Thank you for the reviews! Keep em coming if you have something you want to address, feedback is always welcome!
This was originally a one time thing, but I'm drenching myself in Star Wars and more inspiration is coming out. This won't be super long, I think 3 more chapters at most, but who knows.
Enjoy
Ben.
Kylo Ren twisted and turned on the sheets. A pained groan left his mouth. His father stood in front of him, one hand on his shoulder. "Ben. I knew you would come around."
He shook his head. "No, dad. I won't." Without hesitation he activated his lightsabre, sending it through his father's chest.
Ben.
He saw the colour drain from his father's surprised face, and a pain in his chest tore him apart from the inside. A yell escaped from his mouth, getting louder as he saw his father slump to the floor.
Ben!
He sat up, panting and his bare chest slick with sweat. Around him a few objects fell down as his unconscious grip on the Force slipped, but he heard no sounds. A deafening silence hung around him, and when he looked to the side the worried face of the scavenger girl stared back at him.
She had woken him up. His fists clenched and he buried his nails into his own palms, desperately trying to restore a calm demeanour. She could not see him like this. She could not see him flinch, rage, or be conflicted. The girl had already worn his armour down enough. "We need to stop meeting in the middle of the night," he said softly, a small smile playing on his lips.
She shook her head, but smirked anyway. The torn feeling in his chest he had carried over from his dreams softened slightly and it was easier to relax his fists.
"It's not my choice, Ben." she said, sitting down and leaning with her forearms on her knees.
She looked better, he mused. The bags under her eyes had shrunk, and she had the sparkle in her eyes that he had gotten used to seeing.
A small part of him wished she still had nightmares, if only so she would understand him a little bit better. Suffering would push her toward him.
"What… what were you dreaming about?" Rey asked, her eyes searching his face. It was strange how quickly they had grown accustomed to this link and their interactions. For these few minutes, it felt like he wasn't scouring the galaxy looking for the Rebels and their allies.
He leaned back against the headboard, putting a little more distance between the two of them. "The past. Nothing important." He gestured towards her with his hand. "Why are you up?"
She opened her mouth, but seemed to reconsider and shook her head instead. "I can't tell you."
An uncomfortable silence fell, one which he refused to break. She was the one considering them enemies, while all she needed to do was extend her hand and he would accept her as his equal.
A pained glaze pulled over her eyes and the scavenger whispered, "I'm sorry."
Like last time, she caught him off guard. He frowned before he could catch his own expression. Before he could decide to ask what she meant, she continued, "For leaving you there. I… I wanted you to come with me."
Kylo felt the familiar ache in his chest flare up. "I wanted you to come with me too. But you refused, and here we are." His voice sounded slightly angrier, but he couldn't help it. This girl stirred things inside of him that he had just been able to bury.
If it truly was the Force bringing them together, it really had a piss-poor sense of humour.
She started to speak again, but his patience was wearing thin. Admittedly, it pleased him that she was doing well, but he had a purpose for her. "Stop. What are the Rebels expecting from you? That you are their saviour? That you will lead them into a new Republic?"
Hurt flashed through her eyes and he felt a perverse satisfaction in that moment. Rey stood up and bristled at him, "Yes. Yes, they do! And I will. We won't fall into the hands of the First Order, and we certainly won't let them take control over all life in the galaxy. The Republic worked before, and with Leia, it will again!"
A grimace pulled over Kylo's face. Fall into the hands of the First Order? He was the First Order. He was the one trying to kill her allies, but… did she still have hope that he would join her?
"The Republic was not perfect," he countered, his temper slipping. This is what his grandfather had worked for, and what he intended to continue. "What I am trying to do is make a world where people are allowed to be who they want to be, and where powerful Force users can be free." His voice lowered to a growl at the last word.
She was shaking her head before he had finished speaking. "If you come with me, you'll see that the Republic can be such a place. You know your mother, she wants freedom for all who desire it!"
He flung out of bed, ignoring his state of undress. To her credit, she didn't glance down at his comfortable sleeping-attire. "I know my mother and her intentions," he started, his rage building up with every word, "but she doesn't understand! You do. You keep saying you can see my future, but how do you know which path will lead to that future?" The question was sincere, and as she averted her eyes it was all he could do not to scream at her.
Rey seemed to huff herself up in self-defence and sought his eyes out again. "Because I believe –"
"Your belief means nothing to me," he interjected harshly. She had no idea what she was talking about. And she still didn't understand. The Republic had been corrupt and unable to keep a grasp on anything that happened in the Outer Rim, leading to conditions that allowed for more corruption. It had been a downward spiral for anyone not living in the Inner Colonies, and she was naïve for thinking it could be better.
She was too young. She hadn't seen what he had seen.
"Are you at least happy that your mother survived?"
The question in combination with the tone of her voice knocked the air out of him. She sounded so small, so broken, that the ache in his chest seemed to tear his already split soul in even more pieces. He met her eyes, and saw they were moist.
No. That wasn't fair. How could he be the Supreme Leader, trying to create his own Empire, if seeing this girl cry broke his heart?
Even this split him. A part of him wanted, needed to connect with her, to sympathise. Another part of him snarled in pleasure at the fragile being in front of him, needing to manipulate and crush her until she finally broke down completely.
He was absolutely broken inside, and only she could fix it.
Finally focusing on the words she had said, his emotions split again. Yes, he was relieved his mother had survived. He had not been able to shoot her in the first place.
But that was also another bond keeping him connected to that goddamned Republic. The darkness inside of him howled at the words, unhappy that the woman kept him from tumbling down the hole that was the Dark Side of the Force.
"I am." The words were out before he could help it.
Rey glared at him, suddenly untrusting of his words. "Do you mean that?"
Kylo frowned again. "I am guilty of many things, but lying to you isn't one of them."
She then nodded before taking a small step closer to him. "Please think about a Republic where you advice your mother into finding that balance that you seek."
He bore his eyes into hers, but found her unyielding to his stare. "Do you really think the Rebels would let me live if I joined your side? They would have me executed within seconds." Before she could respond, he continued, "Think about why the Republic failed last time, and why it would fail again in this era. When you have gained some insight, I am willing to spar with you."
The girl hesitated. Her voice was quiet, but firm when she whispered, "Your family needs you."
A snarl pulled up his lips and he let out a short, humourless laugh. "Family suddenly means very little when your uncle tries to kill you in your sleep."
As he turned back to his bed, sound returned, and the girl was gone.