Disclaimer: Not mine, in any way, shape, or form. Not making money from this.

Author's notes at the end.

…:::...

Toska

Chapter 3

…:::...

"I don't believe you; I think you're lying to me," Rey accused, striding into the med bay with purpose. It had been almost twenty-four hours since she'd last visited.

"You're a survivor. It's easy to see that about you," Kylo intoned softly from where he lay, stretched out on his back on the exam table, his knees bent into the air to prevent his feet from dangling off the edge of the short surface. "What's the worst thing you've ever done to survive?"

"I don't have to tell you anything-"

"We could always try looking into each other's minds again," he offered, a slight sarcastic bent to his voice. "Since that worked so well for both of us last time. You could see how I really feel about the death of Han Solo, and I…" Kylo swung his legs down and pushed up to a seated position, the chains rattling as he dropped his wrists in his lap. "...I could find out what lengths you've stooped to in order to live another day."

"When people are trying to steal from you- -when something is trying to eat you- -you fight back, yes," Rey spat. "But I've never blown up entire planets. I've never slaughtered otherwise peaceful villages to bolster my infamous reputation."

"You don't have a reputation; how do you know what you would do with one?"

Rey clamped her mouth shut, angrily swallowing several insults that would do no good in her quest to make her point. "We'll find out," she hissed. "When I deliver you as my prisoner to the Republic I'll be well on my way to having a reputation; don't you think?"

Kylo gave a single, serious nod. "I look forward to that, actually, yes. Not the imprisonment," he qualified, waving a dismissive hand, "but watching what you do with your new-found fame. The Force is strong with you, and there are people who will want to exploit that. Luke Skywalker might slink back out of whatever hole he's been hiding in all these years. The government- -what's left of it- -will most likely try to prop you up and make you some kind of a mascot." Kylo had been letting his gaze wander around the room, but he cut his eyes back to Rey sharply. "Snoke might find you. Turn you into me." Shrugging, the intensity of his last option dissipated quickly. "So many potential outcomes."

Rey shook her head, animosity seeming to itch across her skin like rough fabric. "Have you ever tried to be a good person? Is there anything left in you that cares for others? Anything that desires peace? Anything that wants to do something important-?"

"I was doing something important!" Kylo growled, launching off the table toward Rey.

Caught off guard, she stumbled back a few paces, out of his reach, and watched as the chains snapped tight, halting Kylo's forward momentum.

"I was doing something great, and you- -you're no-one, you're a scavenger from an all-but-forgotten planet- -yet you have more raw power than I could ever hope for, and you-" Kylo's snarled speech was interrupted by a sharp, barked laugh. "You don't even know how to control it! You don't know what it is! What it could be. You're like an infant with a room full of weapons and millions of credits to your name; it's a waste. You're a waste." Breathing hard, Kylo gave a harsh, futile yank on his restraints in frustration. "I've always understood that life isn't fair, but this is really rubbing it in. You have everything I want." Kylo's eyes raked up and down Rey's body as if the natural talent she possessed was a visible thing he could observe on her. "And the way you're ignoring it is pathetic. Insulting. Offensive."

"Offensive?" Rey repeated, horrified. "The fact that I'm not a mass murderer is offensive to you?" Her voice hitched up higher as she continued. "But, no- -let's just talk about what you have that I want. Do you understand what you threw away? A family? A mother and a father and a home and a life?" Rey slammed a palm flat against her sternum. "Do you know what I would give to have had that? Any of that? Even for a moment?!"

Kylo scoffed. "Those are the wishes of a child- -"

"Do not presume you understand what my life is like," Rey interrupted, stabbing a finger in his direction. "How a childhood of loneliness, and fear, and- -"

"You don't think I've ever felt alone? You don't think I understand fear?" Kylo bellowed, his shoulders hunching forward even as his hands held him back.

"You walked away from it! All of it! How could you possibly feel alone or afraid when you have a family?!" Rey wailed, flinging her arms wide in exasperation.

Kylo froze for a moment, as if he'd realized there was no point in trying to explain himself to someone whose fundamental building blocks were so different from his own.

"If you're unable to accept that a family does not equal safety or happiness, then you will never understand me," he said slowly, as if speaking to a child.

When Rey spoke again her voice had dropped to a more normal volume, though it was laced with sarcastic disbelief. "You didn't like your family, so you… blew up half the Republic?"

"'Home' is obviously an important concept to you," Kylo said, his side aching from the strain and effort of the fight. "But family was only ever a very small piece of Han Solo's son, and like I told him- -" Kylo leaned in again, his voice a tight rumble, "- -just before I killed him- -Ben Solo was destroyed long ago."

"You are Ben Solo. Changing your name doesn't erase who you are," Rey insisted desperately. "The mask, the name, the voice… it's coating. That's all."

"The fact that I chose a different path than the one my family designed for me shouldn't…" Kylo huffed out a breath, and began again, turning to pace away from Rey. "Children should not be forced to become what their parents wish them to grow into."

"Children should not be murdered by the millions when their planets explode," Rey volleyed back.

Kylo returned to sit on the edge of the exam table. After a long moment of silence, he knit his brows together and asked, "What are some of the other options you're entertaining? Regarding what to do with me?"

Rey hadn't seen the topic change coming, and she opened her mouth to reply before snapping it shut again, needing to think about how best to answer, if at all.

"You're considering my offer. To teach you."

Rey glowered at the man across from her, annoyed that he'd guessed, though not entirely surprised that he had.

"Your power… with my guidance… could be incredible," Kylo coaxed, his words barely audible. "Together, we could-"

"Together we could end a lot of lives," Rey objected, shaking her head in disappointment. "Together we could destroy a good part of civilization. Together we could be terrible."

"Yes," Kylo agreed, the slash across his face making his expression even more aggressive. "We could."

"You say that like it's a good thing," Rey muttered, turning to leave.

Kylo nodded as her form disappeared around the curve of the hall. "It could be a great thing."

…:::...

TBC.

A/N: I don't think I'm aiming for super authentic character actions here. A little OOC is fine with me, because there's only so much you can do with the information we got in TFA. So… let's see how ambiguous we can make Rey. I don't have fun writing pure saviors anyway. You've been warned.