Chapter summary:
Where Kylo unsuccessfully attempts to prove to Rey that he's not just some monster by locking her in a dark room and not letting her out. Because chicks love that kind of stuff.
What would Master Luke do?
That's the question that Rey keeps asking herself as time slips past her unaccounted for. What in the Force-forsaken galaxy would her Master do in a situation like this?
Many things, doubtlessly. He's kriffing Luke Skywalker. The legendary savior of the universe. Arguably, one of the most famous and important people to ever have lived. As his last and final apprentice, expectations are set very high for her.
It's a tough pill to swallow, but she somehow has to accept that she's failing the standards miserably and at every milestone of the way. So just what would her legendary master do?
First things first, he wouldn't even be in this situation. Not at all. Not get drunk, not get stupid, and definitely not get caught. By him least of all.
And then... Then most assuredly Master Luke would not get tied up, taunted, then trapped in a pitch-dark cell. Or wherever she is, because she didn't get a good enough look around when she had the opportunity earlier.
Rey's time will come, though. As soon as opportunity strikes again, she's going to take full advantage of it. Indeed. She will offer no quarter in her vengeance upon him for everything that he has done.
Ironically, her list of his crimes, as extensive as it is, both begins and ends with him kidnapping her and putting her in chains. Hmm… okay. Rey thinks that she's in the same room as when she woke up a few hours before, but he could have easily moved her and tied her up once again when she was unconscious. That's kind of their special thing together, unfortunately for her.
Godsdamnit. That asshole. When she gets out, she going to kick Kylo's ass so kriffing hard.
No, seriously. She's going to let him have it. Her foot's going to be sore by the time she's done. Metaphorically speaking, mostly. She's planning on using other body parts as well and that sounds really bad when she says it like that so nevermind.
Fuck. She's really not very good at this, is she?
She thinks he's smirking. She's not going to take a peek through their bond and find out, but she feels like he probably is, and that grounds her back into reality and out of her head.
If there ever had been a moment that Rey's hatred towards her bond-mate had reached a crescendo, it was now, when she had woken up in the exact same state she had fallen unconscious in. Tied up, suspended, with her back aching and her arms having gone all the way around the orbit of discomfort from numb to "in total abject agony".
Pain isn't real. It's only a temporary state of mind or some unhelpful Jedi bullshit like that. But what she has to focus on now is getting out.
It's not going to be easy. He's done everything on purpose. Blindfolded no more, but wherever she is now is in pitch darkness. In space, somewhere, judging by the subtle engine noises reverberating through metal. But no bips or beeps or lighting from any source anywhere.
Rey wriggles. Painfully. Strung up the way that she is, she can't move very much.
But she can a small amount, if she really forces it. Her feet aren't bound, so she kicks in a sweep around her. Not to be a destructive little shit having a tantrum, but for the sake of placement.
Her foot touches a surface. A low table? No, it's light enough to move with she skims against it.
A chair, then. And she's pushing it away from her with her probing movements instead of bringing it closer. If she could drag it so that she could stand on it, then she could probably get the leverage needed to get her hands free of the bonds above her head. Then the epic asskicking could commence.
It's a hard if not impossible task to do while blind, though. The chair is placed right at the edge of her range, meaning that more often then not the tip of her toe flubs on it, sending it millimeter by millimeter further away from her. If she only had the Force...
Fuck you, Kylo. Seriously, fuck you so fucking hard.
And, of course, when the chair tips over she loses her remaining threads of temper at a speed that's faster than fast.
"I hate you!" she screams, "do you fucking hear me? I hate you so much for this!"
Her voice rings through the room. It sounds more metallic and hollow than it had before. The room, not her voice. Though maybe that too.
A little tug on their bond and her days of hating him come to head once again. He had heard her. Or felt her, more likely. And now he's checking in on her. Sending a pulse through their connection to make sure that she's unharmed. Unharmed in body, at least. Mentally he must be sure of her state and know that it's all his fault.
And yet, he's still concerned about her wellbeing. It makes her teeth itch. The sheer nerve of that man.
