Summary:

Where Rey tries to consult her Master for much-needed guidance, Kylo cheers on her cringey attempts at seduction, and someone gets their heart broken.


Rey needs Luke. Desperately.

She needs her Master's guidance on how to proceed. This slippery and rapidly descending moral slope she has found herself on is threatening to ruin everything. Kylo, their bond, her own twisted and tangled feelings… it's all far too much for her to try and take on her own.

Luke would know what to do. Luke knows everything. He won't be happy with her, but he will guide her through this. Maybe he can even fix what's wrong with her?

Her master had saved the universe, after all. Like, the whole place. All of it. He can help her escape a dumb piece of metal on her neck. Then, once she's free, he surely can help her come to terms with her lunatic other half.

Maybe he can even help her bring him back?

That… that thought is dangerous. Talk about jumping ahead, Rey. Silly girl, you're still held captive by a madman and already you're picturing what he'd look like in another color…

Just what the hell has this bond done to her? She's in terrible danger of losing herself and it's been less than a week.

Besides, it's not like she's going to get any sleep tonight anyhow, with how her head is spinning and her soul feels like it's trying to transform.

She must find a way to reach her master. No one ever said it was going to be easy.


How often has Rey bitched that meditation is awful? One time too few, because no matter how much she needs it, she still loathes it.

There are certain shortcuts that she's learned. Learned mostly just to be able to give her master a glowing report card and make him proud of her development, but they still count. Progress is progress. And looking within is made so much easier when she's in her dark little cell. No distractions. Only peace and focus.

Just peace.

There's only peace.

The peace of her own body at rest. Calm, level, controlled. The peace in the sounds of her own heartbeat.

And now there's another heartbeat in the distance too. His and it was always there, she just refused to hear it until now.

They truly are tied together, aren't they?

She had been digging her nails into are thighs. She's really, really bad at being calm, especially when it comes to him.

But she stills again. Forces herself to relax and hear as much as she feels. The soft, hollow sound of the air in the pipes above her. The rushing of water, too, though further away. Outside of her cell, actually. She can see it. The corridor she's been down several times before. The lights are on out there. Her cell is mostly dark. Kylo had left her with that one tiny light in the corner. A nightlight for a small, frightened child or maybe a symbol of the dawning change in her head.

No. No distractions. She's making progress. How much further can she reach before the collar stops her?

Honestly, Rey is surprised that it's let her get this far. Doubly surprised that it's coming so easily to her. Well then...

First, she's going to reach out to Luke. Let him know that she's alive but in terrible jeopardy. Then, after that, it's time to get out. Find a way to get this collar off and flee before this gets any worse.

Rey flexes. Pushing her limited connection to the Force out and away from her. Visualizing it like a solar flare arching from her and through the ship and into the beyond.

It works. It's actually working.

She can see the mid-sized cruiser she's on from the outside. See the moon it's orbiting, see the hangar on the bottom level below her. No ships are going in and out, exactly like Kylo said. With growing focus, she can even see the glow of all the different life energy that melds together from her distant birds-eye view.

Master?

She throws the thought out into the Force. Trusting that Luke in his great power will be able to catch it. A sharp pinch forms in her mind and doesn't let up until she pulls back and redirects her struggle. It's a hard thing to project like this even without a repression collar. It's hurting her but she feels like it's still within the realm of possibility.

Hope. She has hope. That ugly and all-important thing.

Her hope is rewarded with a returning pulse.

Rey doesn't know where she, but Luke's force signature is unique to the galaxy. It calls out to her, beckoning her to find it. All she needs is to make the connection is a single second. Just one second to send her message.

She refocuses. Thinks of nothing else but the task at hand.

She gets more than what she'd dreamed of. Her connection to the Force starts to hone in on her Master's location like a glowing beacon.

But did she really think it would be that easy?

No. It wouldn't be.

It shouldn't be.

Rey's eyes snap open. Now she has to work to sever her connection, instead of the other way around. Kylo's presence clings in her mind, revealing itself and all the while trying to force her to continue.

You're a fucking soulless piece of work, you know that?

She feels him cringe as she spits the accusation at him. Any sense of relaxation she might have felt disappears in an instant as cold fury rising in her blood.

Rey, I-

I fucking hate you. I hate you all over again, you low-down, dirty, duplicitous-

Kylo cuts her off. Good. She had run out of adjectives to properly describe how she felt about him days ago. Now she would have had to repeat herself to get back at him for the trick that he'd tried to pull over her.

And to think that he actually thought he could get away with that? That he could 'allow' her to access the Force and use it to betray her own master?

Nice try, asshole. You don't get to allow me to do shit.

She sends her anger at him. Shoving it through their bond and ignoring that it hurts her as well. Kylo is pacing in his room. He wants to come to her. She knows that he does, but he's also nervous. There's something on his mind.

He should be nervous. He should be fucking terrified of her. Trying to pull a nasty little stunt like that...

Then he stops pacing and closes his eyes. His presence washes over her mind again as he feels her feeling him.

And he stares at the floor, scuffing at it with the tip of his boot, as he thinks about something he's not letting her be privy to.

Finally, he speaks, but he won't look up. Is it guilt he's trying to hide from her or something else?

Rey? You're magnificent.

Her spine straightens and her gaze flicks between the door to her cell and the corner of it that leads through layers of metal and wiring to where he is.

