Summary: He was the grandson of Darth Vader, Father Slayer, and the power behind The First Order. His name struck fear into the hearts of lesser men who only heard mere rumors of him.
She was a simple scavenger from Jakku, a pilot, and mechanic. She came from nothing and had no one.
Yet he knew in this instance, she was the spider, and he the fly.
Kylo Ren was beyond livid.
In the months since he had freed himself from the burden of attachment to his father, and his defeat at the hands of the traitor and the scavenger, he had struggled to track down any information that would lead him to Luke Skywalker.
With the map's completion in the hands of The Resistance, he had no doubt the scavenger had located his self-exiled uncle soon after their last encounter on The Starkiller base. The fragments that he had been able to recover from the Empire's backup systems were not nearly enough to predict where the shamed Jedi would be hiding and it infuriated him.
The whispers that the Jedi had returned once more began after that. Another apprentice under the tutelage of the legendary Jedi Knight breathed fresh hope into the stale atmosphere of the galaxy.
He scoffed.
Skywalker would not be able to tap into the scavenger's potential the way he could have taught her in the ways of the Dark Side. His own training was proof of that. He had been expected to be 'gifted' and have his powers develop 'naturally,' only he had struggled.
His uncle, too busy with the many younglings that had been brought to train underneath him, had passed over him time and again. While he had claimed to be unbiased, Kylo knew he favored the naturally gifted and left his nephew to flounder with his soon uncontrollable abilities that fluctuated with his moods.
Rage burned in his heart anew.
This rage pushed him to search every last whisper and rumor even into the far distant reaches of the Outer Rim. His one priority was to track down his uncle and the girl. But for months, he had just been chasing phantoms.
His most recent excursion had led him to a distant, largely populated system. However, it seemed the latest murmur of the Jedi seemed to dissipate into mist the moment he had arrived in the crowded, but dimly lit cantina located in the seedy underbelly of a large metropolis.
His mask and hood were firmly in place as he wrapped his cloak around his shoulders against the damp chill that the planet offered. The clients closest to the door paused to stare as his presence permeated through the surprisingly packed room, while the flashing lights continued to pulsate. He expanded his senses to press against the patrons.
His contact was not present.
Kylo Ren ground his teeth in frustration. He stalked toward the bar, his footsteps lost to the near deafening music while the strobe lights cast shadows around him like the nightmare he was.
He barely took notice of the insect-like bartender. Instead he reached out with his gloved fingers, constricting the air around his throat with a mere thought.
"I'm looking for… a friend of mine." His low, distorted voice was a disguise for false calm. "Rhett Ton. Where is he?"
He cocked his head at the wheezing creature before him, long fingers grasping in vain at the invisible hand around his thin neck. Kylo gave the Force extra pressure for two heartbeats before releasing him.
He watched indifferently as the bartender coughed relentlessly, one elongated hand on this throat to sooth his aching windpipe, the other waving frantically at him. The thought of rifling through this scum's mind disgusted him.
"Apologizes, Kylo Ren," he grabbed a glass of water from behind the counter and took a quick sip, his mandibles clicking. "Rhett Ton left a message for you,"
Kylo's hand itched for his light saber.
"And?" He growled out through his mask, leather gloves creaking under the pressure of his tightened fists.
"Rhett Ton has been delayed-" Kylo held his arm up threateningly, the creature shrunk down in fear. "He promised that if you were patient, it would be worth your while!"
The music screeched into silence.
Everyone in the room froze under his influence, but no one dared to utter a sound of protest even while they suffocated under his tangible wrath.
Kriff. This was turning out to be another dead end.
Kylo embraced his rage for a moment, allowed it to consume him. His uncle… the scavenger… months of time wasted. It swirled around him with deadly intent and hatred, rising from his gut and spreading hot through his chest. If he left now, he would be admitting defeat. Rhett Ton had been the first plausible lead in a while.