With little else to do, she screams again. This time it's just an inarticulate yell, but she sends as much of her anger into the cosmos as she can. Sends the same acidic bite of rage that she's had to choke on from him through their bond more than once. If he wants to feel her, then he can feel that, too. Even without the aid of the Force, she still has a few ways to lash out at him.
It makes him falter. She can see him in her mind for a second. The hallway that he's in appears to tremble through his eyes as he staggers. Serves him right, that fu-
Oops. This much anger and relishing of his unease certainly isn't the Jedi way. Her Master certainly wouldn't do that. He never had given in to his anger, right? That's what made him the Legendary Luke Skywalker that he is.
She'd actually asked him that, once. If he'd ever lost control and just reacted? Legendary Luke had been… evasive with his answer. Had tried to change the subject and, when she pressed, silenced her with a lengthy task list of everything that she needed to get done before nightfall. For the sake of her training, of course. It seemed rather petty of him, in hindsight, so maybe that answered her question after all.
Rey waits for something to happen after her latest outburst.
Nothing. Silence. And darkness. She'd expected at least a taunt from Kylo.
She groans. Closing her eyes and trying to will her collar off. Channel her suppressed energy into melting the hated thing into nonexistence.
It doesn't work. That sucks.
Next, Rey tries to wriggle her way free even though she knows that's impossible.
She can't move her fingers. It pisses her off even more. But, no, she can't just thrash and kick until she exhausts herself of her anger. And all her movements do is jerk her shoulders which are locked rigidly in the upright position next to her ears.
It hurts. She's angry. And, if she thought that she could get away with it, she'd probably cry out of sheer, pure frustration.
Click?
Yes, click. The lights blast on. And she yelps.
It's so bright that it burns her eyes even through her lids. Irrationally, it almost makes her miss her blindfold.
She wants to demand that he turn that off but she won't. Too much acknowledging of his vile presence. Instead, she scrunches her face up like the light's still hurting her even if she's already adjusting to it and she's really only trying to make up for how threadbare her emotions are being pulled.
Kylo halfway complies with her unspoken demand. Dimming it to an acceptable level but not completely off like she wanted. Always with the power struggles. He just had to be a little shit like that. Must have been great for his parents dealing with Baby Ben and everything being a fucking war of wills between reasonable behavior and the whims of a spoiled brat.
"That's not a very nice thing to say."
He's in her head again, just to prove that he can do that and she can't any more. And she refuses to look at him even if she knows that's what he wants from her.
At least he has his kriffing helmet off. She can hear that through the natural tones of his voice.
"Rey."
Her name rolls off in a wistful sigh. She hates him for a lot of things, but she really hates him for that.
And, nope. Still going to ignore him. It's so petty of her, but fuck it. She can feel his resentment simmering, but he's trying to hide it from her. Trying not to act like the evil brat she knows so well.
He stands right in front of her, then. Waiting.
She gives him nothing.
Hmmm…
He thinks it through their bond. Deliberately letting her know that he's pondering his next action against her.
"Comfortable?"
She narrows her eyes. Glares at a corner of the near-empty room. Wherever she is isn't a cell, not quite. It looks more like a-
"It's not a prison," he interrupts. "I wouldn't do that to you unless you make me."
She wrinkles her nose at the implied threat. Behave or else, Desert Rat.
Oh, go to hell, Kylo. How about that?
A huff. Amusement at her indignation rolls over from his side.
"So where am I? Where have you dragged me to?"
He cocks his head. She really doesn't like the way he's looking at her right now. It makes her feel so exposed and vulnerable despite the cloak of anger she keeps trying to protectively wrap herself in.
"A place that's completely secured," he answers after a few breaths. "You wouldn't be able to escape from here. You couldn't, even if you didn't have this."
He emphasizes the last word with a brush of his hand against her collar. When she doesn't respond, he leaves his hand around her neck until the extended contact and his rapt attention on her face becomes too much for her to stand.
"Kylo," she growls, finally making herself look at him.
His mouth twitches, but at least he doesn't smile. She doesn't know what she'd do if he smiled.
"Are you comfortable?" he repeats when she looks away again.
She wants to scream things. Abuses, mostly, though vocalizing her rising misery appeals as well. But she chokes it all down into stoic, Jedi-like silence. The effort to keep everything bottled inside makes her throat constrict and she's afraid to breathe or she might abruptly crack.