He's complimenting her. Again. The nerve. You'd think that he'd have learned better by now.

Rey narrows her eyes and remains silent, but she can hear his feelings rising up in him. The way his chest swells and breath shortens as he builds himself up to some sort of grandiose expression.

Kylo Ren and emotions are never a good idea. It must run in the family, she muses, Skywalkers always being so extra.

Time to nip that glow building up inside him in the bud before he says or does something that makes her feel very uncomfortable.

Kylo?

She breaks her long silence with a mental growl. A spike of interest flashes through their bond in reply.

Damnit Kylo,we keeping going round and round in circles, this is getting us nowhere.

The connection between them hums with his rising anticipation. Rey can feel her brows draw together into a deep frown even if she's not entirely sure why.

Oh Rey…

He croons it to her. Purrs it and Rey blushes as she tries to keep the worst of her sudden fluster from him.

And he laughs. It echoes in her head and amplifies her embarrassment. She feels exactly like they're in the same room, even if they aren't. She's already sick of him, she's thoroughly annoyed, and she's slightly and irrationally turned on. In short, it's the authentic Kylo Ren experience.

Kylo… Get your fucking ass over here right now.

He's already half way out the door before he seems to remember that he's not wearing his mask. He sends it flying into his hand with a flick of the Force.

She tries to catch his emotions, but all Rey can feel from him is that he just can't get to her fast enough.


"I'm going to seduce you, Kylo. Seduce you and overpower you and kick your twisted sick messed up self into another galaxy."

Her highly amused and bright-eyed bondmate listens intently to her words. If he's swayed by the conviction of her threat, he gives no outside appearance of it. And he still looms over her no matter how straight and tall she tries to stand, godsdamnit.

She glares at him. Daring him to mock her.

He doesn't, but she sees his fingers twitch. He wants to touch her.

"Don't even think about it. You haven't earned the right to touch me. You don't even have the right to look at me. I'm revoking all your privileges."

His smile widens and he tucks his hands into his back pockets to stop them from giving too much away.

"Rey-"

"Down. Eyes on the floor. You're forbidden from looking at me."

Kylo pulls his brows together. She's quite sure that he's trying to keep himself from breaking out laughing, but he obediently tips his head down and stares at her knees. At least he'd had the decency to give her back her old clothes after washing them. If he'd insisted on confiscating them and making her wear all black like he'd threatened to, they'd be having a very different conversation right now.

"Okay, now what?" he asks.

"Now what, what?"

Goodness, have they reached the 'throwing the unwelcome pervert out of her cell' stage of her day already?

He shakes his head, hearing every word of her thoughts. She stomps forward, filled with indignant irritation that he finds her anger amusing.

"Rey," he starts to say. Looking up then back down again when she glares at points at the space between their feet. "How are you supposed to seduce me when I can't look at you?"

Unfortunately for her next big plan, Rey has no idea how to seduce someone. But he's probably right. Unless she can talk him into playing something like Erotic Simon Says in the dark, she's going to have to tolerate him gawking at her.

"Fine. I hate you."

He doesn't look like he believes her. She'll show him.

"You're beautiful," he counters.

She rolls her eyes. What a dumbshit. Can't he just shut up and be seduced in silence like a good boy?

"Shall I sit down?" he asks, attempting and mostly failing to compose himself. "I wouldn't want to miss a moment of your Grand Seduction."

Before she can tell him exactly what to put in his where, he pushes past her and flops down on the edge of her bed. Crosses his legs and gets comfortable.

She narrows her eyes. Buying herself time and starting to feel more and more like an idiot for coming up with this 'plan'.

"Go on then," he gestures up and down at her. "Go ahead and seduce me."

"You don't think I can?"

His smile returns. "Oh Rey, I know you can. I know that you've got it in you, so let's see it."

"Kriff you're an ass."

He shrugs. Leans back supports himself on one elbow while toying with her bedspread with his free hand.

Rey swallows, suddenly feeling terribly unsure but it's too late to back out now. If she did, it would admit a weakness and that's absolutely unacceptable.

"Here. Fine then. Get ready."

She grabs the edge of her top. Takes a deep breath. Kylo's eyes light up and he nods at her encouragingly.

Unceremoniously she yanks the garment over her head. She's still in her fitted undershirt, but even this feels like too much exposed skin to be safe around him.

He snorts at that thought.

"Perhaps if you'd caught me a decade ago this might have been enough to," he pauses to clear his throat, "to 'seduce me', but now? Try harder."

She crosses her arms over her half-exposed chest and her foot stomps itself in sympathy of her frustration. Should she do a sexy dance or something like that now? Rey doesn't feel sexy. Not even remotely. Perhaps she should insult him some more. That certainly seemed to get him going in the past.

"You're doing great, Rey. If all that," he gestures at her again, "if that's a preview of what's to come, this is going to be one hell of a seduction. No man alive could resist your adorable little scowling face."

Rey growls as she wads her shirt up and hurls it at him. He catches it before it can smack him right in his obnoxiously pleased smirk. He carefully refolds it and places it down next to him then looks back up. Cocks his head and waits for her.

"Fine then,"she snaps. "You know what? You're doing it wrong, not me. You're the one who doesn't know how to be seduced."

As if there was any doubt that she looked as childish as she felt, Kylo breaks out laughing. Tries to stop himself when he sees how enraged and red-faced she becomes, but then fighting it just seems to make it worse. He starts snorting, trying to mask it as a coughing fit, and he's so bowled over with barely restrained mirth that Rey can't tolerate it for another nanosecond.