Then suddenly, his presence retracted as if sucked into a black hole. He pulled his anger to himself, and everyone breathed deeply as though he had left the room.
The bartender sighed in relief, but Kylo leaned forward, resting both hands on the tarnished metal to bring his covered eyes level with the creature's rapidly blinking crimson ones. "For your sake," he paused, allowing the threat to be imagined, "…it better be."
The insect's large eyes widened again and he nodded enthusiastically and Kylo resisted the urge to roll his eyes behind his mask. There was no deceit in the bartender, but that doesn't mean Rhett Ton wouldn't lie to him.
The band struck up a dynamic selection as he moved to take an unoccupied corner of the bar, bodies scrambling to get out of his way. He was surprised that there were any people still remaining in the cantina after his arrival. However, many of them were already intoxicated.
On the furthest stool, he angled himself against the wall and the bar while he made sure the entrance was in his sight to watch for his contact.
The dark décor and lighting quickly hid him in shadows. He watched silently as the crowd returned to their celebrations, his presence quickly forgotten as he used the Force to shield himself. The lights flashed with the beat and the drinks flowed uninhibited to paying customers, which created a tense atmosphere of possibility.
There was Darkness here among this mundane, non-Force sensitive throng. It was a subtle taint that dripped from their skin and evaporated into the air. He could practically taste it.
He found it intriguing, and invigorating.
The more time passed, the more he was willing to wait wrapped in the shadows, simply observing. The smoke in the air created an ambiance of mystery. The pervading lust and greed of the patrons was good as a drug to his Force sensitive mind.
After a while, and several declined drinks offered free from the bartender, Kylo began to feel his agitation grow once more. The bartender kept glancing at him with his large eyes nervously.
His hand twitched. He wanted to choke the thing.
He lost track of how many people came and went out of the cantina. He wasn't sure of the passage of time anymore. It must be later then he supposed.
Desire, while it had always been present in the room, was beginning to drift through the crowd like a thick fog, causing his body to feel heavy from the effects. Was it possible to be drunk of the emotions of others? It was never something he would have considered testing.
His eyes wondered over the crowd with practiced ease, the music and the dancing having long since changed styles into something more erotic.
A bright light pulsed in the center of the room, drawing his eye away from two overly enthusiastic Twi'lek's radiating lusts. The light pulsed again, and he saw knotted hair.
Kylo narrowed his eyes behind his mask while his anger burned within his ribs. In the middle of the room, dancing with some… shabuir… was the scavenger.
He had searched entire quadrants and countless systems, hunted for her day and night, scrambling for any and every word of her.
And yet, here he found her. Dancing provocatively against an attractive human male.
She did not seem to be aware of him hidden in the darkness away from the carousing, her body moved freely with each pulse and swell of the music. Her partner grinding against her roamed his hands across her body with reckless abandon while she rocked against him with her eyes shut.
His growing fury burn like acid in his throat, his fingers clenched so tightly he thought he could hear his bones creaking. His emotionally intoxicated mind clouded over until he saw nothing but red at the sight of her draping herself over this man.
The Dark Side flowed through him and screamed at him through the haze to kill them both before she vanished into the crowd. His body, however, refused to move. His eyes were unable to tear themselves from her graceful form.
She spun herself within the embrace of her companion, raising her arms delicately over her head as she swayed her hips. The di'kut eagerly responded, trailing his hands down her rib cage to the slight swell of her hips and pulled her back to his chest.
The man's hand dipped dangerously low across her abdomen while he lowered his head to whisper something into her ear and she smirked.
Kylo's teeth ground together and he attempted to lift his hand, intent on choking the life out of insolent being while his hands still touched her.
His arm never rose.
He was helpless as he watched with a fierce jealousy that disgusted him as much as the thought of another man touching her did.
She tilted her head back against her partner's shoulder and brought his head down to press his lips against her own.
Kylo went numb.
