When the dull ache of unconsciousness began to ebb away, Ren realized something was wrong. A sharp pain in his leg, a bleeding, stinging wound. And something else, fainter, more annoying than painful. Groggily, he opened is eyes to see a blindingly blue sky, and Rey above him, poking him in the stomach with a broken tube. Squinting, he raised a gloved hand to shield his eyes.
"Dammit," he heard Rey mumble as she walked out of sight. "Was slightly hoping you were dead."
"Sorry about that," he grumbled, his throat dry. Slowly, he sat up, and was amazed by the emptiness. As far as the eye could see, dunes of sand, and behind him, the wrecked TIE fighter. As his senses returned, the dry heat inched further through him. Standing up, he realized his leg had been cut open quite gruesomely, but not bleeding as much as he thought it would. Frantically, he covered it up with his tunic, and made his way over to Rey, who was rummaging through the broken hull of the fighter.
"Hold this," she said, throwing a large black bag in his direction, which hit him in the chest and knocked the air from his lungs. "We're gonna need these supplies if we want to survive."
She turned around, hair slightly in her face, holding an identical black bag. She strapped it onto her back, which seemed small in comparison to the stiff mass of supplies. She had ditched her overskirt and vest, only in a tank top and capris. She looked almost happy.
"So where are we going?" he asked, also donning the backpack. She gave him a look of confusion, almost shock. He mirrored her expression, concerned. "What?" he snapped.
"Are you really going to wear that?" she asked stubbornly.
"I don't have anything else," he replied. "And how is that even relevant to our survival?"
"We're on Jakku," she said. "Hot as hell, and you're wearing at least five layers of black."
"Oh," he realized. He looked down at himself, clad in black robes, which were already stifling him. He took off the backpack and shed four of his layers, until he was left with his pants, boots, and a black tank top. Rey saw the scars peeking from the edges, and pitied him. She always pitied him, so lost in darkness, and hurting because of it.
"There. Happy now?" he said, exasperated. She nodded, and he put on the backpack once again. 'Which way?" he asked, beginning to head in a random direction.
"This way, you idiot," she said, her smile audible, as she walked in the opposite direction, donning a pair of solar shields on the bridge of her nose. He turned and caught up to her, silent as they began their journey to safety.
"So where are we heading?" he asked, breaking the awkward silence after a while.
"My place," she replies, trudging through the sand as he followed.
"Your place? How did we end up so close?"
"Jakku has an uneven gravitational field. It was always like that, but after the battle, and all the destroyers crashed, they were pulled to the equator, where the gravity is its strongest. With the added mass, the gravity became more uneven, so now if you crash, 90% of the time, it's near the equator. Also, I spotted a destroyer that is close to my home."
"Interesting," he replied. "None of the navigational charts said anything about that."
"Only the locals know about it, and we prefer to keep it a secret, since so much income comes from scrap, its good to know where things will crash."
There continued on in the blazing sun, dune after dune. They were both exhausted, and decided to take a break on the slightly cooler side of one particularly large dune. Eating the bland rations, and drinking lukewarm water, they sat in silence. Kylo was relieved to be sitting, resting his gashed leg, the evidence still ticket away by his pant leg.
"Why here?" he asked curiously, trying to ignore the pain. "Why would you choose to live on this dustball?"
"Aren't you a chatterbox," she mumbled. Speaking up, she continued. "I…didn't have a say in it."
They both fell silent, trying not to look at each other. Rey's face became drawn with concern as she thought.
"You haven't tried to kill me. Why?"
He turned towards her, looking for an answer. It finally came to him as he said,"Because you helped me. You saved my life, and I am in your debt." He looked away as he finished.
Rey stopped mid-chew, stunned at the confession.
"You're welcome," she replied quietly, her voice piercing the still, hot air. "We should keep moving."
He stood up, and groaned in pain, clutching his leg. Immediately, Rey came to his aid.
"What's wrong?" she asked, eyes filled with worry.
"Nothing," he lied. After she gave him a stern look, he gave in," My legs, got cut during the crash."
She helped him sit down and rummaged through her pack, and pulled out the first aid kit.
"I need to disinfect it. This will hurt," she said, and his eyes widened slightly. He nodded, holding his breath. I should not be afraid of pain, he thought. A Knight of Ren should embrace the pain, embrace the darkness. He hissed as she cleaned the wound.
"Why didn't she tell me about this sooner?" she asked, clearly upset, eyes filled with hurt. His heart clenched at the sight. "You could get an infection!"
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I…I didn't want to worry you."
She drew back, shocked and confused. Since when did a monster care about her? Since when did he want her not to worry? Since always, she heard in her mind. Did he hear her?
"Did you say that?" she demanded.
"Say what?" His eyes were genuine. She shook her head, dismissing the thought. But she wanted more. She wanted to hear his thoughts, as if it sustained her. She stood after dressing the wound and helped him stand.
As they walked through the sand, her mind began to wander. Why did this monster care? Why didn't he kill me when he had the chance? And what is this feeling that I need him. I shouldn't need him.
Her eyes widened has she realized…I do.
(A/N: Dun dun duuuuun! Ha ha, I'm having way too much fun with this. Please review!)
