AN: Oh my, it wasn't supposed to end so soon! But the story told itself, and here we are! I hope you all have enjoyed this. This is the proudest I've ever been to complete a book, and I hope I've made people happy to read this along the way.

Thank you to all of you who wrote me messages, both through direct messages and in the comments. I'm so glad to get to share this with everyone.

All that said, let's get to the end:

They kept it a secret, telling no one but Leia about the bond that tethered them. The sunlight of Kore faded away until it was a distant memory, and they came to live back where it had all started, in the converted Resistance base that was the center of the alliance.

Tahar and Darben came with them, and slowly integrated themselves into the alliance. Rey watched them and knew that one day they would get their peace too, and then caught Ben's eyes and felt blessed to have found her own.

Finn found her one day in the training room, commander's jacket discarded haphazardly on the floor.

"Rey?" He said.

She looked at him, a bead of sweat trembling on her forehead. She clicked her saber off.

"What's . . . that?" He asked, and pointed to something around her neck.

Ah. They hadn't told anyone yet. Looped on a chain, next to the key to the chest in her room, there was a ring-a simple thing made of silver, thin and nevertheless noticeable, apparently, from a distance.

The necklace had fallen from her shirt, where she had taken to wearing the ring until the ceremony took place.

"A wedding band," she told him.

Finn grinned and pulled her into an embrace, not caring that she was sticky with sweat. He laughed into her ear and said: "So, did you set a date yet?"

Leia had asked the same thing the day before, and had given her an embrace as warm as her son's.

"Not yet," Rey said.

* * *

They didn't get married in Jakku, or Ahch-to, or any place that seemed predictable. It took them nearly a year before they felt that peace was real, and that it was time to begin a new era.

It was a tiny ceremony in a vacated meeting room, and only Leia, Chewie, Finn, and Poe were told. Neither of them wanted a fuss; that was evident by the simple rings they exchanged and the clothes they wore.

But, they were to be married. And that mattered more than any of the extravagance.

Their commander's jackets were folded neatly on the table beside them, as they stood facing each other in twin alliance uniforms. She didn't wear a dress, or a veil, but her hair hung loose around her shoulders, and Leia had helped her weave tiny braids, a thin crown of hair.

Rey married him.

She wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

"What's that?" She asked the morning after, when they still laid lazily in bed.

She gestured to something on the beside table, and in the morning sunlight, her ring flashed as she pointed.

Ben caught the hand and kissed it, as he had when they were still fighting the flaggers. "A wedding gift," he murmured.

"From whom?" Rey asked with a smile.

"Me."

She laughed. "And what gift did you get us?"

He handed her the tin, and she opened it. When she saw the inside, she laughed a second time.

"Tea?"

"What?" He said. "We drink it every day, and that was expensive. It's nice."

Rey hummed. "Thank you," she said. "Even though I know you could drink all of it and still have room for dinner."

"Shut it, Solo," he said.

And yes, the bond was laughing too, bubbly and leaping with the joy of hazy mornings.

* * *

It took them about five minutes to convince Leia the school was a good idea, and the building was designated quickly to the project. Their students came, souls simmering with ability, eyes wide with wonder.

Noah came too.

"There is darkness," Ben would tell each new group. "There is light. The Force is the balance . . ."

* * *

They were married for eight years before the knock came. Their daughter, four years old and hair dark as night, opened the door to reveal a strange young woman.

"Hi there," the stranger said. "I'm looking for the Commanders Solo."

"Mama? Daddy?" Their daughter called, but Ben and Rey were already hurrying to the door.

"How can I help you?" Ben asked, and took his daughter in his arms.

Rey came to stand easily by his side and held the door wider.

The young woman on the doorstep looked between them, brows furrowed. There was something in her eyes, a something Rey recognized because she too had felt it.

"We need your help . . ."

Darkness was rising again. Rey looked at her husband, and they had already decided. Finn and Poe would take care of their daughter, the little girl they thought of as their niece and who loved BB-8. The sabers were waiting to be held again.

The moment when they looked at each other was tiny, just a flash, just a second. But they had decided.

The moment passed in silence.

"I'll get my coat," Rey said.

"I'll call them up," Ben said.

Silence.

It was how the world would end.

AN: Dudes its done.

From the moment I wrote the first few lines of this book, I knew the last lines needed to mirror them, so please forgive me being repetitive. I had to lol.

My goal with this was to be realistic as possible, and although I know I completely left out Rose (and also BB-8??! how) I hope you have enjoyed my rendition.

I've written every day for the past 76 days, which is how long it took me to write something around 75,000 words, give or take. I've never been that dedicated to something on this site, oh my haha.

But its done, so I have to stop typing and hit publish.

I would love to hear any opinion on this story. Feedback?