The man deepened the kiss, his hand sliding back and forth against the waistline of her loose leggings. She responded fervently, but Kylo saw the tension rise in her face. He saw the fingers of her free hand digging into her thigh in frustration.
A heartbeat passed and she tore her face away from the man's, her eyes bright with irritation. She forcefully knocked away the wandering hand and stepped away from the man. Her partner was obviously confused and annoyed with her sudden change in demeanor, but he did not reach for her as she pushed her way through the crowd toward the bar.
Surprised by the turn of events, Kylo drew his power to himself to conceal his presence. He was not sure what he had witnessed, but it infuriated him. He was afraid that if he attempted to probe her mind in his current state he would destroy her out of rage and he did not want his anger to kill the scavenger before he could get his uncle's location.
He would wait until she left and then follow her.
The music still permeated the room while the lights flashed. She was leaning heavily on the bar, motioning for the bartender's attention.
A neon drink slid across the counter toward her and she took a deep pull from it. The crowd around her seemed to sense her Power and created space subconsciously, giving him a direct view of her.
He pulled the Force and shadows tighter around himself, unsure of how to handle all of these new developments. The jealousy still ached strongly within his chest, adding fuel to the eternally burning anger as he observed her.
She must have sensed his Force usage, for her eyes flicked over and met his through the mask. She didn't look surprised to see him sitting with shadows bent around his form. In fact, her eyes shone with a predatory gleam that stirred something within him.
She straightened slowly and took another sip from her glass. The lights still burst in sync with the music that pounded through the room.
He couldn't take his eyes off of her as she tilted her head slightly as if deep in thought while her gaze remained voracious. Then she smirked mysteriously at him and took deliberate steps toward him.
His heart nearly jumped into his throat at the natural sway of her hips upon her approach.
"Kylo Ren," the lilt of her voice was hypnotic to his altered mind, "I hear you've been looking for me."
She kept her drink in her hand as she set it down on the bar and rested her weight upon her forearm as she leaned further toward him. Her free hand came up slowly, at a non-threatening pace to lightly catch underneath the metal of his mask with two fingers and pulled him slightly forward.
With her bright eyes wide open and staring through his visor into his eyes, she pressed her lips leisurely to the cool metal.
He cursed his mask with every word in every language that he knew while his mind went sharp with focused clarity as he remembered who he was.
He was Kylo Ren.
He was the grandson of Darth Vader, Father Slayer, and the power behind The First Order. His name struck fear into the hearts of lesser men who only heard mere rumors of him.
She was a simple scavenger from Jakku, a pilot, and mechanic. She came from nothing and had no one.
Yet he knew in this instance, she was the spider, and he the fly.
Every word she spoke, every action she made, would cast deadly webs around him until he was subdued and devoured. But he could not find the will to break away.
He was brought back to reality as she drew back with a grin on her face, the fingers under his mask slid up the side until she touched the cloth that wrapped around his neck and played with the edge.
On a whim, he darted his hand forward and grasp around her waist and pulled her closer to him while she simply giggled. Even while sitting, his height dwarfed her. At this proximity she seemed fragile, and not at all the threat he knew her to be.
"Is Rhett Ton dead?" He asked, not knowing what else to say to her while she remained so close.
"Dead? No," she moved her hand to his shoulder and used it as leverage to place herself sideways into his lap before taking another sip of her drink. His mouth went dry at the feel of her against him. As if she felt his discomfort, she wrapped her arm around his shoulders to further press her side against his chest to provoke him further. "He's Resistance."
The rage that burned at being tricked seemed far off and distant in his mind, a low buzz compared to the roar of awareness that he felt with the scavenger quite literally in his lap.
He swallowed loud enough to swear she heard it. "Why would you come here if you knew I'd be here?"
She glanced at him with her eyes alight with mischief, the heat of her fingers burning through his cloak. "Because I told him to lure you here," her voice dropped to a whisper, "and you fell right into my trap."
