A/N: I haven't written much over the last several years, and never for the Star Wars fandom. I am happy to get this fic started as part of #reyloweek2018 on Tumblr! I'm FrozenOJ if you want to come say hello. This chapter is short but I'm about 2/3 through chapter 2 and it is already twice as long.
I'd like to thank my friends Sheva and Bug for encouraging me to write, providing moral support, and ensuring I wouldn't embarrass my English 101 teacher for giving me a passing grade should she ever read this. Go B-Team!
Kylo Ren appeared not long after Rey returned to her hut from the mirror cave, and she was not bothered to find she found his presence comforting. "I thought I'd find answers here. I was wrong. I've never felt so alone."
In a soft voice from across the galaxy Kylo responded with a truth he felt deep in his soul, "You're not alone."
As Rey shifted her gaze to his eyes, understanding passed between them. Each word in the simple declaration stood in place of another. Hoping that she would be understood just as clearly, Rey spoke three words of her own. "Neither are you." After a pause to gather strength she added, "It isn't too late." Slowly she began to lift her hand towards the opposite side of the fire, where she could see him as if he were actually there.
Kylo's eyes flitted to her hand, and with a shaky breath removed his glove to do the same. He would not allow the barrier to come between them now. The force pulsed around them as their fingers touched, as if breathing a sigh of relief. Then Rey was dragged into a vision of the future.
She was looking into the cave's wall a second time, seeing two figures approach before merging into one. Then, she thought they were her parents. Hoped they were her parents. Now, the fog was gone and the silhouettes were clear. Ben and herself coming together from opposite sides, turning to face each other. Their faces shone brightly with a contentment she had never felt in reality while her phantom self merged into his. Finally he (they?) brought his phantom hand up to meet her real one, pressed against the glass before fading away.
Crashing back into the present Rey felt the force hum with warning, as the hut was blasted apart. Bricks flew outward from where Luke stood in what used to be the doorway. How was this possible? He had told Rey that he was cut off from the force during her training, but that seemed to no longer be true. Even more shocking was that Luke could see Kylo. That should be impossible with him technically being on a First Order ship who knows how many light years away. Glancing back across the fire Rey could tell Kylo was equally perplexed. The durasteel walls and controlled climate of his ship had been replaced with the night sky and rain of whatever planet Luke had hidden on.
It did not take long for Kylo to recover. He might not understand how he came to be in this part of the galaxy, but that would not stop him from killing his prey. He had waited years for this opportunity! Luke, similarly, was unperturbed. The old lightsaber flew from Rey's bag into its former master's hand. Rey hardly had time to step out of the way before uncle and nephew we're locked in battle.
Rey reacted on instinct. On the Finalizer when their minds first connected, she had absorbed some of Kylo's understanding of the force. Conveniently, he had always been an eager study. A single word, malacia, came to her. Although she did not know what it meant or exactly what would happen, the force guided her to focus on their blood.
They collapsed in a heap and began to retch, the lightsabers unceremoniously dropped beside them. Although criticized for only working on organic beings, malacia's usage of the target's energy rather than the force sensitive's gave it an edge. The unpleasantness of becoming acutely aware of your own blood's movement throughout your body notwithstanding, it did not actually cause any damage. Its underutilization despite being an effective light side offensive power could be due to the resulting body fluids. Kylo, like many young boys, had gone through a phase where nothing was more humorous.
Rey collected the weapons with an exasperated sigh as they continued to empty their stomachs all over her floor. The caretakers would surely blame her for the mess, again. She addressed them with arms akimbo, "was that really necessary?"
"How did you do that?!" the men responded in unison. It was easier now to see the relation.
"It doesn't matter. What does is matter is that you stop trying to kill each other before I end you both!" Neither of them particularly cared for that idea, and made it known. Another bout of dizziness and nausea had them rethinking that stance. "Luke, I have no idea what you thought was going on here, but I assure you there was no need to blow up my hut. Can none of your family control your tempers? Don't answer that. Kylo, I have no idea how you got here here. There are still areas where my knowledge is… lacking. If you know how to get back where you came from, now is the time to speak up."
Kylo started to speak, "no, Rey, I…" Her narrowed gaze was enough to stop him from finishing his sentence. He had been tortured enough to know when to keep his mouth shut.
"Okay… okay. I assume you were on a ship, yes? We need to get you back there before anyone notices you're missing. I will come with you as long as we leave peacefully. Luke, don't even start. As long as we leave peacefully I will bring him home."
Luke stood up, brushed off his pants, and answered, "no."
