Disclaimer: I own nothing here but you were right, the negotiations were short.
Point of Light
AN: Friday update time! Admittedly, I think I may have rushed the pacing in this chapter, but I'm at a loss as to how to fix it... Then again, maybe I'm just being overly critical on myself. x.x
Chapter Eight – Nightmares
Rey knew she was dreaming the moment she tried to run but found herself bound in place amid a field of tall grass that nearly reached her waist. Something large and ill-tempered had roared and her initial instinct had been to turn and run, but had quickly come to terms with being unable to do so.
The creature roared again, sounding guttural and vicious, the noise accompanied by thundering footfalls and the swishing of grass as it closed in on her location. She reminded herself again that she was just dreaming as the towering creature stomped into view above her. She recognized it as a Rancor, a truly hideous monster and one that she had only just recently learned details about.
"H-Hello there," Rey squeaked out, her options limited, she hoped maybe it wasn't too hungry and would settle for pleasant conversation instead. This was a dream after all, anything could happen, right? "You're a big fella, aren't you?"
The Rancor studied her for a moment. Saliva dripped from its closed maw, its huge prong-like tusks defined it as a male and somehow, its beady eyes alluded to a peculiar type of intelligence. Rey tipped her head at him, curious, and went so far as to reach out a hand to him. "You, aren't here to hurt me," she spoke softly, attempting to influence his primal mind with a slight touch of the Force and not knowing if such a thing was even possible in a dream.
The hulking creature bent his neck down to give her hand a sniff and rumbled low at her when it felt her gentle touch of the Force. Rey was so close to touching his gnarled face, why she felt compelled to do so wasn't a concern for some reason, but the beast suddenly reared back and snarled, his attention drawn away from her and towards something else, something out of sight in the field beyond.
"What is it?" Rey asked, not really expecting an answer but feeling the need to ask anyway. The beast turned back to her and roared but when she didn't move to run, he rounded back on the other threat and charged off to meet it. Rey watched him go, baffled. If she didn't know any better, she would have guessed he was protecting her. But that was silly, he was a bloodthirsty monster, with very little brains inside such a smashed-in face.
A sudden, terrible cry of pain reached her ears, and her eyes went wide with a horror she didn't understand. She had only just met the creature, why did his screech of agony horrify her so much? She was impelled to go see what happened to him, but was still unable to move from her spot, the grass too thick and tall for her to see anything. Frustrated, Rey focused her thoughts on waking up.
Feelings of dread only seemed to multiply as the Rancor's cries faded but were suddenly replaced by a man's voice. Ben's voice! He's in pain!
Bolting upright in bed, Rey threw her covers off and lunged for the door of her small room. She called her saber to her from the floor as the door opened and she stepped out into Kylo's chamber.
It was dark except for the dim white light shining from small panels in the walls, and Kylo was in his bed moaning and crying out in a disconnected pattern of words. Rey was sure his cries were louder when she first woke up, but perhaps the Force had just been amplifying the sound through their uncanny connection.
Rey sighed out a breath of relief, having thought he had been under attack by assassins or whatever else her wild imagination had come up with. Although, she supposed he was under attack, in a way. She doubted whatever nightmare he was dealing with was lucid, as hers had been. Against her better judgment, she crossed over to the side of the bed he occupied and simply stood there, studying his features as best she could until her eyes adjusted to the scant lighting.
Kylo's brows and mouth were in a constant state of stress and every few seconds he would toss his head, spouting a loose string of words again, clearly upset by something happening only in his mind.
Rey had to wonder, if she dreamed of Rancors, what sort of frights had he conjured up with all that darkness locked up inside his heart? A new sound escaped his throat, a pathetic sound, a sound Rey could only name as a whimper. It should have astounded her, possibly even made her laugh had he been awake, but in that moment she could only commiserate with him. She only wanted to find a way to help him.
Setting her shocksaber against his nightstand and taking a deep breath, she eased herself down onto the edge of his mattress and reached out a hand, letting it hover over his forehead as she closed her eyes to concentrate. She dearly hoped he wouldn't wake up in a frenzy. She wouldn't know what to do with him if he lunged at her out of fear and pain and anger.
