But don't worry, I'm a big baby so all these have HEAs.
There's just something about the extreme lows that make the happy endings so much more sweeter.
I didn't add my 2 cents to each of these recs because I am pretty sure every comment would be "It hurts so good 😭😘👌"
Oh and whoops these are all AUs ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
We will start things off with the fic that inspired this entire list...
You Can Have Manhattan by reylo_addict | @thereyloaddict | Explicit | 41k | Complete | Modern AU | Manhattan | Established Reylo | Break ups | Flashbacks | Falling in love | Devoted Reylo | Angst | Break up sex | HEA | Rey POV | In the past: Rey falls in love with New York at the same time she falls in love with Ben Solo. In the present: Rey is angrily (and drunkenly) phoning her Ex from the otherside of the country.
(The rest are organized shortest to longest)
Porch Swing by Celia_and | @whatceliawrites | Explicit | 2k | Oneshot | Modern AU | Witness Protection | Mafia | Angst | HEA | Rey POV | "When Ben’s past catches up with them and they’re separated, it would be easy for Rey to give up. Except that he promised her a pink house. And a porch, with a swing."
tomorrow by diesirate | @diesirate | Explict | 7k | Complete | Modern AU | Established Reylo | Rey needs a hug | Body Dysmorphic Disorder | Self esteem issues | Angst | Past Bullying | Devoted!Ben Solo | Hopeful ending | Rey POV | Rey can only orgasm when she pretends to be someone else. One night her husband finds out.
earthbound by trailingviolets | Explicit | 7k | Oneshot | Modern AU | Parrot!Kylo | Human!Rey | Angst | Trauma healing | Past abuse | Past assault | Therapy | Anxiety | Time gap | Human!Ben | HEA | Rey POV | Multi POV | Struggling with her own demons, Rey buys an abused Bird. Once they both have healed she sets him free -- only for him to return to her years later as a man.
For Now by Celia_and | @whatceliawrites | Explicit | 8k | Complete | Modern AU | Soulmates | Co-workers | Angst | HEA | Ben POV | Ben realizes that he and Rey are soulmates, but doesn't tell her because they both hate the whole concept. Instead they start a no-strings-attached thing.
Into your heart (I’ll beat again) by ElixirBB | @elixirbb | Mature | 9k | Complete | Modern AU | Non-linear storytelling | Lawyers | Car Accident | Attempted Murder | Angst | Bendemption | Rey had abandonment issues | HEA | Rey POV | "Rey doesn’t love Ben Solo. She doesn’t. Obviously, this doesn’t explain why she jumps in front of a car for him."
Rupture by Celia_and | @whatceliawrites | Explicit | 9k | Complete | Modern AU | Heartbreak | Break ups | Angst | Texting | Big-shot-lawyer!Ben Solo | Villainous!Snoke | Reconcilliation | HEA | Ben POV | It’s been a year since Ben broke up with Rey. It never gets easier.
all things bright and beautiful by freewalrus | @sandhateclub | Teen | 9k | Oneshot | Modern AU | A/B/O | Alpha x Omega | Established Relationship | Unplanned pregnancy | Misunderstandings | Angst | HEA | Rey POV | An unplanned pregnancy throws Rey's relationship into chaos.
The Rogue and the Pearl by Celia_and | @whatceliawrites | Explicit | 10k | Complete | Modern AU | Actors | One night stand | Missed connection | Angst | Rey POV | Two years after an unforgettable one-night-stand, Rey is cast in her breakout role. Alongside Kylo Ren, the one that got away. Tensions are high as they both dance around their past while trying to bring their characters to life.
One Last Thing by Celia_and | @whatceliawrites | Explicit | 12k | Complete | Modern AU | Near-death-experience | Allergic reaction | Hospitals | Angst | Co-workers | Pining | HEA | Ben POV | Multi POV | "What if, in the seconds before you die, you were allowed to know everyone who was secretly in love with you?" Ben's quick thinking saves his coworker Rey's life. Rey, in a coma, has an interesting near death revelation.
Breath of Ashes by Denzer | @denzerwriter | Explicit | 15k | Complete | Modern AU? | Dystopia with Magic Powers | Dragons | Devoted Reylo | Charcter death | Pysch! | Mourning | Angst | Were!Dragons | Monsterfucking (kinda) | Size Kink | HEA | Rey POV | In a world burnt by dragons, survivors Ben and Rey face unimaginable challenges.