She stomps over to him and kicks him right in his shin. It breaks his self control immediately and he folds again, snorting, chuckling, and stands up to reach for her. Trying to pull her into his arms as he shakes with now uncontrollable laughter.

What Rey should have done at that moment, and what she'll bitterly regret and be unable to explain later, is take advantage of her bondmate's idiotic distraction. He was practically leaning on her for support, for kriffssake. Silver platter woman. Knee to nuts again, nails to eyes, some sort of blow to throat. All of those would have been fabulous ideas to secure her escape.

Instead, Rey is offended. Apparently she's not sexy enough to seduce anyone. Not that she'd ever really tried before, but a girl's still got an ego to fill.

"You're sexy, Rey," Kylo huffs, finally pulling himself together enough to retain half verticality. "So sexy. A goddess of sex. You have it in your DNA. You exude sex everywhere you go, even now."

Rey scowls back, careful to keep her nose smooth so he doesn't have an excuse to tease her about that on top of everything else. And just what the hell did he mean by 'even now'?

"You're mocking me."

He shrugs. Holds up two fingers pinched tightly together. "Maybe just a bit. Just a tiny bit."

Irritation flares brightly in her. She shoves hard against his chest, and he allows himself to be pushed to the edge of the bed. When his knees hit it, she pushes again and he obediently sits. Leans back a bit on his elbows and gives her a highly mischievous smirk.

Their new positioning makes him uncomfortably at eye level with her chest. She has to to fight the urge to squirm or fidget.

"When you blush, your freckles turn darker."

She glances down, seeing how her neck and chest and shoulders have a decidedly pinkish hue even under the harsh overhead lighting. Her nipples are hard, too, but that his fault for making her room so cold.

"How angry would you be if I offered to warm you up?"

He asks it casually, almost innocently. It makes her even more embarrassed which, in turn, makes her angrier.

"Shut up. I'm the one that's supposed to be seducing you, not the other way round. Now stop talking and pay attention."

"I am, Rey. Believe me that I am."

He smiles wider and she watches his eyes skim from one of her cheeks to the other. Her freckles. Damnit. Now she has a new thing to worry about.

Ironically, alcohol was the cause of this whole travesty, but it also might be the one and only thing that can get her out of it. Because she can see no other way that she'll get through her whole 'seduction' idea.

And it had been her idea after all. Another horrible, dreadful, poorly thought out bad decision to add to the list.

"You're so pretty, Rey," Kylo encourages. "You look beautiful, don't overthink it."

Pretty? Beautiful? Not sexy? Fuck him. What an asshole.

"Kylo..." Rey wants to make his name hurt.

He reaches out to catch her hands before they can slap him. He tugs softly, pulling Rey down to sit next to him. She half fights him every step of the way. He moves to kneel next to her, bringing himself to a lower level than hers in a show of contrition.

"What do you want from me?" she asks in a huff.

He pretends to think about it deeply. Rubs her knee in circles with his other hand. Then he looks up and his smile is still there but muted.

"For us to get to know each other better."

She narrows her eyes.

"I'm not having sex with you, Kylo. Ever. Get that through your head right now."

He looks down. Watches how his hand leaves a fading imprint on her clothes even when he barely squeezes her.

"I've never said anything about that, Rey. You've got a smutty mind for a lightsider. You do now that the Jedi have to be celibate, right? Or did Skywalker leave that part out of your orientation?"

He just loves to make it seem like Luke's failing her, doesn't he? In truth it's completely the other way around. Rey is the one failing in her convictions. Her resolve slipping away further and further to the point that, when Kylo wets his lips with his tongue for a moment, it's all she can look at.

He wants her to kiss him. She wants him to kiss her. Because it's part of her seduction. The angry striptease apparently didn't do the trick, so maybe she has to let this get more physical first?

She leans forward. Pouting. He takes the hint.

Kylo's lips are soft against hers. She always assumed her would devour her like wildfire, but for the second time in two days he's proving her wrong. The kiss he gives her is slow and careful. Pressing his mouth to hers again and again in different ways as if to see what he likes the best.

She reluctantly opens for him when he nips her bottom lip. His tongue teases at hers and that's when she pulls away. Frowning, she grips his chin to hold him in place as she regards his now swollen mouth with skepticism. Then she leans forward once more and runs the tip of her tongue along the full length of his lower lip.

He exhales softly. Pulls away and gives her an uncertain look.

"What was that?" he asks.

She does it again. Swiping his mouth with her tongue but not pushing inside. More or less lapping at him.

"Rey?"

"I'm seeing if you taste like another woman."

Kylo's eyes widen and his next breath falters, suddenly too startled by her words to remember to want to kiss her again.

"Rey, I-"

She leans up again and sinks her teeth sharply into his lower lip. Silencing him from whatever stupid and messy thing he was about to say.

And no, he doesn't in fact taste like another woman. But she just had to make sure.

Accepted now, despite being the disloyal and disobedient bad boy that he is, Kylo regains his confidence as quickly as he does his libido. He tangles his fingers into her hair with one hand and pulls her flush to his chest with the other. Squeezing her until she lets go of his lip and he can all but smother her with kisses.