The seconds ticked by as she tried to calm his writhing thoughts. She wasn't getting any images from him, but ideas seemed to jump out at her in jumbled heaps. Sharp pain. Constant torment. Hard to breath.
One by one, Rey sorted through them, tossed them away like refuse, and replaced each one with a new idea or feeling. Once she felt she had rid his mind of the worst terrors, she retreated from his consciousness and opened her eyes, only to link up with his usual brown ones, glinting a sharp blue from the pale light behind her.
Rey found herself suddenly full of questions yet entirely unable to ask them as his gaze somehow seemed to paralyze her in place. When had he woken up exactly? And wasn't he startled to see her sitting so close? Had he known she was there all along?
Kylo didn't so much as flinch as he stared at her, his expression unreadable for a long moment until he finally chose to break the silent barrier. "How did you do that?"
"I'm not sure exactly," Rey replied hesitantly, wondering if he was upset by her intrusion upon his dreams without permission. "I just, projected positive feelings through the Force, hoping it would help you through your nightmare."
"It did." His response was instant, simple, but his voice betrayed curiosity as he sat up, not seeming to care that his proximity made her a little nervous even though he wore a sleeveless nightshirt, making her turn away bashfully. "What feelings?"
She sent him a timid glance. "Promise you won't laugh?"
He nodded, eyes focused and serious.
"Joy, at seeing a baby Porg for the first time. Pleasure, from eating a delicious new type of food. Affection, when surrounded by my friends."
"I didn't see any of that," Kylo admitted, but his eyes gleamed with eagerness. "I just felt your calm become my own." They watched each other for another moment as a comfortable silence passed between them, as if a perfect balance had finally settled there, despite reality's circumstances. "Can you do it again?"
Rey nodded silently and moved her hand to brush over his dark bangs after he laid back onto his pillow and closed his eyes. Using the catalysts she had mentioned, she imagined herself inside the black void of his mind, handing out the feelings to him, as if he could simply take them and benefit.
She hadn't realized she closed her own eyes again until she opened them, the task done. She looked at Kylo's face; he appeared to be sleeping peacefully. Slowly, carefully, Rey stood up, but the man didn't so much as twitch a finger.
She grabbed her weapon and headed back to her room, shooting him one last glance before her door hissed shut behind her. Maybe now they could both get some proper sleep.
Rey woke again a few hours later from a dreamless sleep. She sat up in her bed as her mind eased into awareness and she soon sensed Kylo's consciousness outside her room. She got up and changed into her gray outfit before hesitated at her door. Are you decent? she asked, mind to mind.
Yes. Kylo's reply was delayed and Rey imagined him rolling his eyes in regards to her concern.
Her door opened and Rey stepped out to see him standing at his wardrobe just as he finished clipping his cloak into place. He turned to her and crossed the short distance to stand in front of her, his eyes intent and focused. "What did you do?"
Rey blinked at him, her mouth hanging open slightly. It wasn't an accusation, but rather, there was a foreign awe and wonder in his tone. "I already explained it to you. I just projected my feelings into your mind with the Force."
"I haven't slept so well in years." His expression was so vulnerable and full of emotion that Rey was acutely reminded of his plea to join him some months ago, as if tears were ready to stream down his long, defined face. "Thank you." He never sounded more genuine to her than in those two simple words, and Rey could only guess at the sort of relief he was experiencing after going years without proper, peaceful slumber.
He raised his gloved hand to touch her face but stopped himself and it hung there between them for a moment, as if he were suddenly afraid she would shy away if he touched her. Rey stared at it briefly, surprised by his sudden uncertainty yet drawn to the tenderness it gave him. She moved closer and leaned her head into his touch, smiling warmly. "You're welcome."
Kylo blinked at her, looking unusually baffled by her actions and briefly seemed unable to respond. He dropped his hand and turned away, though he sent her a cursory glance as he spoke. "As compensation, you don't need to follow me today. Explore the ship as you wish. Just, be careful and keep a guard with you at all times."
"You don't have to give me anything you know," Rey told him with a smirk. "I wanted to help you last night." She gave him a hopeful look. "But I would still like more freedom for my friends."
