Warning: Requiem does contain spoilers for The Force Awakens

A/N: Just quickly before you start reading. This is a story that focuses on the friendship between my original character and Kylo Ren. It is not my intention to make this a Kylo/OC pairing. While there are plenty of very well written romance stories with kylo and an original character, I wanted to try something a little different. While I was creating this character and this storyline, it didn't feel right to make it a romantic pairing. Instead, I asked myself, what would it be like if these two shared a friendship? A relationship that has been dragged through pain, betrayal, anger and sadness for fifteen years. How would these two react to seeing each other after all that time? It was something that interested me so much and I decided to take this route.

As I have stated above, I have nothing against stories that involve kylo/oc pairing, I am a huge fan of them and are reading a few of them. But, for this story, that is currently not the end goal. There are many forms of love, it is not just narrowed down to romance. I personally feel that friendship is a form of love that isn't explored as much as romance is explored in movies, tv shows and writing. And because Kylo Ren is one of my favorite characters, I thought it would be interesting and fascinating to explore that concept with his character and an original character. The reason I put kylo/oc in the description is because their relationship is a very important aspect for my character and it is what this story will focus on. I absolutely love the idea of genuine friendship being a factor that can help bring someone back.

However, I will say this. We do have two more movies for me to go off from, so never say never. While I don't have any plans to end up putting these two characters together, anything can happen. As of right now, their relationship throughout this entire story is strictly platonic.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars

Prologue

Keep going. Keep running.

Naya was using up her adrenaline at a fast rate. She could already feel her legs starting to go numb, which began at the ankles, but she couldn't stop. Her mind was telling her that she had to go farther and she did so. The sharp snaps from twigs that were breaking under her feet created a cacophony of noises around her. She had to get out of her home. Staying there was starting to suffocate her. The air outside was cold, bitterly cold. The wind stabbed at her face and body, numbing her instantaneously. But, she didn't care. Just a little farther and she would be fine. Naya had made it to a clearing when she felt the instant pain in her side. She came to a hard stop, stumbling a few times which brought her to her knees. Her hand pressed against her side, the pain having now turned into a slow throb. She tried taking steady breaths that ultimately turned into wheezing breaths that were echoing around the empty forest.

This can't be happening.

She shook her head, eyes scrunched closed, trying to allow the pain in her side to slowly die down. Once it was at a bearable level, Naya crawled over to one of the trees and sat up against it. She continued with her breathing, every exhale puffed out as clouds in front of her face, disappearing into the darkness around her. When she gazed up, she could see the tops of the trees were barely illuminated from the city lights, which was nothing but a mass of light when she looked back at it. She just wanted to be alone, to be surrounded by some form of peace. Her home had become too crowded, with her parents completely breaking down and the General trying her best to console them. She had to get out of there and she went to the only place that offered a form of solitude. The woods. Her mind was swirling and her entire body was aching from a piercing numbness, from both the cold and her own shock. Naya's sense of reality was destroyed only a few moments ago, the walls were crumbling down, piece by piece. There was no way she could put them back together, not after what she had overheard.

The information had been given to her parents by General Organa, who had made the trip out to see them. She wanted to be the one to give them the news, she felt it was only appropriate. Of course, Naya and her parents were more than surprised to see the General here. However, the look of grim sadness was the first thing Naya took notice of when Leia entered the home. And right then, she knew that something was wrong. Naya had never seen the General adorn so many emotions before. Sadness. Distress. Shock. Leia had always been someone that Naya associated with calmness, someone who always had a form of control on everything around her. To see her in that kind of state was alarming. Naya was told to leave the room, that the information needed to be exchanged between her parents and Leia. Of course, being the curious one, Naya simply stood outside of the room. Now, she wished that she hadn't.

An attack on the Jedi. All the Jedi Luke had been training were killed. Slaughtered. Including her brother.

The news made her entire body go cold, eyes widened with shock and disbelief. It couldn't be true; her brother couldn't be dead. This had to be some form of misunderstanding. Who would do such a thing? Luke would never allow something like that to happen. He would have been able to stop it from happening. That was Naya's own form of naïve expectations. Naya had been in the clear, no one knew that she had been eavesdropping on the conversation. That was until Leia stepped out of the room, taking immediate notice of Naya's presence. She didn't do anything to cover up what she was doing. Naya could only stare up at Leia, both of them standing in silence, trying to figure out what they should say to each other.

When the first words were finally spoken, it was from Naya. The first thing she asked was, who did it? She wanted to know who was responsible for killing her brother and Ben, who she thought had also perished during the event. While she was listening to the conversation, there was no mentioning of Ben. That made Naya believe that he too had perished in the event. Ben was Leia's son, perhaps she didn't find it necessary to tell Naya's parents about him. Therefore, Naya was now in the mindset that she had lost not only her brother, but her friend as well. That conclusion was false and the truth was something Leia had hoped to avoid telling Naya, for now at least. However, Naya begged her for the information. This information would only make the situation worse. But, Leia couldn't look Naya in the eyes and not tell her the truth. The longer she kept this from her, the harder the fallout would be. Leia ultimately relented and told Naya the truth.

