A/N: Couldn't resist starting to write this Reylo fic...what can I say other than that the Force made me do it?! ;)
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, Yoda does...obviously.
Chapter 1
The Throne Room around them was falling apart with a strange, misplaced grace. The eerily red fabric was soundlessly peeling off the bare, steel pillars hidden behind it; like flesh being ripped from the skeleton of the Supremacy by greedy and insatiable flames. Shreds consumed by fire were frantically spinning around their axis while flakes of blackened debris floated all around seemingly suspended in melancholic and endless twirls.
Rey had instantly averted her eyes from the crumpled heap on the dais of the massive, imposing Throne. The glimpses she'd caught of wrinkled and contorted skin wrapped in a robe of finely woven gold had made her feel sick to her stomach. It had been harder to not have her gaze rove over the fallen Praetorian Guards: their armor glinted a fiery scarlet, their helmets were cleaved, their weapons -although broken- were still shooting malicious sparks and their limbs were bent in odd angles while blood languidly seeped from under their lifeless shapes and ran in rivulets over the smooth, black floor.
But it was not over. Not yet.
Ben stood before her. Rigid. Determined. Scared?
The darker presence of Kylo Ren was still hovering close to the surface, his harsh revelation about her parents and his corrupted words drenched in an almost predatory craving for power still rang in her ears. But he looked at her now with Ben's eyes. Hoping. Pleading. Begging.
She should be seeing her enemy. All she saw was a boy who had been sent away by his parents. For what he could do. The abilities he had inherited. Not for who he was.
A boy convinced that his Master was going to kill him.
A boy believing his own uncle had given up on him.
A boy that had been wounded and scared and had gone down a dark, treacherous path.
A boy that was lost. Who had turned hurt into violence.
A boy that had become the scarred man standing before her.
Rey's gaze followed the thin, jagged line that intersected his brow then ran from the bridge of his nose and across his cheek before it curved around the ridge of where his upper jaw morphed into his neckline.
The scar she had given him. She had left him to die once before. In that forest. His face and chest cut open. His blood staining the snow. A monster.
A monster that had killed his father.
A monster that had been a constant, peripheral presence through their Force bond.
A monster she had shouted at. Spat angry words at.
A monster she had talked to. Had gotten to know a little better. Who had wanted to know her.
A monster that had told her about Luke's apparent betrayal.
A monster that had listened when she had told him about her encounter with the mirror.
A monster that had told her she was not alone.
A monster that had reached out to her when she had held out her hand to him in that hut on Ahch-To.
A monster she had seen in the vision that had struck her then.
A vision in which the monster was gone.
A vision in which he was Ben Solo.
She couldn't turn her back and walk away from him a second time. It would break him. It would break her.
"Please.."
That one word sent chills down her spine. His wavering tone held such longing it was impossible to be deaf to it. To not feel her own longing to not be alone anymore resonate with it until her knees threatened to buckle with the yearning growing in volume and power as it seemed to pull and push between them like the tow of the tide; as it hit against her chest like waves.
"Stay with me.."
That final plea made her realize she had no choice. Or rather that she had already made it the moment she lied down in the Falcon's escape pod and ordered Chewbacca to jettison her into the clutches of the First Order.
She only wished it had been different. That she didn't have to betray the people who had taken her in. Who had given her a place to belong. A cause to fight for. Who trusted her. Put their faith in her. Rey could only hope they would understand she was doing this for them too. To end this horrid war the only way she thought she could. If anything her short time on the island with Master Skywalker had made her see clearer. She knew her new found purpose was here. With him.
When Ben had made her that offer it felt like an eclipse; the moon temporarily obscuring the radiance of the sun. But she could still see light encircling the shadowed orb. It gave her hope. She had come here to save Ben Solo. And that's what she would do. Rey had to believe she still could. She couldn't give up now.
As her fingertips unbend and reached forward, as they lightly grazed his gloved ones Rey knew how much he wanted to prove to her she belonged at his side. His conviction was palpable like powerful and paralyzing ripples in the Force, causing her to momentarily freeze and hold her breath as if water was actually at her lips.
Apparently that daunting feeling of overwhelming expectation, of feverish anticipation, was contagious because Ben's gaze faltered and his hand withdrew an inch too. For a split second Rey feared he had perceived her hesitation as rejection. That she had waited too long. Been too lost in her internal debate about the road inevitably splitting into two before her. But then he looked up to her again, determination glinting in the depths of those dark eyes.
Jaw clenched Ben pulled off his glove and stretched out his hand towards her again. Coming from him it felt like the ultimate peace offering. A promise to trust each other.
Rey took a step closer before she could stop herself. Too eager. Too hurried. Her fingertips bumped clumsily into his. At first Ben's eyes widened as if in disbelief. Then an almost boyish surprise lit up his eyes.
The hint of a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth enhanced the sense of exhilaration as fingers traveled closely passed each other, skin brushing skin until their hands clasped.
It was like it had been on Ahch-To. And yet it was totally different too. It felt like an electric jolt spurred on her heart to thump harder against her ribs. It reminded her of that buzz crawling under her skin when she dislodged a power coupling from one of the many star destroyers half sunken in the Jakku desert like rotting carcasses of wires and steel. But if felt better. Infinitely better.
It felt real.
And the sensation grew stronger instead of fading after that first touch. Had she felt completely synchronized when they had fought together, feeling the warmth seep through his palm into hers now provided an anchor and simultaneously amplified her awareness of the Force surrounding them both. Going through them both. His presence mingled with hers in a soothing storm she was too mesmerized by to ever want to take a step back from him again.
And then the deck below their feet canted. Shuddered. Making them lose their balance. Their hands slid loose as the ship shook from a colossal impact. They staggered to stay on their feet.
"What is going on?" Rey cast an alarmed look around, feeling the tremor traveling through the floor penetrate her soles and rattling her very bones.
Ben whisked around and strode over to a computer terminal built into a pillar. He swept it free of grit and ash, fingers punching in a code and a set of commands. Rey hastened over to look over his shoulder but before she had reached him a holographic projection of the Supremacy burst into life.
Rey gasped.
It had been nearly cut in half.
"Looks like your friends were so desperate they rammed their flagship into ours rather than save themselves." Ben said, his tone clearly containing an echo of Kylo's vengeful snarl.
Before the horrifying truth of what she saw could sink in they both turned as one to the gaping mouth that led into and away from the Throne Room.
Footsteps. Brisk and staccato. Definitely coming their way.
"What do we do now?"
The pronoun tasted foreign on her tongue, it made her cheeks burn when he effortlessly picked up on her own self-conscious realization of how she had already slipped into phrasing it like that.
"Now.." Ben said eagerly, an invisible mask sliding over his features as he squared his shoulders and straightened, "Now we improvise."
A/N: Thanks for reading! :) I'd love to get your feedback! Should I continue? Yay or nay?