Author's Note: Inspired by both the scene and the song 'Rewrite the Stars' from 'The Greatest Showman'. I do not own Star Wars or The Greatest Showman.
So What if We Rewrite the Stars?
"I want you."
Since Crait, their connections had been brief and rare. During the times where their force bond made itself known, they only had two options: talk or ignore each other. As enemies on different sides of both the war and the force, the latter was the obvious choice and had been chosen up until today.
"I don't want to hide it anymore," he whispered. "Not from myself and not from you."
"I rejected you," she replied, earning a flinch from him.
"I know," he spoke, looking at the floor before returning his intense gaze back to her. "Yet, I can't deny my feelings."
Ignoring him, Rey carried on training. She had yet to attempt to rebuild Luke's lightsaber, or even build her own. The crystals required were rare nowadays, and Rey was still unsure as to how to build one, she just prayed that the force would help her. She wanted his help, but he was- is the enemy. He would kill her if he had the chance. So, for now, she used a staff.
"I would never harm you intentionally," he spoke confidently, as though he could telepathically read her mind.
"Explain Crait then," she responded, resentment evident in her voice. "You tried to get Luke's lightsaber from me! You tried to shoot down the Falcon!"
"If I remember correctly," he retorted, his calm demeanour contradicting her exclamations. "You tried to get the lightsaber first."
"I wasn't going to kill you," she responded, her skin flushed. "I could never-".
"I thought it was all a lie," he interrupted. "When you tried to get the lightsaber, all I saw was Luke. I thought that everything you had ever said, or felt, with me was a lie, that Snoke really did orchestrate our bond."
At her silence and her continuation to train after a moment of his hesitation, Kylo proceeded.
"But when I saw you again on the Falcon, and you shut the door just as I moved slightly towards you, I knew."
"You knew what?" She stopped training, turning to look at him.
"I want you," he answered, stepping cautiously closer to her. "And I cannot be without you."
Blushing, Rey returned to training, unsure of how to proceed. As she aimed a hit at an imaginary target in front of her, Kylo caught the back of her staff, holding it there before twisting it so that she was facing him, their chests almost touching when he stepped forwards.
"I know you want me too."
"You're the enemy, Ben." At the sound of his name, his eyes darted to hers from where they had been on her lips. Whenever she said his birth name, he could not control his need to look in to her eyes. She believed in him, believed that he could turn.
"I don't care."
"You to have to care," she responded, frustrated. "You're the Supreme Leader now."
He flinched a little at her words. He never wanted this, he never wanted to be the Supreme Leader. He had only wanted her to accept him, tell him that she wanted him too, be with him. You're nothing, but not to me, his words still echoing in his head. He had told her that she meant something to him, despite everything. He had wanted to be something to her too, but she would not accept him as he was.
Seeing his deep thought process, Rey continued.
"Our connection is not the same as being out in reality, in our connection it's just us, but outside of this we are enemies. We could never be together. Not unless you turn."
At his continued silence, Rey let out a frustrated sigh and yanked her staff out of his hand, continuing to train once she put a distance between them. All she could do was wait for the connection to fade. If he wouldn't talk, then she wouldn't either.
As she went to pick up another staff from the ground, he stalked over and grabbed the previous one she had been using from her hand, earning him a frustrated groan from her.
He prepared to train together, just as she came over and took the silent invitation. They fought together perfectly. She was strong, determined and skilled with a staff. He was passionate, ruthless and impressed by her ability to match and surpass him, despite his experience. However, they started to fight dirtier than previous encounters, using leg swipes to knock the other off of their feet, their frustration becoming increasingly evident.
In one instance, they ended up on a slightly higher level and as she pushed him, swiping his feet from beneath him, he fell from the higher level, pulling her with him. As they reached the ground, they rolled together, before Rey touched his face, following his scar with her fingertip. This, however, was just a distraction as she grabbed one of their fallen staffs and rose.
At her attempted attack, Kylo rolled out of the way, before it impacted with the ground. Standing up, he faced her, but did not attempt to retrieve the other staff. As she attempted another attack, he just stood still, staring at her intensely, only for her to halt the impact with a few centimetres to spare. Confusion evident on her face, Kylo grabbed the end of the staff that was still hovering at his side and pulled her towards him, before pulling the staff from her grip and tossing it to the ground. As he caressed the side of her face in his hand, she finally spoke again.
"I want you too," She admitted, smiling slightly, only for it to disappear a second later. "But I can't have you."
As she pulled away, Kylo rushed to try and grab her arms to pull her back to him.
"Rey," he started.
"No, Ben," she interrupted. "I can't have you, not like this, not just in this connection."
With those final words, she walked away from him, leaving him feeling unable to physically follow her. She didn't turn back around, and as the connection broke, his fingers twitched, as they still felt the warmth of her skin, while she placed a hand on her cheek, still feeling his phantom touch.