What You Deserve by Celia_and | @whatceliawrites | Explicit | 18k | Complete | Modern AU | Strangers to lovers | Angst | Emotional Baggage | HEA | Rey POV | Rey has never had an orgasm before. Het Tinder date is determined to change that.
honey sweet (lips zipped) by lachesisgrimm | @lachesisgrimm | Explicit | 20k | Complete | Modern AU | Fake Marriage | Marriage of convenience | Secret relationship | Texting | Pining | Misunderstandings | Wedding | HEA | Rey POV | Friends Rey and Ben secretly marry so Rey can utilize his insurance. It's all smooth sailing until Ben's mother finds out. Now Rey is on a collision course with her deeply-buried feelings for Ben.
a mind of winter by myownlittleinfinity | Explicit | 20k | Complete | Modern AU | Strangers to lovers | Falling in love | Friend group dynamic | Top!Rey, Bottom!Ben | Break ups | Angst | Reconciliation | Rey POV | "The winter that Ben and Rey meet, they fall in love."
Almost is a six letter word by ElixirBB | @elixirbb | Mature | 21k | Complete | Modern AU | Break ups | Flashbacks | Falling in love | Angst | HEA | "Rey meets Kylo Ren before she meets Ben Solo. They’re the same man and she loves and hates both versions of him. Until she doesn’t. (Throughout the years, they almost had it all.)"
Those We Love by Everren | Explicit | 21k | Complete | Modern AU | Charcter death (Han Solo) | Funeral | Mourning | Angst | Friends to lovers | Flashbacks | Pregnancy | Misunderstandings | HEA | Ben POV | Ben and Rey reunite at his Father's funeral. It's been months since they've seen each other - Rey moving to the city, Ben dealing with his father's palitive care - and to top the day off - Rey is pregnant.
Primae Noctis by pontmercy44 | Explicit | 21k | Complete | Medieval AU | Bodice Ripper | Class Differences | Forced marriage | Underage | Primae Noctis | Loss of virginity | Childhood friends | Serf!Rey | Baron!Ben | Mistress | Pregnancy | Angst | HEA | Rey POV | "After invoking Primae Noctis, the baron takes a young bride as his Mistress"
follow in your form by violethoure666 | Explicit | 23k | Complete | Modern AU | Nurse/patient dynamic | Serious injury | Injury recovery | Quadriplegic!Ben Solo | Nurse!Rey | ANGST | Domestic | Ben POV | "Ben Solo wakes up paralyzed and angry about it. A story about dealing with change, holding onto hope, and finding love."
It's been a while since I dreamed this by CoinToYourWitcher | @coin2urwitcher | Explicit | 24k | Complete | Modern AU | College/University | Song Fic | Scotland | Roommates | Drama | Angst | Poverty | Loss of Virginity | Mention of Suicide | HEA | Rey POV | "Rey walks into her dorm room for the first time to see her new roommate making out with some guy. The girl leaves—because it’s not her room—and come to find out Rey was put on the guy’s floor by accident because of her god damn boy’s name. The RAs promise that someone will drop out within a month and that she can simply wait for a spot to appear in one of the girl’s rooms. But in the meantime, her new roommate, Ben, has nightmares and she has to keep waking him up."
Could We by kalx58 | Explicit | 26k | Complete | Modern AU | Rivals to lovers | Dating | Falling in love | Cycling | Cycling culture | San Francisco | Bike messenger!Rey | Programmer!Ben Solo | Recreational drug use | Break-ups | Angst | Reconciliation | HEA | Rey POV | Rey can't stand the douchebag on her morning commute. But soon annoyance turns to attraction and Ben and Rey embark on a relationship that will change both their lives. It's a shame that all good things must come to an end.
Killing Me Softly by AlbaStarGazer | Mature | 32k | Complete | Modern AU | Amnesia | Angst | Marriage | Car accident | Trauma | HEA | Rey POV | Multi POV | "Rey clings to the hope that her husband will regain his memories after he survived a car crash that left him with amnesia. During her monthly visits at a medical facility with Ben, who now calls himself Kylo, she struggles to cope as he tries to make her let go of the past, and in turn, him with it."
The lamb's thirst by animal | @ao3animal | Explicit | 36k | Complete | Futuristic/Dystopian/Vauge setting | Angst | Mention of suicide | Rey needs a hug | Intimacy/trust issues | Strangers to Lovers | HEA | Rey POV | Multi POV | "Rey thought she felt lonely in the presence of her two colleagues, but now that she's actually alone, now that she's the only Guard in charge of the station, in the middle of nowhere, she's starting to have a better grasp of the concept of loneliness. When she sees a silhouette walking far, far ahead on the side of the road one day, she first thinks she's hallucinating."
