rey. It...It feels like how it used to. When the Force would connect us."

She slowly sits up, moving a fraction of an inch closer, and notices how he shifts to close his legs a bit more for modesty. He suddenly seems painfully aware of his nudity, but Rey is too entranced with the feeling of simply being here with him.

He's right. This feels like when the Force started bringing them together while she was on Luke's island. Except, now they've been through so much–both together and separately.

"But how is that possible? I watched you die...I felt it." She grabs the front of her shirt, right above her heart, sounding pained. But before Ben can respond, her eyes shift back to his. "Are...are you real?"

His brows furrow slightly, and he looks down at his hand as if to study it. "I suppose..."

If he wanted to say more, she doesn't give him the chance, because she's throwing herself into his arms.

There's only one way to find out, and this is it.

She buries herself into his chest—finding him solid and warm.

His arms come around her, holding her steady as he plants his foot to keep them from toppling over.

A strangled sob leaves her. "I can touch you! You're here." She cups the side of his face, threading her fingers through his hair. They brush against his ear, his—as she just found out—adorably large ear.

Tears blur her vision. "You're really here."

Realization crashes over them and quickly turns into emotions.

Raw, powerful emotions that have them both groping at one another.

Her hands grip his face and shoulders, while his own cradle the back of her head and spine.

"I feel you," he gasps, his own eyes starting to water. "Stars, I can really feel you."

And then they're kissing so hard that their tears begin to mingle, but neither of them cares.

Not when they feel undeniably whole.

All the jagged pieces within them soften and dull until they slip together like puzzle pieces.

Everything feels right.

No more sadness. No more pain. No more longing.

It's just them.

The way it was always meant to be, even before they knew one another's names.

Rey isn't sure how, but somehow in the midst of their kissing, they had shifted. She's lying on her back now, with him leaning over her to the point that she's trapped beneath him.

She can feel every inch of his muscular frame pressed against hers, but it isn't enough...she needs more.