Rey's blood starts to heat up inside her, though she'll tell herself something else about that later. Come up with a better and more convenient lie then. Now she doesn't return his kiss, or at least not fully. More or less she allows him to touch her and caress her while she stays limp in his arms.

He's being respectful. Rough, surely, but also very respectful. Never pushing her for anything more than compliance. She could stop him in an instant, couldn't she?

After a few moments, he pulls back. Breaks free from her mouth and breathes against it. Her lips tingle under him and yes, she misses his touch. She will miss his touch very soon and the truth of that creates a dull pang in her chest.

"I'm not going anywhere, Rey," he promises. "I'll be right here. We both will be. You have nothing to worry about."

She could tell him that she doesn't want this, but that would be a lie and they'd both know it. And maybe this will be enough for an eternity, no need to escalate. But if he's willing to simply enjoy her and not think so damn much about it…

Rey gives a tiny, noncommittal noise in the back of her throat. Acquiesce. Passive acquiescence.

Kylo hauls her into him, pulling her even tighter and burying his face against her neck. It's such a desperate and needy embrace that she gives in to what the light side commands of her. She wraps her arms around his shoulders and breathes him in. Giving him a scrap of affection to make up for what she's about to do.

It's nice. The way he's nuzzling her. The kissing was nice, too. Maybe they can go a little more before she…

No. She can't think it. He's so much in her head right now that it's too dangerous.

Instead, she concentrates on the feeling of his muscles under her fingertips or the breathy gasps he makes against her skin as he struggles to hold himself back for her sake.

"You're safe, I promise you."

He starts to rain kisses down on her jaw, along her neck. A few soft bites thrown in as well and his teeth clink against the metal of her Force collar. Can he feel how her heart is pounding? It's so loud in her own ears that she only hopes it will drown her thoughts out.

She only has one chance at this.

"Take it off me."

Kylo slows to a stop. His face is pressed firmly against her neck and the hands around her waist tighten. She feels his pressure in her mind as he prowls around but she has faith in herself.

Then he rests his chin on her collarbone and he's so unbelievably heavy that she has to shift an arm behind her to support it. Thick skull indeed.

His hand can span her whole neck easily, and he traces his thumb almost lovingly along the edge of her collar while caressing her skin on the opposite side. The gesture is somewhat demeaning, but she allows it given the nature of the situation.

"Rey."

Just her name. He nuzzles her again with his nose and she tips away to escape his bizarre fanaticism. So he kisses her pulse point instead and she waits until he leaves her mind to repeat her request.

"You know that I can't do that," he answers. The words mumbled against her skin as he works his busy mouth upward toward her ear. It tickles and she bounces her shoulder twice to get him to back off.

"You planned on leaving it on me forever then?"

He looks down, staring at the skin he was molesting.

"No. Just until you change your mind."

She squirms the tiny bit he allows her to get away. It's not much, but enough for her to see the unhappy pout on his swollen lips. Irrationally, it makes her long to kiss him. She wants to, he's desperate for her to, but she's sure that's just their bond tempting her. Or perhaps it's giving her an idea?

"Take it off and I'll kiss you back."

He shifts and the pressure in her head returns. She pushes her own misguided feelings of desire towards him. Gods know her racing libido has to be good for something right now.

"Don't cheapen yourself, Rey."

You're better than that. That's what he means and was she really being so obvious? Seduction is so kriffing hard and she's pretty sure that she's making a complete ass of herself right now. But she needs to get away from here so badly that she'll do whatever it takes.

She grabs his neck and pulls. Presses her mouth to his and moves her lips against his own. It's clumsy and doesn't feel anywhere as nice as when he does it to her.

"Stop."

Kylo starts to disentangle himself from her. He pushes on her sternum, pressing her back down onto his mattress.

"Please," she whines softly, trying again. "Please take this off. I hate it so much."

It's not begging. She wouldn't beg to him. Ever. It's strategy pure and simple. This means nothing.

She reaches out to him again, and he slaps her hand away.

"Don't take me for a fool, Rey."

Okay, to be fair, she had told him that she was going to do exactly this: seduce him and escape. If only she had just kept her mouth shut and not let her temper run off with it.

He sits against the edge of the bed with his back to her. But he doesn't get up and leave. So… change strategies?

Rey scoots up on to her elbows. His shoulders tighten as he feels the bed move. Subtly, very subtly, he turns his head toward her direction.

She has to choose her next words very carefully. "There has to be at least some shred of trust in our relationship, Kylo. Even the barest amount."

He turns fully away from her.

"We don't have a relationship, Rey. You've made that abundantly clear."

This isn't working. She doesn't know what to do.

"I just want it off for a moment. You said that you know what it's like to wear one. It's horrible."

Silence. She wishes she could see his face to gauge if she's making progress.

"Please? Kylo? I… I'm not going anywhere. I'm in a prison cell, for kriff's sake. There's no place for me to go. If I escape, then you'll be able to catch me. You did it last time."

His eyes narrow at the memory of her previous escape attempt. Anyone who didn't know him as intimately as she did, even if it was a vicarious sort of knowledge, would think that he was pissed. But he's not at all. Very much the opposite, in fact.

She can see it clearly in her mind, through their bond and her limited use of the Force. When she'd hit him, racked him technically, he'd been furious, bruised, and nearly in a panic that she would actually get away. Then he'd been so relieved when he'd caught her that he didn't even mind the pain of tumbling head over heels down a flight of stairs.

