Binding Force
Ever since Rey had closed the door of the Millennium Falcon to him she had been distant. The Force still put them together quite often but Rey had disengaged. In his dreams, all Kylo Ren saw were the ones who rejected him: his father, his mother, his uncle, even Snoke, and now Rey. That door kept closing again and again, right in front of his nose. It was beginning to get to him.
And so the next time, the Force found them both, bound them both, he shouted, just before she closed the connection: "If you don't trust me, trust the Force!" She didn't even reply. Yet a few days later, when he was alone, only for the briefest of moments, there she was too. "It's the Force?" she asked. He shrugged. "It can't be Snoke, right? Even if it was him, clearly, it no longer is!" He saw her eyes narrow, noticed a sliver of doubt, of hesitation in her eyes before she pushed him out once more. "Progress at last," he muttered. Hux came in and thought it was about their war effort. Kylo did not dissuade him of it.
"Why would the Force…?" Rey was thinking aloud. She could since she had confided in Ben's mother and they were alone, for once. It was the middle of the night and Rey couldn't sleep. She had tossed and turned and finally found herself a secluded corner of the ship. It hadn't taken Leia long to find her. "I don't know," Leia chose to be honest, "but it has to be significant. I know I'm biased but I want there to be a chance for him, however small."
"I do too," Rey whispered, "but I can't make myself trust him, not anymore. I have to guard myself, so he won't swallow me whole. Han thought he could turn him too…." She stared in the distance, "and he was wrong. We were wrong. In the throne room, he…. We trusted each other, but then, the spell broke…"
They both thought of Luke. "He seems to kill his entire family," she continued. "Kill the past, he kept saying. Literally…." Rey sighed. "The only thing he can do with obstacles is kill them, and it doesn't even matter if it's Snoke or Luke or Han."
Leia took her hand and softly squeezed it in sympathy. "He didn't kill you," she said, hopeful, "and he's had plenty of chances. He hasn't killed me either."
"Not yet," Rey muttered, "but what if we've both become the past he wants to kill? He might feel that way."
Leia smiled sadly. "We won't know until we know, but we must always have hope."
Rey said nothing, but tightened her own grip of Leia's hand.
Their war efforts were going splendidly. Too splendidly as the Resistance was cornered. Kylo kept wishing for Rey to be safe despite wanting to kill every last one of her friends and allies. It was an impossible situation. Yet he also kept having these visions. One after the other. In all of them, they were together. The scenario's changed: sometimes he was a prisoner, sometimes she was, sometimes they were happily married. In some of them, they fought side by side. Kylo liked those the best, even more than marriage bliss. In some of them, there were children, but in others, there were dead children, and dead and destruction was all around them. The future was fluid.
"It may be a matter of weeks, or even days." Kylo had not often heard Hux's voice so thrilled with anticipation. They had gained ground. Too much. Too much for comfort. The Force had not connected them for days and Kylo wondered if Rey was purposefully locking him out. Not even letting the Force find and bind them both. The other thought – that weighed down his mind – was too dark to contemplate. What if the Force couldn't bind them anymore because she was no longer….?
Tomorrow they would mount, what might very well be, their final assault. That night, Kylo prayed. He begged the Force to connect them. Now, before the end…. And the Force listened. Or just happened to grant him his wish at the very same time.
What he saw, was what he feared. Rey was hurt. Incredibly so. She was pale and weak. Her friends were standing around her, but they couldn't stop the bleeding. "Rey!" he shouted, and she looked up and saw him. She acknowledged him. "I'm coming," he said as he grabbed his lightsaber and focused all his energy into appearing at her side. And so he did. The room was in shock and various fighters pulled their weapons, but Kylo had grabbed himself a hostage already. The pilot turned leader, Poe. "I'll happily slice this man in half," he said grimly, "each and every one of you for that matter. You will all leave me, except for the former General."
"Do as he says," his mother urged them, and as the room emptied, he gave Poe a shove towards the door as well. He lingered at the door, defiantly, but Leia gave him a stern look, and so at last they were alone.
"Ben," she said. "You're here."
"I chose a different name for myself, mother," he replied. "Be so polite as to use it."
"You came for her," she said. "The Force connected you."
His eyes darkened as he whispered: "I hope it isn't too late." He knelt down at Rey's face, standing behind her and began to transmit all his energy, his strength and passion towards her. Leia knelt at Rey's feet and did the same. Neither of them spoke, yet their minds and thoughts were aligned. Slowly Rey's color changed. The wounds seemed to heal itself, the long gashes not as deep anymore, the pouring of blood lessened. Kylo felt himself weakening. He was on enemy ground; he needed his strength. There was no one here to protect him.
Finally his mother spoke: "Why did you come for her?"
Kylo looked up at her. "Every time I close my eyes, I see visions," he said. "Of us. Me and her, together. Sometimes I win, sometimes she does, but we're never apart. If either of us… is no more, I don't think the other will last."
"So you came for yourself," she said, harsher than she meant to.
"I came for my own sake as much as hers, yes," he replied, unfazed. "I am not a hero, mother, and nor have I ever felt the need to be." There was an accusation there, aimed straight at her.
"She wonders why the Force binds you," Leia said. "You were at peace – you were one – when you fought Snoke's guards."
"For the briefest of moments," Kylo said. "And then she rejected me, like all others before her." His black eyes held no love for her, only pain and anger.
"I… I only ever wanted what was best for you," she whispered. "I didn't know Luke would… I didn't know it would turn out the way it has."
"You cared about the cause more than you ever did about me," he son hissed. "I was just a mere pawn… and Han… Well, he was a disappointment."
"Perhaps you are too!" Leia shot back, unable to calm herself. "Did you ever consider that?!"
He smirked at her. "I do strive to be," he said. "And it seems I have succeeded."
Leia closed her eyes. "We shouldn't fight, not now," she said, taking a deep breath. "There is more at stake here than just us…"
"There is," he said, "and I will say this only once, Rey," addressing her. She was slowly wakening and found she had regained her strength. "I will offer you, again, a place at my side, from this very moment onwards. It will stop hostilities immediately, and that alone should be convincing enough."
"Ben," she said, pleading with him, "I'm not a ruler. I'm just… I wasn't born for this."
"I was born to be a hero," he said, smiling naughtily, "and look how well that turned out."
"You said the visions showed you both together, Kylo," Leia said, using his chosen name for the very first time, "did you have these as well, Rey?" She tried to push to girl, albeit gently. Something had to give, someday, surely..?
Rey didn't look up at her, but down at her fingers. "I do sometimes," she said. "Yes."
"The Force has chosen for us," Kylo spoke, but Rey was hesitant. "I prefer making my own choices," she said, but then her voice softened: "I'm willing to try, though. You have just saved my life."
"You saved mine too," he said, "so we're even."
Her friends scarcely believed it; his officers only grudgingly accepted the new status quo. Kylo was over the moon, and Rey slowly started to trust him more. They were not lovers. Not yet, she had insisted on it. They would rule and work together first, and see where the future – or the Force – would take them next.