Author's Note: I do not own Star Wars!
Over the next few days, both he and the girl stayed together as much as they could, outside of training of course. They were both social outcasts from the rest of the Padawan's at Skywalker's temple, so it only made sense that they would become friends.
As they sat on the grass, outside of his tent, he asked her to turn around so that her back was to him. Suddenly apprehensive, she stiffened slightly, before his soft smile calmed her down. As she faced away from him. He grabbed some hair accessories he had managed to find.
"This will stop them from being able to pull your hair so easily," he spoke, as he styled her hair as well as he could for a boy.
Upon finishing, she used her hand to feel his work, causing her facial expression to wrinkle slightly in amusement. It looked weird, but it was unique, three verticle buns down the centre of the back of her head.
"It's that or cut it all off," As soon as the words left his mouth, her face changed in to one of mild horror, before she saw his amused smile. Her features softened slightly before a slight smile made its way on to her face.
"Thank you," she whispered, opening her mouth to call him something but finding that did not yet know his name.
"Ben," he supplied, causing the smile on her face to widen ever so slightly.
"I'm Rey," she replied, causing his smile, in turn, to widen as well.
As Kylo sat up suddenly, his hand instinctively went to his head, where a throbbing headache had begun. Wincing, he swung his legs off the bed and placed his head in his hands, rubbing his temples in the hope of relieving the pain.
He had dreamt of her before, but never in this nature. This time it had felt so real. He remembered the Skywalker temple perfectly, down to the five human senses. The feel of the breeze, the smell of the surrounding nature, the sight of the sunset, the sound of the wildlife and the taste of the meals, which became more and more bland, as they remained the same throughout the many years of his childhood he spent there. Despite having been surrounded by other Padawans, he had always felt alone there. No one seemed to accept, or even understand, him, so he focused on the nature that surrounded the temple.
What he didn't understand was why he was imagining her there. He had never seen her, as a child, as they had first met on Takodana. The child version of her, that his mind had conjured in his dreams, looked exactly like her, even down to the most intricate details, such as the three bun hairstyle that she had donned when he first met her. She hadn't worn that hairstyle since Starkiller base, instead allowing half of her hair to flow down naturally. Personally, he preferred it that way, but he would never admit that.
Perhaps his mind was secretly wishing that they had met under such circumstances and had been able to be friends. She would have been his first true friend, the thought causing a small smile to emerge on his face, which was soon replaced by a frown.
They had never been friends, he thought, shaking his head as he rose from his bed. It was just a dream.
To add to his confusion, he had thought he recognised one of the Padawans that had harassed her in the dream.
It had looked a lot like- no, it can't be, he shook his head again, removing the thought from his mind, before proceeding to dress.
"Supreme Leader," Hux ackonwledged out of obligation, a hint of distain in his tone. After the choking incident, Hux had toned down the sarcasm and disrespect, but it was still obviously there. However, being superior to him, in terms of rank, brought Kylo much satisfaction.
Kylo strode past him, without even an acknowledgement or a glance in his direction. Reaching the main observation window on the bridge of the ship, he stood confidently, with his arms behind his back.
He was the Supreme Leader now, he needed to act like one.
No room for weakness, he reinforced in his mind.
"I trust that we are headed to the location I specified," he spoke confidently, to no one in particular, the volume of his voice being high enough to be heard over the sounds of the bridge. From where he stood, still staring out of the window, he heard the entire room become silent for a few moments, as the individuals around him froze at their stations, processing his words.
"Yes, we are expected to arrive within the next hour," Hux answered, stepping towards him.
Kylo simply nodded in response, his attention still focused on the observation window. Hux simply huffed out a breath, before returning to his duties.
As Rey opened her eyes, she instantly winced upon feeling the ache in her head. Moving to the bathroom attached to her small room, she washed her face with cold water, before using her hand to cup some water and bring it to her mouth. After nineteen years on Jakku, cups and cutlery were a luxury.
Returning to her room, she began to dress. As she was wrapping her belt around her waist, she halted as she remembered the events of the previous night. He had seen her cry, had tried to comfort her. But he was the reason she was in this state to begin with. They had been so close to leaving the First Order together, but he had wanted to destroy both sides of the war, including all of the people who had been the first to care about her and believe in her. She couldn't do that to them. She cared about them too, and no matter how much she may care about Ben, she could not allow herself to be selfish.
Exiting her room, she followed the corridors of the Falcon until she reached the common area. All of the rebels were now on the Falcon, since they had no other transport ships or fighter ships, not after Crait. Due to the large amount of people, the sleeping quarters were shared and rotated between them, with some still having to sleep in the common area.
As she stepped in to the common area, stepping over some sleeping individuals in the process, making her way to the cockpit. Upon entering, Rose was using a welder to fix a side panel, sparks surrounding the tool. As soon as Rose saw her enter, she stopped and lifted the safety mask from her face.
"Shift change already?" She asked, somewhat surprised.
"Time must fly when you're having fun," Rey quipped, nodding her head in the direction of the welder still held in Rose's hand, earning her a small laugh.
"Couple of fuses went in the night, had to fix those," Rose explained. "The control panels had overridden the fuses, so we had a few small fires, hence the welding."
"You should get some sleep,"
"You're right, but,"
Rey reached out and slowly pried the welder from Rose's hand.
"Sleep," Rey ordered softly, a smile on her face for the maintenance worker's passion for her work.
Rose just nodded back, returning the smile, before she exited the cockpit and made her way to their shared quarters.
Approaching the duel pilot chairs, Rey immediately saw that Finn was fast asleep, causing her to release a sigh.
"He's been like that for the past hour," the voice causing Rey to move her attention to the other pilot.
"Hey, Poe,"
"Sleep okay, Rey?" She could sense the light care and concern in his voice. She had helped rescue them on Crait, her force-sensitivity giving the rebels hope that she could be their saviour. It put a lot of pressure on her shoulders, but the amount of care they had for her helped relieve the pressure slightly.
"Yeah, a decent amount," As she avoided his gaze, while she spoke, his eye brows furrowed, causing him to place a hand on her shoulder, making her tense.
"What's wrong?" he asked carefully. "Apart from the war, obviously."
Releasing a sigh, her posture softened again.
"There's just a lot of pressure on me," she started. "I've never had people care about me or rely on me before, it's unsettling."
A few moments of comfortable silence past, as he thought about her words.
"We all rely on each other," he began. "And we all care about each other."
He waited until she looked towards him before continuing.
"We're all here for you too, don't forget that."
Returning his smile, she placed her hand over his, on her shoulder, patting it twice before he removed it.
"So, where are we now?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" He quipped, a smirk on his face. She laughed, rolling her eyes at his cheekiness.
He shot her a wink, before actually answering her question.