Knight in Sooty Armor by Graendoll | Explicit | 45k | Complete | Modern AU | Firefighter!Ben | Alcoholic!Ben | ANGST | Ben Solo is a disaster | Past sexual abuse | HEA | Multi POV | "Ben rescues twelve year old Rey from a fire. When she returns at sixteen they form an unlikely friendship."
full fathom five (little lies) by lachesisgrimm | @lachesisgrimm | Mature | 45k | Complete | Modern AU | ANGST | Unplanned Pregnancy | Hurt/comfort | injury!recovery | Broken friend group dynamic | Villian!Luke | Rey needs a hug | Devoted Reylo | HEA | Rey POV | Ben ghosts Rey. He wont even answer her texts when she tells him she's pregnant. Then one day a phone call revealing that Ben has been in a coma for 5 months and he wants to see Rey. Slowly the truth comes out that a master manipulator has been pulling strings behind the shadows.
what if the storm ends by SecretReyloTrash | @lyresandlasers | Explicit | 61k | Complete | Historic AU | 1950's | WW2 flashbacks | England/Yorkshire | Growing up together | Estrangement | ANGST. SO MUCH BLOODY ANGST | Author!Rey | Widower!Ben | Ben was happily married to another | Farmer!Ben | Rey has PTSD | HEA | Rey POV | "As a child, Rey is evacuated from London to the Yorkshire Dales during the Blitz. She spends the war in the care of the Solos on their farm, wandering the moors with their son looking for a legendary family artifact long lost. When the war is over, she returns to a city she no longer recognizes, and she writes a popular series of children's fantasy books based on her childhood in the Dales. After amassing fame and fortune with her stories, tragedy brings her back to the farm to see Ben Solo, once her greatest inspiration and now a widower."
i could have been wild and i could have been free (but nature played this trick on me) by reylo_garbagecan | Mature | 61k | Complete | Historical AU | Regency AU | Arranged Marriage | mildly dubious consent | Pregnancy | PTSD | Illness | Character Death | ANGST | Injury recovery | HEA | Rey POV | Ben Solo arranges a union with the sharp tongued orphan. Enough of love follows.
A Few Small Repairs by TourmalineGreen (need ao3 account to read) | Explicit | 70k | Complete | Modern AU | Neighbors | Enemies to lovers | Evil Property Devlopers | Coroprate espionage | Alcoholism | Angst | Poverty | HEA | Rey POV | Multi POV | Rey is the last hold out on the block-- preventing First Order Industries from starting their next gentrification project of her beloved neighborhood. Rey expects their offers, their underhanded ways, their pompous suits ad briefcases looking down at her little antique shop -- what she wasn't expecting was for one of the assholes moving in next door to her. And Ben Solo is nothing like what she expects.
A Cailín Came to Town by mzladybird | @mzladybird | Explicit | 74k | Complete | 1920's London AU | Peaky Blinders AU | A/B/O | Alpha x Omega | Organized Crime | Graphic depiction Violence | Irish!Rey | Mob Boss!Ben Solo | Boss/Employee dynamic | Mysticalism | ACTION | DRAMA | ANGST | Period typical prejudices | Slow(ish) Burn | Mention of abortion | HEA | Rey POV | Rey calls in a favour to find protection and work with the Black Knights of Birmingham. Her past is catching up with her as Ben Solo must deal with his burgeoning attraction to the cailín, and a turf war of unknown origins.
Hanging On A Star by Yours_Truly_Commander_Shepard | Explicit | 81k | complete | Modern AU | Musicians | Music Industry | Eniemes to lovers | Non-linear storytelling | Angst | Falling in love | Break-ups | Mechanic!Rey | Viral YouTube sensation Rey | Musician!Ben Solo | Minor drug/alchohol use | Road trip | Minor finn/Rose | HEA | Rey POV | "Today, Rey Johnson is a breakout star with a rising single, a major label contract, and a five-year-old photograph of her kissing the lead singer of the Knights of Ren that she just can't shake. Five years ago, Ben Solo was a lonely American musician on extended holiday in the West Midlands without a working car, new material, or a friend in the world."
Mitan, Midi by animal | @ao3animal | Explicit | 83k | Complete | Modern AU | French Countryside | Strangers to lovers | Language barrier | Depression | Angst | Rey needs a hug | British!Rey | French!Ben Solo | Rey POV | "After a French notary contacts Rey to inform her she's inherited a house in the Drôme (France), she decides from one day to the next to quit her job and move there. The house is pretty secluded, there's no service, no internet, no way to reach other people aside from the landline in the living-room. Ideal conditions, by her standards, as those theoretically should allow her to be perfectly alone. Theoretically."