Kylo notices her struggle. Of course he does. He's right there and now there's no place left for her to hide.
She sniffs. Hopes it sounds indignant and not fragile.
His hand is still on her neck and his thumb grazes her cheek.
"Oh."
That syllable is all he says.
Irrationally, she feels like she's about to burst into tears. Her waterline itches and she can feel her steadily rolling anger begin to drift into something else at his close proximity. The memory of what he did with the girl not so long ago still stings her, and now there's all of the rest of this to deal with.
And Kylo must know everything that she's thinking. There's a subtle shift between them, and she can actually feel him pull back a little, both mentally and physically. He doesn't let go of her, though. Rather, he loosens his grip and lightly pats her skin with the flat of his thumb.
"I've gone too far. I'm sorry."
He just apologized. Rey blinks. Neither of them move. She can hardly breathe, and the constriction in her chest is amplifying every warring emotion all the more.
She wants him to untie her. But she's not going to say it and she knows he won't until she asks. Another fucking power trip of his.
No. She's not going to ask, then. She's going to demand. That's totally different. Demands are an essential part of hostile negotiations.
His mouth twitches again. Amused at her choice of thoughts.
"Kylo," she pauses to clear her throat. He waits, as expectant and eager as a puppy hoping for a treat.
"You want me to let you go?" he offers. Trying to be oh-so-helpful. It's obnoxious enough that she locates her faded resolve quickly.
"You will let me go."
He smiles then. Fleetingly, but she still saw it.
You fucking ba-
Son of a-
Just fuck you, okay?
"That's an order, Kylo. You will let me go. Right now."
"You know I won't do that."
He crouches again, making her stare down at the top of his head. It's so reminiscent that he absolutely has to be doing it on purpose. Except this time it's much more uncomfortable because she's strung up high and that brings him right in line with her stomach.
The gentle sigh rustles against the fabric of her shirt. Then he reaches out and touches her again. Cradling her waist and she hisses at him through their bond in an empty warning.
Light as a feather. The feeling between them. He likes that, too, she realizes. Not the touching her part, though probably that as well, but that he's coaxing her into reluctantly using their bond.
Fuck you, Kylo. Fuckyoufuckyoufuckyou.
"I didn't quite catch that. Was that a 'please' at the end? Something that you wanted from me?"
His phrasing does not go unnoticed. She tries to kick him in the chin and he catches the move effortlessly. Holding on to one of her knees while the other hand squeezes her hip.
"Let go of me or let me down." Obnoxiously squeaky. She hates the way her voice sounds at that moment.
He tips his head up, staring at her hands. Rey has to crane her neck to see how she's tied to the ceiling. Winces. Well, at least her hands aren't turning blue, but even if she had managed to drag the chair under her, she wouldn't-
"I wasn't going to make it that easy, Rey. And you'll be fine like this for a while."
"Voice of experience?"
She snaps it, glaring down at him. The look in his eyes answers her and she feels her next retort disappear from her tongue.
"Something like that."
They fall into a staring match, neither one willing to break the eye contact first. Rey feeling like she's spinning. Trying to keep every emotion inside her and for the most part succeeding. Kylo stares up at her as if he's waiting for something. Waiting for her to come to some grand revelation or at least beg and plead for him to untie her.
She won't do anything of the sort. He sighs, shoulders slumping, then gives in and looks away first. Lets go and rolls back onto his heels, standing up with a creak of leather and towering over her again.
"Lights on or off?" he asks.
He's leaving. Good. She's so sick of him.
"I don't care."
He frowns. Then nods.
"Off, then."
He turns and leaves, pausing at the door to wave his hand in front of the switch. The door locks itself with a series of loud click a second after the lights inside turn off.
Rey sighs. That was stupid of her to be so petty. Master Luke really would be so disappointed.
Kylo doesn't stay away for long.
By the time Rey had recovered her emotions enough to start to be truly bothered by how much pain she was still in, he had already returned. Watched, close and crouched, as she had shifted and fought down the urge to whimper in misery.