Kylo throws the memory to her when he senses her poking at it. He wants her to know that the reason he didn't mind was because it gave him the chance to show her that he could protect her. Not that she'd appreciated it at all at the time.

She had later actually, slightly, but she hides that from him. No use petting the dog you're about to kick.

"You like chasing me."

It's neither a question nor an accusation from her. Merely a statement of truth.

And to say that he'd liked it was an understatement. He eagerly shows her what happened next. After he'd carried her unconscious body back to her new cell, he'd laid her in bed and stroked her. Caressed her face and hovered there for a while, watching her sleep. Then he'd leaned down and kissed her unresponsive mouth. A small 'goodnight' peck that was every bit as fleetingly affectionate as it was unwelcome.

Rey gives an irate gasp, snapping her mind to the present and out of his hold. All things considered, it's a silly thing to get worked up over. But it meant something to her and judging by Kylo guilty posture he knew that perfectly well.

"If you run from me, I'll find you," he promises. "No matter where you go. I'll never stop hunting you until I have you."

"You'll never have me, Kylo."

"Then I'll never stop hunting you."

No apology, just a thinly veiled threat. Predictably possessive and full of the same unfounded obsession that she's come to expect from him.

He watches her now from the corner of his eye.

"You woke me up when you tried to contact Skywalker. Did you know I was asleep, or did you think I would simply be unaware?"

She frowns at the sudden change in direction. Rey had simply assumed that she'd been sloppy in her attempts to override the collar. It hadn't occurred to her to be anything more.

"Do you want to know what I dreamed about last night?" he asks again.

Rey's instinctive reaction is to tell him 'no', in no uncertain terms. She's bore witness to enough of his fantasies to be able to guess, but something about his tone hints at a different sort of agenda this time.

"What?" she asks, hesitantly taking the bait.

"I dreamed that you had a child. Not with me, but with the pilot. And you'd tried to keep it a secret from me, but of course I found out through our bond."

Rey stares at the back of his skull, speechless. Waiting for him to turn around and deliver the punchline to his very bizarre joke. He doesn't.

"You're serious? You had a fantasy of me getting knocked up by Poe? That's the kind of thing that your fractured, burned out mind comes up with at night?"

He turns away from her again and she edges closer to be able to hear him. Props her weight up with an arm next to his own so she can see his face. He's frowning, forehead drawn tight into two deep vertical lines.

"Kylo?"

She reaches out to poke at him. He shrugs away from her. Tips his posture away from her so she's not so close.

"I took him from you. Your son. In my dream he looked just like me, which of course he wouldn't, but dreams don't always make sense like that. So when I found out about him, I found a way to take him with me."

She studies the patterns of freckles on the side of his face. The strong profile line of his nose and jaw. She wishes she'd seen pictures of Ben Solo as a child. His features more or less come together now, but when he was young he must have looked very odd.

"You dream about me having a child with another man and you stealing him?"

"More of a nightmare and, yes, apparently that's what exactly what I do. I've never had a dream like that before. And then when I woke up you were trying to contact Skywalker and leave me."

He looks at her. It's an accusation. Is she supposed to pity him? What he just told her is practically certifiable.

"Why are you… What happened after that? In your dream?

"You can't be with anyone else, Rey. Because now you'll know what will happen if you do."

That annoys her. She moves, sitting on her knees in the center of her bed and glaring at the inky black head bowed low.

"That's quite a double standard you've got there."

His jaw tightens. At least he has the decency to feel ashamed.

"I… that wouldn't have happened now. Things have changed between us."

"Yeah, they've gone from bad to worse. Congratulations."

"You know that not true. We're talking now. Before all you ever did was ignore me."

She snorts, feeling an odd sort of impulse to reach out and pull on his hair.

"Talk? No, Kylo. All we ever do now is argue. That's hardly an improvement."

"Arguing is a type of talking, it still counts. Or at least it did for my parents."

His voice falls quieter for that last part and Rey frowns. Yes, Luke had hinted that Han and Leia's relationship had been strained at times.

"That's quite the understatement."

"Stay out of my head."

He smiles slightly. It's almost imperceptible against his perpetual frown, but she can feel it through their bond.

"Why?" he asks. "So you can better plot your escape from me?"

Rey is a little relieved. That comment brings them back full circle to where they had started with this latest round.

Somehow they'd gone completely off track. Instead of seducing Kylo and overcoming him, all she's accomplished is a touch-feely session where they talked about their feelings and how much they mean to each other. Pathetic.

So now she has to take it up a notch. Whatever that means.

Seduction… seducing… How to do it? Why isn't there a manual on this sort of thing, or was that simply another part of growing up that she'd missed out on?

Rey reaches out and lays her palm flat across his back. Curls her fingers under and watches how the smooth and shiny black fabric of his shirt forms waves under her touch.

Kylo stays statue-still. The only sign that he's paying attention is the slow tightening of his shoulder blades. Her touch isn't unwanted, though. She can feel that through their bond and the slowly increasing tempo of his breath and heart.

Okay, so how would she like to be seduced? It's not something that she's actually spent much time thinking of. Such thoughts are strictly forbidden to the Jedi, and Kylo seemed happy enough to be the aggressor in all their previous encounters.

She moves to sit right behind him. Not fully pressing herself against his back because she needs the space to be able to touch him. It's something they've both been starved for, and now when she's on the giving rather than receiving end it's much easier to allow herself this luxury.

"What are you doing?"

