Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars.
The first time she sees him after Crait she tries to kill him. Sure, they had left on terms that while not amiable were still not entirely antagonistic but in the interim before they were drawn together again, she had learned of all their casualties. The resistance was small enough to fit on the Falcon and that was a bitter pill to swallow.
He isn't that happy with her either. The resistance got away and it's due to her. Luke Skywalker showed him up before all his men. The resistance is still alive.
They do their fair share of tossing blaster shots, and swinging lightsabers along yelling and throwing scathing insults to each other before the connection snaps.
Unfortunately, it's done in full view of everyone who is staring at her like she's mad. Rey flushes and storms out, not wanting to explain, not that she thinks there's any need to. There's only one person she'd be talking to like that, only one person she could have said those things to.
Leia finds her standing outside and shaking with anger and sorrow and pain.
"Want to tell me what that was about?"
"Snoke," she says, because there's no use hiding anything. "He did something to us, connected us. I thought it'd be gone when he died. Apparently, it hasn't faded completely."
"Alright," says Leia. "Could he have see where you were Rey? This is important."
"Oh," says Rey. "No. He can't see my surroundings and I can't see his."
Leia lets out a breath of relief. "Good. We aren't compromised."
"I'm sorry," says Rey, "I should have thought of that."
"You aren't used to war," Leia says to her. "It's okay. How long has this been going on?"
"Since Ach-to," Rey says. "We talked. I found out what happened that night. I tried to get him to come back to the light with me but, but he didn't. He wanted me to rule at his side but I wouldn't do that either. I thought, if he turned, it'd turn the tide. I'm sorry. I'm talking so callously about this and he's your son."
"If you weren't sounding like you wanted to have a really good cry I might have thought it callous," Leia says sounding amused. I'm glad you tried Rey. Thank you."
Rey gives her a wobbly smile. "If it helps he saved my life. He's, he's not lost yet."
"Rey if you can't save him…"
"Don't," says Rey. "I can't say I will and I can't say I won't."
"Alright," says Leia. "Tell me if this keeps happening okay? And if it does, watch what you say. He'll have learned how to be clever with his words."
Rey nods. She doesn't want to compromise them at all.
The expected fading away of the connection never happens. Her friends learn to realize when he's appeared and she often excuses herself from their company. There's a lot of anger towards him and she doesn't need their anger and hate and fear clouding her mind when she speaks to him. She still thinks there's conflict, in fact she knows there is. If there's a sliver of light still inside him, she's going to try to pull him with it. The fact still holds that if he turns he can turn the tide of this war. He clearly holds the same view of her and they reject each other's offers so much, it almost becomes amiable.
A fledging, tentative friendship begins to spring up, amidst both their efforts to twist tiny but important details of whereabouts and activities from each other. Rey respects the need-to-know basis on the resistance plans and works on perfecting her pokerface. Poe helps her. For all that the pilot is amiable, he can school his face with best of them, showing only what he wants to show.
But their efforts to undermine each other surprisingly does not detract from their friendship, probably Rey thinks, because they're both aware they're trying to undermine each other. It's honest dishonesty. Kylo Ren is a surprisingly good conversationalist when he wants to be and he's pretty intelligent, despite the childish tendencies he displays. Through it all though, Rey never forgets just how dangerous he is.
She's walking though their latest base when she feels that touch of connection. She turns to see Kylo looking at her. The wind blows from on his side and causes her eyes to flutter and then he's gone. Rey blinks and then continues forward. After a few steps her scalp begins to itch lightly and she runs her hand through her hair and freezes as it comes away sandy.
She rolls the grains of sand through her fingers and then dashes to the techs that have remained.
"Can we analyze this sand to find out where it comes from?"
The techs had looked at her like she was crazy but they did so and she was pleasantly surprised to learn that there was in fact only one place that had that composition of sand. Rey smiled. She knew where the First Order was. She hurried off to tell Leia who listened gravely and then said, "Good work Rey. And be careful."
"I will," Rey tells her.
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