"You've always been mine," he stated flatly. There's bluntness in his tone with an underlying possessiveness to his voice.

Rey turned from the window and found him standing in front of her. He's dressed in dark clothing, with his mask in his hand. "For how long?" she asks. There isn't doubt in her voice because she doesn't doubt him. She believes him and deep inside she knew it was the truth.

"Since you were born," he said, clearing his throat. He was relaxed, content to the fact. She has always been his, it was set in stone.

"Were you upset or shaken by that?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.

"I was young, I didn't really understand it and so I took it lightly. I didn't meet you until you were five."

"You were fifteen then," she recalls from her limited memory. Ten years, they were ten years apart.

Kylo nodded, shifting the weight of his legs from side to side. He stood there still, keeping his distance from her. She was adamant, reluctant, and very afraid. She doesn't look afraid but he could feel her fear. He could see past everything, even by her tough exterior. "Yes. You were kept hidden until that age. Even from me."

"Why is that?"

"You were precious," he says without putting any meaning to the word. "You were valuable, a crucial component for Master Skywalker." He exhaled, wishing he had used a different word for precious. It was odd for him to say it and towards her for that matter. "You were just a child, very afraid of everything. You were kept so sheltered." Kylo lets out a small laugh.

Rey blinked. She had never seen him laugh before. The only time he did was when he was sinister. "How was it like, meeting me?"

"Uncomfortable and bizarre. I was still an apprentice for Master Skywalker then - " he paused. He found his body slowly edging towards her.

Rey nodded. "You...you- had very soft looking hair," she recalled. She remembers it, siting in temple by the window and playing by herself while Master Skywalker was training his students. She was alone in the temple until Kylo came - Ben. "You were dressed in Jedi robes instead of all black."

He nodded, watching her eyes pull away from her memories and turning dull. She doesn't want to remember. "I went to you and I played with you. You were so excited to have someone play with you that you talked really fast and laughed after every sentence. It wasn't until an hour later into playing that you asked who I was." Kylo purposely went quiet, waiting and hoping for her to chime in but she doesn't. "And I told you who I was. I told you my name -

"Your real name," she said firmly. Kylo cringed and secretly, Rey smiled. She wanted him to feel pain. Some bit of remorse. For months he had been hunting her down and now he has her in his ship.

"Then I was Ben. And I told you that I will always be part of your life from that moment." He examines her, watching her green eyes furrow and her shoulders tense up. "I didn't tell you everything then because you were so young but we were betrothed and that one day, years from now you would be my wife."

She shuddered to the image of it - young Ben looking at her as the child her played with toys. She could just see it, young Ben staring in quiet horror of his future wife in a sunken manner but immediately accepting the fact. "You wanted someone your own age but you accepted it." Like you always do, she wanted to say. He never made a decision for himself, she knew by the stories of him. His whole life, Kylo had someone tell him what to do.

"Well I was fifteen, of course I wasn't happy about marrying a child," he snorted. "It felt wrong. You were young and you saw me as a brother."

"Why did you accept the reality of it though?" she countered. If she was in the position, she wouldn't have been so adaptive to it.

"The Force," he mumbled. "Our fates are linked and there's nothing you can do to stop it. I will always be drawn to you and you'll always be drawn to me."

Her cheeks became hot and her blood began to boil. She opened her mouth but stopped herself. Instead she sighed and changed the subject. "We played for a long time the first day we met didn't we?"

"Yes. Hours."

"You had a serious face but you eventually smiled once," she recalled cheekily.

"You had happiness in you, very contagious for that matter," he countered stubbornly. He's sitting next to her - he doesn't know when that happened.

"Did you see me any other time than just that day?"

He nodded. "After that, I was allowed to see you every day. I went to play with you after every practice."

"Did you ever hurt me?"

"No," he snapped quickly. Something in him became defensive, hurt. "I never laid a finger on you like that," he knew what she was thinking. "I saw you as a little sister. I was very gentle with you."

"Why did Master Skywalker let you see me so young?" she asked, locking her eyes on to him. Rey knew how these arranged marriages went. The man and woman wouldn't see each other until the woman was of age. Seeing each other prior would have affected the bond. She remembers him, he was like an older brother to her, attentive and kind.

"I was at the age when I was rebelling. He was running out of resources and resorted to that. He wanted to bring some humanity to me."

"Well that didn't work," she scoffed, eyeing the helmet. It startles her what has become.

"You're still around," he bit out every word.

"What do you mean?"

Kylo exhaled deeply. "Despite Master Skywalker's efforts to bring humanity to me, within 3 months, I became an apprentice to Snoke." His whole body was constricting as he saw flashes of himself killing off all the Jedi. "I killed all the Jedi," he mumbled out loud.

"Except for me," her voice went low. Her eyes were flickering wildly. She remembers it so vividly. (She didn't see him kill them. She was in her secluded room playing when it happened but she remembered when he came into her room. He was holding his lightsaber and he was covered in blood but Rey didn't put it together.)

"Were you afraid?"

"No - I didn't know what was going on," she admitted.

"You were so young that's why," he muttered. He doesn't sound human. "When you saw me, you jumped up and smiled. You greeted me and pulled me by the hand to play with you -

"And you broke down and cried." Her heart stopped beating. "You cried in front of me. You were on your knees, your hands covering your face."

"You didn't know what was going on. You were so confused but you weren't afraid."

"I wasn't afraid at all," she nodded.

"I was there to kill you."

"But you didn't."

He shook his head. "No I didn't."

"And you told me nothing was wrong and that we were going out for a game. And you took me to your ship."

"And I took you to Jakku," his spoke in a whisper.

"And you told me that you'll come back soon. And you left me there," she spoke in a whisper.

"I did."

"Why did you?"

"To keep you safe." He has compassion for her.

"Did you ever plan to come back?" her fingers curled into fists. Anger is bubbling inside of her, but for a different reason. She's angry that she has sympathy for him.

"Of course I did. I planned to come back when you were old enough."

"When was that?" she asked in agitation. All those years of waiting for him - wasted.

"I planned to get you months ago but someone beat me to it by a couple weeks."

"Finn," she mouthed to herself.

"And when I did see you -

"You carried me," she mumbled softly. He carried her after he knocked her out - but he held her gently. Protectively.

"I carried you," he repeated faintly. His eyes were locked onto her skin, the milkiness of her throat - her collarbones -her breasts. "And now we're here."


to be continued?