His voice is still mopey, but he's definitely intrigued. Maybe this is exactly what she needs to be doing.

Feeling encouraged, she starts to rub him in circles. Giving him a perfectly innocent back rub. When she moves lower down and to his sides, he jumps under her palms.

"Oh don't tell me you're ticklish?" She almost giggles. It's too perfect.

He makes an offended noise and doesn't answer. But the pale skin on his neck starts to tint with a rosey glow.

She leans forward and rests her chin on his shoulder. Draws her arms around his chest and hugs him from behind. From this new vantage she can see how he's fisting her sheet tightly. How angry he looks but she knows better. No, he's not actually angry at all. Far from it.

"Kylo?"

She wants to know what's going on in his mind, but she's afraid to go near their bond right now. He shakes his head, trying to ignore her in a surprising turnaround.

"What's wrong, Kylo?" she whispers against the edge of his ear.

His jaw clenches. There's such an inappropriate feeling of power that she has. It threatens to make her feel a little reckless, but she's already in too deep so she may as well keep going.

She bites his ear. Sinks her teeth into the flexible cartilage and holds it. Nothing enough to break the skin, but when he exhales sharply and tries to pull away she follows him with. Squeezing him tighter with her arms and thighs wrapped around his waist.

"Rey."

It's a warning. A terrifying, growled, furious warning from a monster about top strike. Except she knows it's not.

She lets go. Blows against the angry red flesh before pulling back. Biting her lower lip as she watches him.

He glares.

She smiles.

"You seem very pleased with yourself."

Fair enough. She is. She really is.

In a smooth, effortless move he spins around. Sweeping her off her feet and pinning her down in the center of her prison bed. He keeps his weight off her and maybe she was wrong about him not being angry. He seems about equal parts turned on and pissed off.

"Is this what you wanted, Rey?" he squeezes her wrists tighter when she tries to squirm. "Is this the sort of reaction you were trying to get?"

Yes and no. Maybe? Rey didn't really have a plan, though she had somehow hoped he'd get so distracted at the first millimeter of exposed flesh that he'd be rendered into a feeble and easily manipulated puddle of desire.

Kylo hums, letting go of one of her wrists to cup her chin. He gives a slightly harder yank than necessary to bring her head up to him.

She kisses him like he obviously wants. Maybe that will be enough? Maybe she just needed to give him more?

He matches her move for move. Their combined frustrations with each other making it more of a battle than it had to be. And it would be so easy to get swept away by this. By the heady and consuming wall of pure desire that is crashing down around her. More his then hers, but if she's being honest…

No. No honesty here. Just survival.

"Why do you want me so much?" she whispers, each word being muffled between almost frantic lips and teeth. Shouldn't this scare her more than it does?

"Because," he pants into her open mouth, "because I never fought this. From the moment I realized what our bond was, I wanted it. And then..." he tries to tear his lips away to nibble along her jaw but she pulls him back with her fingernails raking into his scalp.

"And then?" she bites his lower lip. The deep moan he gives in return makes her dizzy.

"I wanted it, and then I wanted you. Gods Rey, I've wanted you for so long."

A traitorous voice in her mind calls out. She bites him again to distract him from hearing it.

He has her, but it's not like he means. She's his prisoner, nothing more. Anything else is purely in his imagination.

"You drive me crazy, Rey. Absolutely out of my mind."

"I know."

It's all true. He'd been fanatical in his search for her. And now here they are.

She knows that she needs to put a stop to this, but there's something about how he hovers over her, pinning with his arms and his lips and his hands, that feels absolutely right.

It's their bond talking. Their twisted, messed up curse.

She needs to get out of here, but she can't make her move now. He's still waiting for it. Every part of him is tense from both arousal and readiness. He knows that she's going to try to escape. She kriffing told him that much. So she has to distract him.

Yes. A distraction. That's why she leans up and kisses him again. Their bond is a narcotic pulling and cajoling her. Making the lips of her enemy feel like the best damn thing she's ever had on her own skin.

There's one thing that could make it better, though.

Kylo surprises her again by pulling away. Gently holds her back so he can stare at her. His fingers trace along her collar and all she can think about is how his lips are glistening with their shared saliva.

"Don't pretend you're not going to run away."

There are a million different things that Rey can say right now. Purr a seduction. Beg for her freedom. Demand for her freedom. Deny everything and tell him she's changed her mind. Or maybe even admit the truth.

She's been through this already. Honesty is not the best policy. Not at all.

"You'll like me more without it. It will be better."

Better for him or better for her? She doesn't explain and still he hesitates. Hesitates until she runs her tongue nervously along her lower lip and he squeezes his eyes tightly closed.

He kisses her again. Sweet and quick. Then his hands slide to her collar and her heart beats faster. She arches her back, bringing her neck up to make it easier for him.

The second that the collar comes off, his hands close around her neck. Squeezing her tight enough to make it hard to breathe and, when she tries to swallow down the nervous knot in her throat, his thumb digs in. It sends a clear and unmistakable message and she nods. Pretending to be submissive will hurt her ego only for a moment.

Rey had expected many things. Not only from having her much-hated collar finally removed, but from this whole night as well. Just like she'd expected Kylo to drop robe and ravish her at the first sign of her willingness, she'd also expected the Force to crash back into her like a tidal wave.

Instead, it slowly ebbs in. Rather than a tsunami of chaos, it flows like the light of dawn spilling in under the crack in a door.

