Chapter 1

Kylo Ren stared at the displays before him at a loss. The loss of their best ship had been a notable blow against the First Order, and without Snoke's vision, Kylo Ren was not entirely sure what to do. The Resistance had escaped on the Falcon, and he had no leads on Skywalker after the encounter with Luke's force-image on Crait.

Then again, his connection to Rey remained.

"Supreme Leader, your orders?" General Hux asked from his side. Kylo Ren sensed the barely suppressed mutinous rage and indignation in the general's thoughts.

"We will need a new flagship and time to rebuild our fleet."

"I have a potential flagship in mind. I will see that we set course to view it. Supreme Leader, what of the Resistance?"

Kylo Ren replayed his last connection with Rey in his head yet again. Snoke would have known what to do with this weakness he had, the light and dark in him that yearned for her, but Snoke was dead now, Rey had abandoned him, and Kylo Ren was more alone than ever.

"The Resistance now consists of less than 50 people aboard a single outdated freighter. They will not be a threat for some time."

"But Ren, Skywalker and the girl-"

Kylo Ren force-gripped Hux's throat and lifted him. "You will call me Supreme Leader." Hux nodded with wide, panicked eyes, and Kylo Ren dropped him. "I will see to the matters of Skywalker and the girl personally, Hux. Set the coordinates for the shipyard and do not disturb me."

Kylo Ren marched to his private quarters, threw his lightsaber across the room, and punched the wall. When Snoke was alive, his destructive tantrums had been met with distaste, but now that he was Supreme Leader, the stormtroopers reacted more strongly. He would have to tame himself or endure a mutiny, and while he could survive a mutiny, he did not want to waste his resources. As Snoke said, even Hux had his uses.

Kylo Ren released a flurry of blunt attacks on his walls and furniture before collapsing in a chair. He needed control. Snoke had control. Darth Vader had control. He had to learn it too, but there were no masters left except Skywalker.

Rey.

The connection hadn't been severed with Snoke's death, which meant Snoke likely had nothing to do with it, which meant it was in their control, somehow. After all, hadn't he been thinking of her that first time? And the others? Perhaps it had been up to him all along.

Kylo Ren closed his eyes and reached out through the Force. He thought of how it had felt to fight her, to fight alongside her, the warmth of her small hands that moment they touched.

"Rey," he said. The force connected them, and she was there.

"-to override the warp speed," she said, looking at someone he couldn't see. Rey glanced at him before continuing, "Actually, why don't you go ahead and take a break. I've got things here. Yes, I'm sure. Take your time."

Rey stared off a few moments before turning to Kylo Ren. "Hello Ben, or is it Supreme Leader now?"

Kylo Ren took a deep breath. He had meant to jump directly into demanding where Luke Skywalker was, but seeing her again, hearing her call him his given name, even with a frustrated tone… it was like the loneliness of the last couple days dissipated in that moment.

"Come to spy on the Resistance? Or make another plea that I switch sides after you tried to kill me and everyone I loved on Crait?"

His eyes narrowed. No, he was alone as he ever was. "Where's Luke Skywalker?"

Her eyes widened, as if that were the last thing she expected. "You didn't feel it in the force? He's dead. Ben, your uncle is dead."

Kylo Ren's jaw dropped, and he laughed in relief, falling to his knees. Luke Skywalker was no more. He was done. He would never have to fear waking up to that man's lightsaber again.

And then he was slapped. "How dare you?" Rey said, pulling her hand away to clench it in a fist.

"How dare I? You know what that monster did to me!"

Rey stepped back, her eyes downcast. "I know he let you down, Ben, but how can you be so callous-" she broke off in a sob and sank down to hug her knees.

Kylo Ren reached out and tentatively touched her hand. She flicked it off and glared daggers at him. "I don't want the comfort of a monster."

Kylo Ren felt anger consume him as her rejection split his core. "You held my hand before, was I different then? You knew I was a monster. I've killed hundreds with my own hands, trillions through the Order. You even saw my blade kill my own father, but now that I express relief that someone who betrayed and tried to murder me is dead, you cannot bear my touch?"

Rey was silent outside gentle sobbing. Kylo felt his fury grow that Rey would be so broken over a murderer like Luke. He shifted to stand when he noticed Rey's posture had changed. She still cried into her knees, but one hand reached out to him in silent invitation.

Kylo Ren felt all his pent-up rage flow out in a moment. He could not harbor such fury while she accepted him. He knelt forward and took the offered hand, carefully enclosing her hand in his.

"I feel so alone, Ben. I'm surrounded by people, and they're wonderful to me, but they have no idea what I'm going through. Luke was not much of a teacher, but at least he understood."

"I understand," Kylo Ren said softly, but the connection ended in the moment. Kylo Ren stayed on the floor a moment before standing up, looking helplessly at where his hand had held hers, and feeling the warmth of the touch fade.

Luke Skywalker was dead, and Rey was angry, yes, but she had not given up on him. She had passed on his offer to lead the First Order at his side, but she hadn't turned him down yet, not completely.

Kylo Ren clenched his fist. He might yet see his vision of her by his side come true.


I saw The Last Jedi in theaters, went total Reylo mode and read a bunch of fanfiction, then got frustrated when they didn't tell the story I wanted to read, so I wrote my own. It's 18 chapters and an epilogue in total, around 21k words unedited. I plan to add one chapter a day as I go through checking for errors and doing brief edits, so if you like this, please check back.