It was Ben.

The words didn't register at first. Naya thought that it was some kind of cruel trick that was being played on her. Fortunately, she was able to dispel that thought immediately. Naya knew better. Leia would never put her through something like that. Therefore, Leia was telling the truth. Once the full meaning behind Leia's words finally came to pass, Naya's instant reaction was denial. Leia had predicted that would be her first reaction and she couldn't see any fault to it. Leia herself had to deal with her own denial that any of this ever happened.

Ben would never do something like that. He never would.

That was the only defense Naya was able to conjure up in that moment. But, in the back recesses of Naya's mind, past all her denial and shock, she knew it was the truth. However, being able to accept all of it was too difficult for her to do. Leia had tried talking to Naya, using gentle words, to try and calm her. But, standing there in front of her, Ben's mother, coinciding with what she was just told, it was too much. Naya couldn't bear to stay there. She couldn't look at Leia, or hear her voice. It was already messing with her clouded mind. In response, she ran. Naya pushed right passed the General and was out the door before Leia could even stop her.

The minute she was out the door, only one thing came to Naya's mind. She needed to go to the woods. It was where she could go for solitude and that was something Naya desperately needed. Her hope was that being out here would help her to make sense of what had just happened, but it didn't. It had only been minutes since she arrived at the clearing and it hadn't made any of this easier. The cold air stung her throat and lungs as she inhaled heavy breaths, trying to supply her body with the oxygen she had lost during her run. Naya hugged her knees tightly to her chest and leaned her head against the tree.

How did it come to this?

Five years. The last time Naya ever saw Ben was five years ago, before he was sent away to train with Luke. As she sat in the cold, Naya recalled Ben's hesitation. Several times he had admitted to her that he didn't want to leave. For a reason that he never truly disclosed with her and she never pushed him about it. Did she want him to leave? A part of her didn't at the time, it was strange not having him around. Even now, five years after he left, Naya still caught herself in moments where she forgot that Ben wasn't here. It was something she never truly adjusted to. In response to his hesitation, Naya could only offer some kind of comfort and enthusiasm. Telling Ben that it would be good for him, to go and train to be a Jedi, something that Naya had always been fascinated with after hearing countless stories growing up. Ben was less than enthusiastic, however, it was what his mother wanted for him, how could he get out of it? Still, Naya couldn't fathom the correlation between that moment and now. Ben left, to start his training under Luke, to become a Jedi. Now, he has wiped them all out, including her brother.

Naya allowed her eyes to close, feeling her tears press against her eye lids. "What happened, Ben?" she whispered. Just saying his name at this point only brought two things for Naya, sadness and confusion. There was no anger, at least she couldn't feel it, which made her feel even more confused. She should be angry at Ben, completely furious at what he did. And while that feeling might just be boiling deep inside of her, as of right now, it was almost nonexistent. She just wanted to know, why did he do it?

Five years was not a long time, yet, something happened. Something that completely changed Ben to the point that he would betray his family and his fellow peers. And Naya couldn't help but feel that Leia may know more than what she has said. Although, Naya could be completely wrong. Naya couldn't help but feel unfair while thinking this. Leia was already going through her own hell. Knowing that her son was even capable of doing something like this must have been disheartening. The more Naya thought about it, she couldn't get past her own confusion. Granted, she was still in shock by it all, but she knew Ben, or at least she thought she knew him. Ben had to have some kind of motive behind it, which made all of this even more disturbing for Naya. The very thought of him becoming a cold killer, completely unfazed by what his actions would do, it tore her up inside.

The reasoning behind this event soon became unimportant to Naya. Her brother was dead. Ben was gone, she didn't know where and for all she knew, her family was broken. There was an instant ache in Naya's throat that brought forth new tears that spilled down her cheeks. She covered her mouth, silently choking on the cries she was trying to hold back. Being out here in the woods wasn't helping her in the slightest. This wasn't just her place; it was also Ben's. It was here that they frequented together, where most of her memories of him originate from. The very foundation of their friendship started here, a chance encounter was what Naya always called it. The boy with dark hair and fair complexion. And his eyes, they nearly matched his hair in color. Yet, Naya always remembered how they stood out, there was so much light in them.

Now, the image of the young boy she befriended was tainted. Ben Solo, he was no longer there. The Ben she knew would never commit this kind of heinous act. That was when Naya first felt it. That anger. It was starting to spill over the brim. She quickly wiped at the tear stains on her cheeks and bit down on her lip, hard enough to the point she could start to taste a little blood. Her arms hugged her knees closer to her body, trying to conserve the warmth her body was creating, and wiped the remaining tears from her eye. She hated that this ever happened. And, she hated Ben for going through with it. How could he betray his family? How could he betray her?

This initial hatred would only be temporary because below that, Naya knew there was more to this. There was more she wasn't being told and it would only be a matter of time before she knew the entirety of what happened. And she honestly didn't know if she would ever be prepared to hear it.

This is my first ever Star Wars fic so please bear with me as I familiarize myself with writing in this universe. You can also find me on tumblr, requiemnaya if you want to check it out!