Slowly, ever so slowly, it fills Rey. She closes her eyes, trying to enhance the sensation. Beckoning the power into her.

"You are a goddess."

Kylo's words make her blush even more than his reverent tone. She's positive that he's watching her with that same look of awe that he'd had when they'd first crossed sabers over the snow.

She doesn't try to push him off her immediately. He's expecting it too much. Kylo is many things, but he's also very, very powerful. If she underestimates him now, she may never get another chance.

So she kisses him again. She was right, even if she hadn't meant to be. It does feel better without the collar. Without the constant weight and creeping, nagging irritation of being suppressed.

He's surprised. And very suspicious. She deepens the kiss, letting herself fall limp against his hold. Hoping that he will take-

Kylo takes the bait. Allows himself to grow distracted by her charms not to notice as she carefully shuts pieces of her mind away from him. Giving her thoughts a sanctuary where he can't find them.

He moves lower. A sloppy, wet trail kissing down her neck to her collarbones. She rests her hands in his hair because it feels like the natural thing to do.

She makes a soft little 'yip' sound when he jumps over the space between her breasts and yanks the bottom edge of her undershirt up with his teeth.

"Ticklish?" he asks, no shortage of smugness in his tone.

"Fuck off."

She's pretty sure that she's blushing everywhere. Her heightened pulse and breath only making her skin more sensitive as he starts to nibble along her stomach. He pulls the fabric up higher and out of his way until it's wadded up by her armpits.

As ridiculous as it is, Rey kind of wishes that she was wearing prettier undergarments for this. How is she supposed to seduce him to distraction in a plain, military issued breast band?

Well, judging by Kylo's dilated eyes and heavy breathing heating up her exposed skin, he didn't appear to mind. Or possibly even notice. He leans up to give her another kiss, brief and messy, before darting his head down and starting to kiss a trail down the center of her body. Rey's eyes grow wide as she realizes his intention.

"Oh no no no no."

She shoots her protest off rapidly at the first tug on the waistband to her pants. He pauses, then pops open the top bottom, lips mouthing shapes over her exposed lower stomach.

"Kylo, stop."

She yanks on his hair, pulling it hard enough that he detaches from suctioning her skin into his mouth. She swears to the gods if she has a hickey…

"You'll like this, Rey. I promise."

He kisses her again, right below her bellybutton. Her fingers tighten, trying to stop his downward progression. Of course she'd like it. When he was with… when he was abusing that other poor girl, she'd given every appearance of having the time of her life while he was doing that to her.

The thought annoys Rey deeply. When threats of yanking his hair out of his scalp aren't enough to dissuade her ardent molester, she boxes him in his ear with her knee. The knee of the leg that hadn't realized had curled itself around him when she wasn't paying attention to it.

Kylo sighs. Nods softly and lets Rey drag him back up by the roots of his hair.

"You're no fun," he pouts.

"Gods, don't you even-"

Another kiss. Silencing her gritted out threat. She's still stinging from that memory, and that's brought her attention back to the task at hand.

Distract Kylo. Get the holy fuck out of here. That's what she needs to do.

He pulls away, looking thoroughly distracted. Then he licks two of his fingers and starts to slide them slowly down her body to where his head was and Rey wonders if her heart isn't literally about to beat out of her chest.

"Better?" he asks.

Rey finds that she has no voice left to answer him. Just who is seducing who here?

His hand works itself under her waistband and she starts to tremble. He shushes her, giving her a delicate peck on the tip of her nose, and lets her bury her burning face into his neck as his fingers go to work.

This is entirely, 100%, absolutely their bond's fault. If Rey had a clear mind, she would never allow this. Never ever. Not in a million years.

Godsdamnit this is good. He's practiced this on that other girl, didn't he? It's not fair that he knows exactly how to touch her to make her squirm and forget herself.

She thinks he's whispering something to her. She can feel his lips move against her ear and she nestles her face in deeper, hiding her shame.

Jedi don't permit people to do this. But she's not a Jedi yet.

She bites his jugular hard. His deep groan reverberates through her teeth. Gods, he really is a kinky fucker isn't he?

But maybe this is exactly what she needs. She's earned this, hasn't she? It's her turn. Here's her last chance to let go. And now she has the perfect opportunity for a really good, quality orgasm. One last touch of physical pleasure before she commits herself completely to a life of simple purity.

And then, once she's got a clear head and her raging hormones have been satiated, she can make her move. Their bond will finally allow her to flee from this.

He says her name again. Moans it, more accurately. Gently pulls her away from her hiding spot against his skin so that he can look at her.

His expression is all masculine pride blended with pure, raw desire. He gives her a cocky smile that would normally make her furious but now only makes her even wetter.

"Trying to break a speed record?" he asks, though it takes her a few moments to make sense of his words. "We've got all night, no need to rush."

Er, she may have been grinding herself against his hand. Furiously. Maybe. She definitely wasn't moaning and panting out little 'oh' sounds. That part certainly didn't happen either.

They kiss again, or at least try to. Rey is so distracted by the cautionary fluttering in her lower body that she can't do much more than pant against his mouth and try to pull him closer.

Even in this, they find a way to fight each other. Kylo desperately wants to watch her face as she comes apart. Rey wants exactly the opposite. She can't stand the thought of him watching her in her final moments. This is all far too intimate as it is. She can't risk giving up anything more than what she has already.