I Was Lost (For You To Find) by LadyReylo | Explicit | 90k | Complete | Modern AU | Adoption | Single Parent!Rey | Strangers to friends to lovers | Co-parenting | Angst | Class difference | HEA | Rey POV | After unfathomable circumstances bring Ex-marine Ben into Single Mom Rey and her son Rian's lives, Ben and Rey must figure out how to co-parent while dancing around their attraction to each other.
Children and Other Wild Animals by Virginia_Tradescant | @silmarilliant | Explicit | 90k | Complete | Modern AU | Multi POV | FBI | Witness Protection | Bodyguard | Organized Crime | Undercover agen!Ben Solo | Hitman!Kylo Ren | Teacher!Rey | Schools/Children | Forbidden relationship | Pining | Drama | Action/violence | Angst | All-aboard-the-pain-train | HEA | Multi POV | Ben Solo's return to field work should be easy, but a sting operation to draw out a mole within the FBI, disguised as Witness Protection will test his every resolve and push him to his limits. Caught in the crossfire is Rey Niima, a early childhood educator who is just trying to teach children and not fall in love with her very own special agent.
Comfort Zones by Emmyjean | @emmyjeanb | Explicit | 101k | Complete | Modern AU | Strangers to friends to lovers | Porn star!Kylo Ren | Awkward!Ben Solo | Anxiety/depression | Dating | The Friend Zone | Drama | Past substance abuse | Angst | Multi POV | Rey finds herself working behind the scenes of a porno - and just her luck to run into one of the main stars at her other job as a bartender. Drawn together over their shared love of literature Ben and Rey embark on a rocky road to happiness.
hereafter by voicedimplosives | @voicedimplosives | Explicit | 104k | Complete | Post-apocalyptic AU | Alternate 1920s | A/B/O | Alpha x Omega | Pandemic | War | Wilderness Survival | Road Trip | Gender/designation roles | Enemies to lovers | Slow Burn | Angst | Despair | Drama | Action/Violence | Falling-in-love/Realization of feelings | Flashbacks | Homesteading | Hopeful ending | Rey POV | Ben POV | One of a few survivors after a pandemic (and pointless war) that decimated the population, Rey is trekking across north america to find her lost family. She crosses Kylo Ren and it dramatically changes his life, while Rey must complete her journey and face her destiny and herself.
we could plant a house, we could build a tree by Like_A_Dove | @likeadove | Explcit | 124k | Complete | Modern AU | 1990's to 2014 | Growing up together | Artists | Slow Burn | Ode to 90s music | Drama | Angst | Bendemption | HEA | Rey POV | 7 year old Rey is an orphan taking art lessons at Luke's studio where she become friends with his moody teenage nephew. The story of their lives over the course of 20 years. Friendship, love, loss, consequences and finally redemption and forgiveness.
Friday Special Comes With Something Sweet by deathbyhumidity | Explicit | 160k | Complete | Modern AU | Small Town | Strangers to friends to lovers | Character study | Angst | Drama. So much drama. Mostly internal | Rey needs a hug | Ben needs a kick in the ass | College student!Ben | Complex family dynamics | Past bullying | Falling in love | Dating | HEA | Ben POV | "Being Chewie’s kitchen assistant at his dad’s diner wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened to Ben Solo after he went back home from university with his tail between his legs, but in typical spectacular fashion, he managed to ruin the peace with his runaway mouth just three weeks in. Really, he should have remembered there was a good reason Han kept him out back, but at least now the memory of wide, wet eyes spitting fireballs at him made sure that he won’t likely forget again anytime soon."
The Trail Bride by SecretReyloTrash | @lyresandlasers | Explict | 160k | Complete | Western AU | Oregon Trail | Strangers to lovers | Marriage of convenience | Secrets/lies | Outlaws | Angst | Action/violence/drama | Languid pace | Rey POV | Rey Niima's husband dies on the Oregon Trail. She settles on marrying the mysterious Ben Solo to continue the journey. They might have come togther by chance but their chemistry and devotion are undeniable. But of course Ben has a past - he is not a respectable banker, but the outlaw Kylo Ren and Rey has gotten caught up in one of his schemes. After seemingly freeing him from the First Order Rey must seek out her own happiness -- even if that mean leaving her husband behind.
baratheonpilled
annaxmalina
germansingergirl
dededos
romaincrisis
jbbartram-illu
izzy806
snowghoul