Her shoulders hurt. Goddamnit. And she was so sick of this. So sick of him. All she wanted was for this to never have happened. All she wanted was to be back home, struggling to sleep despite the ocean chill in the air and be laying down on her hard, uncomfortable palette on…
No. He was leading her on. Following her trail of thoughts and gently nudging them to reveal what he wanted.
"Oh nice try, asshole, but I'm not telling you where Master Luke is."
She had recovered her emotions enough to curse at him. That's good.
He huffs. She turns her head so she doesn't have to look at him. It's a largely empty gesture in the once-again pitch black room, but she hadn't realized how close he really was until then.
"I'll find out one way or another. You're just delaying the inevitable."
He might be right. But Rey doesn't really care. Especially not now.
"Maybe, but you won't find it out from me."
"We'll see."
Rey rolls her eyes. This is every bit as symbolic, and she feels the air stir around her as he stands up.
Another sound and shift. His glove slides against her cheek and gently tries to pull her face away from the side where she had it turned.
She resists, feeling thoroughly and completely annoyed that he has no problems seeing her and she's blind without the Force.
"It's hard for you, isn't it?"
Rey tries to yank her chin out of his hand. His turn to resist. That question literally could mean any fucking thing ever, and if he's not going to elaborate then-
"The Force," he elaborates. "It's hard for you to not have it. Like cutting off a limb and having to learn to adapt to life without it."
That's… a very specific example. Rey frowns in the darkness and he takes her moment of distraction to yank her head to where he had wanted it to be.
"And just how would you know that?" she snaps, muffled slightly by his hand. She's still curious about what he'd said before.
"How do you think I could know?" he asks, leaning closer.
She can feel his breath against her lips. It actually smells nice. Minty, even. Like he'd just brushed his teeth in high hopes before coming back here. But she's not going to get off onto any sort of tangents like that when he's standing right in front of her.
Distracted as she is, his words take a few moments to sink in.
"You've had your powers suppressed?"
"Of course I have."
She doesn't know why that surprises her as much as it does. Tries to picture Kylo wearing a repression collar but she doesn't even know what they actually looks like, including the one currently around her neck.
So many questions.
"Why?" she asks, eventually.
He makes a strange little sound through his nose. It tickles her eyelashes and she turns her head slightly in his grasp. She realizes that her question could be interpreted in two different ways.
"Was it on purpose? Or..."
Or did something happen to you? Did the great, big bad Kylo Ren ever get kidnapped and tormented also, and now he's just paying it forward for misguided revenge?
He shakes his head.
"It was part of my training. Learning to overcome the collar's effects as well as adapt to not having one of my senses. It's an essential skill, and one that you should have been taught as well."
Right. Should have. His real meaning is obvious.
She wants to defend her Master from the subtext that he wasn't doing enough for her. It hadn't been all that long since she'd first started with him. He simply hadn't had time to teach her everything she needed to know yet.
Would it have been different if she'd lost that day in the snow? If she hadn't defeated Kylo, but rather the other way around? Would he have slain her right then and there like she'd been tempted to do to him, or would he have taken her back to his lair and forced darkness upon her?
Where would her life have been like now, if things had gone so differently?
"Rey?"
Kylo had been watching her closely that she had forgotten he was still holding on to her until a second hand joins the contact with her body. This time it lands on her shoulder and massages the aching muscles where the joint meets her neck.
Affection.
He had been following her thoughts and was trying to show her affection.
Yes, Rey, he would have. He thinks that he would have killed her in the snow. That's what he's apologizing for. He would have done it and then he would have felt really terribly about it.
Well, okay then. So glad they got that debate out of the way.
She makes a non-committal noise. Wants to shrug him off but the heat from his gloved hand is just the tiniest bit soothing against her and she's in so much discomfort that she'll take even the smallest amount of relief.
"Would you like me to let you down?"
Silence. Again, so many questions.
It's a trick. Obviously. Some sort of power play or maybe he's simply bored with fondling her in the dark while she's tied up.
"Fondling? I'm pretty sure I'm just touching you, Rey. And I don't want you to be in pain. I never did."
She glares at where she thinks his face is. Feels their bond smile and a twist of annoyance builds in her at his stray thought on how cute she looks like that.
When she doesn't answer, he lets go. Rey has to dig deep to hide her disappointment. This is why you can't have hope, kids, because it sucks much worse when it's taken away from you.