Kylo wins out. She closes her eyes shut and her back arches on its own accord. Shoving her chest against his as she finally gives in to the cresting pleasure . She can feel him staring, trying to memorize every nuance of her expression, but she's too besides herself to care.

For kriffs sake, she's climaxing on his hand and in his arms. Could this moment possibly get any worse?

At least she didn't moan his name at the end. That part definitely didn't happen, either.

And then she collapses. Sweaty, boneless, and already scheming.

Kylo is strung up tight. She can feel him pressing against her hip, which means that he's not thinking any clearer than she was a few minutes ago. Their damned bond makes them all stupid and horny. It's all its fault, so it's only fair to make it the instrument of her freedom.

Rey runs her fingers through his hair. Petting him and smiling softly up at him. Trying to project the perfect vision of a post-orgasmic glow. He falls for it hook line and sinker. Returns her blissful expression and kisses her palm, holding one of her hands in his own. His eyes close in happiness as she strokes his face.

And that's when Rey flips the switch.

In one sudden push, she uses their bond to sink deeply into his psyche. As far down as she can while using a side of the Force that will soon be completely off-limits to her. His eyes shoot open as the moment abruptly changes.

It makes her fight harder. Use every bit of her power to rake through his mind. It's ugly and savage, but all she needs is one thing. Just to find that one little part of him that she can turn off to make him pass out.

Kylo snarls, grabbing her head tightly between his hands and squeezing as he tries to push her out. She immediately starts to lose her ground. He's too goddamn strong and she's got no chance.

But she also has no other option. Rey had wanted this to go smoothly, but she's about to lose this fight and he's left her no choice.

Repeating the move she did last time, the one that had brought her first taste of freedom, she pushes away to get enough leverage. Then she strikes her knee between his legs with all her strength. She doesn't have the momentum she did last time, but apparently his still aroused state makes up the difference.

Severe pain lances through them both, their cruel and unwanted bond reflecting it back at her in punishment. But she latches on to that feeling, too, and uses it to amplify her connection to the Force. Kylo is still in shock, and that one second of inattention is enough. She pierces into his mind again, honing in to exactly what she was looking for.

"Sleep!"

She screams the command at him, both in their shared mind and in real life. Kylo freezes and for one fleeting moment he looks into her eyes and she doesn't quite know what emotion she sees reflecting back at her. On some level they both must know this is goodbye.

Then he collapses, boneless and heavy, on top of her.

If she didn't have the Force, she'd be pinned under him until he woke up. However long that would be. She's never done this before and he's so strong it probably won't last for long.

Long enough, though.

Rey lifts him up with a mental push. Enough for her to crawl out from under him. Then she tugs her shirt down into place and runs barefoot for the door. Another surge of her power and the keypad sparks and spits smoke, the door creaking open so she can slide through.

Just before she goes, she looks back. Kylo is a hulking black shape sprawled across her mattress. From this angle, it's easy to pretend he's nothing more than a sleeping monster.

She doesn't regret doing it. Not even a little bit. But she does regret having to make it so brutal. It was a messy, painful thing for them both.

Rey takes two steps back in and grabs something off the table to the side of the room. Then she turns and flees, running like she's never run before.


By the time Kylo regains awareness, Rey is already in hyperspace.

She feels him wake up in stages and there's something oddly familiar and melancholic about it. On impulse, before the memory of what just happened and almost happened flood back into him, he reaches out for her. His first thoughts every day are of her. Apparently. She doesn't know how to feel about that.

But it's alright. It's all over now. It's finally over. She's free of him and heading home.

Rey knows that she should feel happier about that than she really does.

She can feel him call to her through their bond. He's not mad. Maybe at himself, but not really at her. Dumbly he's hoping against hope that she's still his. Still there with him.

Then the hope turns to pain as he realizes she's escaped. Not only escaped, but escaped so far that he can't catch her again.

The sting of his emotions rots in her mind. Bitter, biting, and full of such a profound sense of loss. No, he's not angry with her, but he's hurt. Somehow she managed to hurt the great Kylo Ren's feelings. There was a time she didn't know that he had any.

Rey closes their connection, shutting herself off completely from the sharp misery that he's turning towards himself. She's sure that he'll transform that pain and use it to make himself stronger. That what she did will drive him even further from the Light.

But she had no choice. She had to get away.

This isn't over, Rey. I will find you.

He throws the thought against the walls in her mind. Knows better than to waste his effort trying to tear them down.

In an odd way, he's actually taking this much better than she'd expected him too. Perhaps this was a growing opportunity for them both.

And he's right again, too. Their fates are linked and their paths will inevitably cross, probably much sooner than later. She has to be ready for that when it happens.

But what of her Master Luke? How can she possibly convince him to keep her as his apprentice? Now when she's allowed herself to be so tangled together with Kylo?

It's not going to be easy, but she'll find a way. She has to.

Escaping Kylo Ren's twisted lair of villainy was simple. Now comes the tricky part.


Author's Note:

I actually felt bad for our poor, thick-skulled prince of darkness. Nevermind that he deserved every bit of it all. Next time these two see each other will be in the not too distant future, so they'd both better hurry up and sort out their feelings. Which they probably won't, by the way. Spoilers.

Final Chapter preview: Where Rey slinks back to her Master with her tail thoroughly between her legs and her soiled panties shoved into a garbage shoot somewhere.