He tensed, his senses immediately flaring out to detect a threat.
She laughed and her entire face lit up. "Not a Resistance trap, Rhett is the only one who knows we're both here." She leaned fully against him, her warmth seeping through his clothes. "I wanted to see you."
"That's doubtful." He stated in his mechanically modified voice, the low tones hiding the tension in his tenor.
"It's true!" Her voice grew with indignation before she drained the last of the liquid from her glass and set it down hard on the bar. "There is something about you," her now empty hand rose and she trailed her index finger down the center of his mask.
Kylo could feel an echo of her touch through the Force as it moved down his forehead, between his eyes, over the tip of his nose, and across his lips. The sensation sent a tremor down his spine. "I can't keep you off my mind." She admitted quietly, her gaze lost as she took in the details of his mask.
His gloved hand gripped her waist tightly. "You seemed plenty distracted a few minutes ago." His voice became hard as he recalled her pressed against the human. He couldn't let her affect him this way, but his thoughts were so heavy within his skull. "Does your Master know that you throw yourself at strangers like a street flying harpy?"
His insult didn't faze her; in fact she merely looked amused. "What were you jealous?"
He didn't dignify her with a response.
"I knew you were watching me," her finger began to trail back and forth under the edge of his mask, "No, Master Luke doesn't know that I seek out the deepest hole I can find on any planet and try to find someone who makes me feel the way I do when I think about you."
He could feel her scavenger webs spinning.
"I imagine that they are you I'm pressed against," he felt her legs clench together in his lap and another part of his mind ceased to function. "And when I kiss them, I hope that it's as good as I envision kissing you would be."
Her eyes were boring into his visor with a ferocity that could melt metal. "It never is. None of them can match me the way that you can."
Her words burned a path of desire through his hazy mind as her voice turned bitter. "None of them compare to your intensity, your energy." She felt scorching against him. "I use them and then cast them aside."
He was utterly entangled.
"They are never enough,"
He hadn't even been aware of her fingers reaching for the release on his mask until she jerked, startled, as a loud beeping went off within a pouch at her hip and the spell was broken.
She sighed deeply and pulled away, reaching in the pouch for a small communicator. "I'm being summoned," She lifted herself away from him and stood steadily on her feet. Kylo instantly missed the warmth of her body while he simultaneously envied how unaffected she seemed by this encounter.
An angry voice hissed within him to not allow her to leave, but his uninhibited mind couldn't remember exactly why.
Oh wait…
"You know one day I will have to kill you." His mechanical voice sounded like gravel to his own ears compared to her beautiful inflection.
"I'll let you believe that for now," she chuckled as she reached and trailed her finger down the edge of his mask and let it drop to his chest, the heat of her hand burned his chest through the cloth, "but I will have you first, Kylo Ren. One way or another."
She gazed into his visor once more and he knew she meant every word. Without a second glance she turned away and disappearing into the crowd and blinding lights.
All he could do was stare where she had vanished, and knew he would be a fool to think that he escaped her web. She was far more deadly then he ever could have thought, and he was not prepared to face an enemy of this nature.
He remained sitting on the bar stool, lost in thought until his senses returned to him.
"Kriff!"
He stood angrily and with a thought of the Force, he blew the sound system amplifying the music and the lights. He ignited his lightsaber, which crackled violently in the sudden darkness. The bar patrons to screamed and ran while he turned his anger on the bar until it was nothing but a smoldering pile of metal.
He stood there with his chest heaving and decided.
The next time they met, he would be ready.
*Kriff means fuck, Shabuir means fucker, and Di'kut means idiot in Mandalorian.
Author's Note: I like aggressive Rey and she bullied me into being written. But it wouldn't be in character unless Kylo destroyed something, am I right?
Oh well. I'm pure Reylo trash. And this is pointless trashy trash.
Reviews are everything. I might even add an extra chapter if people want it.
-Tragically Humorous