"Ben!" Rey screams as the man she loves, the man she's almost given up on, freezes the laser in mid-air.
"Rey!" He stares at her, at the laser, then back at her, at her abdomen. "You—"
"I thought you were a stormtrooper, or Hux!" she cries, and the emotions storm her, pulling her down to drown, lifting her up to breathe, tearing her apart and sewing her back together, stoking the fire inside her and washing her in cool relief. "You came."
He wraps his arms around her, pressing his cheek against her forehead as she fights back sobs. He smoothes her hair. "We all came. Mother, Uncle Luke, Finn, Poe, Chewie, BB-8 even. We're all here."
Is this real? But his arms are around her, and warmth emanates from his body and his hands are in her hair, she can hear his breaths, and he's here. It's real. "I was so afraid I'd never see any of you again."
"I know. I'm sorry," he says soothingly, until his voice catches and she realizes he's crying too.
The baby kicks, and Rey winces. She grabs Ben's hand and pulls it down to her stomach. "Feel that?"
Ben looks at her with childlike awe in his eyes. His lips waver and form a smile. "That's amazing."
"You're happy? About the baby?"
"Of course." He looks at her as if scandalized she could suspect anything otherwise. "Afraid, maybe, but Rey, I just wanted you—both of you—safe. This is my child."
Rey snorts. A terrible darkness tugs at her heart, wrapping it up and trying to strangle her the way that serpent tried to strangle Ben so many months earlier. "Ben, I told Snoke I would go to the Dark Side. I was going to try and escape again, but if I failed—I would have done it. At least I think I might have. To save our child." She gulps. "I'm so sorry."
Ben shakes his head. "But you didn't have to."
"I still feel awful for even considering it," she confesses.
Ben presses his hands, gloveless and calloused, against her tear-streaked face. "It's okay, Rey. What might have happened is irrelevant, because I'm here and you're here and we're going to get you out of here."
Rey sniffs, the coil loosening. Ben presses his forehead against hers, and she closes the gap, covering his mouth with hers.
Rey pries herself away and frowns. "Where are the others?"
Ben shakes his head.
"Escape now," Rey gasps. "Kiss later."
YOU ARE READING
•LEGACY - A Reylo Story•
Fanfiction*WRITTEN PRE-TROS, POST TLJ* When a ship crashes near the Resistance base, Finn and Poe are shocked to discover Kylo Ren. What does he want? And where is Rey? And as for Kylo, he must decide how much he can trust them with what he knows about Snoke...