Rather than walking away, he steps behind her. Cups under the triceps area of both her arms in his hands and she jumps a little.
"Ticklish?"
"Oh go to hell."
Their bond smiles again. The connection soft as he runs his hands up her arms very slowly, feeling each bump of bone and swell of muscle along his way as he goes. It would be relaxing if her hands weren't so numb that she could barely feel them.
But then clink-clink and her body suddenly has slackness in it.
Too much, perhaps, because she half-collapses in his waiting hands. Her own arms, however, she just can't seem to lower. Her shoulders allow a slight movement but after being suspended for so long they stay practically locked in place.
Kylo guides her to her knees and takes her wrists in his hands, pulling down slightly. She hisses. Oh kriff that hurts…
"Shhh," he soothes, helping her adjust in tiny increments. Gently get her used to the new position he's put her in and showing her how to ease further into it.
Okay, just hold on a minute. This whole thing is starting to sound much too sexual.
Kylo laughs under his breath, effortlessly following her thoughts.
"Don't worry," he murmurs, and his voice sounds uncharacteristically low and husky. "I've got you now. Relax and let me take care of everything."
Wince. Part from pain and part from his awful, hackneyed attempts at being flirty.
But she lets him help her. Massage blood and life back into her limbs. Her arms go from numb and stiff to sore and nearly excruciatingly prickly as circulation returns.
When she can flop them down by her sides, she sinks down to sit on the floor. Glares sullenly ahead into the black space as her bond-mate tuts over her. Rubs her shoulders and neck. Strokes her hair out of her face and swirls it back and away, tucking the bits by her face to behind her ears.
She doesn't want him to be nice like this. He's tortured her, and now he's caring for her. It's not right. Their bond loves it, though. So content and blissed at his doting touches.
Her eyes prickle again. Burning until she has to close them. The first tract of moisture that leaks out is caught by smooth leather.
And at least the darkness lets her hide from herself if not from him. Alright, Rey. It's okay to cry now. But just a little bit. Then get over it and get yourself together and back into action.
'Are you going to let me go now?" she asks, voice reed thin. The finger swipes again, catching the matching drop on her other cheek.
"Of course not."
Right. Of course not. She's so glad she doesn't have to look at him. The mercy of small favors.
Mercy.
Something else that she absolutely doesn't want from him. Not now, after that other girl. And the other things, too. The other transgressions. But ever since that happened, it's been burning a hole in her soul. Something to keep her up at night for all the wrong reasons.
How could he do that to her? So hypocritical. How could he be such a hypocrite?
Now the tears are pooling up against his hand. Wetting her cheek in a soggy crescent from where his palm is flush against her skin.
He has to know what she's thinking. She can feel him in her head which can only mean that he can feel just how much…
"Go away."
She says it against his palm, but she knows that he heard her.
He's surprised. Their bond lifts, rising like a balloon to the ceiling. He pulls back from her in every way. Leaves her sitting there in the absolutely darkness as he stand up and the echoes of his footfall sound so loud in the empty room.
When he opens the door he's silhouetted by light. It's just too fucking symbolic and she squeezes her eyes shut.
"You can't take it off." His parting shot. She'd been yanking at her collar with her hand without even realizing that she was doing it.
"I know. But I'm going to try anyhow."
A pause. She can detect his shadow from even behind her lids.
Then he closes the door without another word, leaving her in darkness and she know that he won't come back again for a while. But that buys her time. A few hours or more to collect herself back into a Jedi-like stoicism and plan her escape.
Suddenly, the urge to get away from him overrules the desire for vengeance, but that too will change. She just needs a few minutes to herself first.
Next chapter:
Well, Rey's strategy of hurling profanity and verbal abuse at Kylo until he lets her go didn't work. And quite possibly just turned him on. Damnit. But now that she's got that off her chest, it's time to start on an escape plan. And surely Kylo can't be working on any sort of nefarious scheme of his own, right?
Author's Note:
This story is part of an ongoing series of semi-related Kylo/Rey fics:
Part 1: Bad Habits of a Vivid Imagination
Part 2: Just Like You Imagined (1st chapter only)
Part 3: Take No Prisoners (in progress)