"That's," Kylo said, pausing with an almost pained look. "Going to cause a lot of problems..."
"What problems?" Rey wanted to know with an earnest expression. "Just assign an entire squad of guards to them. I'll even talk to my friends first and make sure they behave themselves."
"That isn't the problem," Kylo replied, his tone almost miserable, as if denying her pained him physically.
Rey reached out and gripped one of his arms to keep him from turning away further, idly admiring the feel of his solid muscle through the cloth of his taut sleeve. "What is the problem, Ben?"
"It's complicated." Kylo sighed out in frustration, though Rey could hear it in his voice that he was nearing a breaking point. She could sense that he would give in to her request if only she applied the right amount of pressure.
Rey weighed her options quickly. She didn't have a lot of time to work with because he was about to head out for his morning rounds. She bit her lip apprehensively as she considered what she was about to do. It was a bold move, she knew, but she doubted he would be in any frame of mind to deny her anything afterward.
Drawing up a wellspring of determination, Rey stepped closer to stand directly in front of him. When he looked about to question her, she placed both her hands on his chest to lean against him and stretched herself upward to give his mouth a fleeting kiss. Neither expecting the spark of something foreign and wild that surged between them when their lips touched.
Rey retreated gradually, though she allowed her hands to linger on his torso as their eyes locked, both captivated by the sudden, new experience. Kylo didn't say anything for a moment and he scarcely even moved, probably fearing he'd frighten her off if he so much as twitched.
Finally, after the spellbound haze had worn off, he cleared his throat and raised his arms, as if to encase her around the waist but hesitated, still apparently afraid to touch her. "I suppose that counts towards one prisoner."
His complacent smirk was absolutely impossible, and Rey could only sneer at him with a roll of her eyes. "Typical."
"You're move," Kylo replied with another indifferent shrug, though his eager imprint in the Force betrayed his stoic façade.
Rey inched closer to him timidly, feeling his eyes burning into her with anticipation. He was ready for her this time and leaned down to meet her halfway, his entire body seemed to be coiled with a tension that she had never sensed in him before. She closed the gap between their lips for the second time and Kylo finally enclosed his arms around her middle, either to claim her body as his or simply to keep her from escaping as quickly as before, or both.
Rey decided it didn't matter, coming to the sudden conclusion that she didn't really want to pull away from him this time, because kissing him just felt so good, so right. But then that spark from before shifted and it seemed like the air between them, around them, was charged with a powerful energy that startled her. She turned her head, breaking contact with a gasp and clung to his uniform, feeling a little lightheaded and delirious. "What was that?"
"That was two," Kylo answered, either avoiding her real question or oblivious to it.
Rey kept her eyes averted, feeling her breath hitch slightly. She had an odd sense that she had been drowning, and wasn't sure if she could commit to a third venture, wondering if he would even allow her to come up for air next time.
Kylo's face still loomed only inches from hers, waiting, neither demanding the third kiss or withdrawing from it. Nor was his hold about her midsection severe, but uncharacteristically gentle. Rey realized he was leaving a window open for her to escape if she wanted, and she was seriously considering the option, because things had somehow escalated to a point she hadn't expected.
In fact, she had momentarily forgotten why she was even kissing him to begin with... Her friends. Right. She had hoped to win a bit more freedom for them and had very nearly accomplished it. She was suddenly aware of an internal war between her mind, heart and body. This is becoming too dangerous, one said. Just one more, another argued. His mouth is right there, the third urged.
Kylo's breath was warm against her cheek, seductively so, while his arms seemed to pulse with fire and longing around her waist and Rey guessed he was waging an internal war of his own.
In the end, she felt it was too cruel to the both of them to build up so much anticipation only to back out. Please. She was unsure if that was his voice through Force or her own treacherous heart, but she finally gave in to the unrelenting impulse and raised her hands to coil around the back of his neck as she moved to kiss him a third time.
If there were sparks last time, there were explosions firing off this time. The Force practically growled around them, rising in pitch and intensity until it was roaring in her ears, as if it was excited beyond reason, that or it was simply Rey's own senses interacting with her partner's, either way, it was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.
Rey felt her mind beginning to weaken as a fiery pleasure raced from their point of contact and paved an electric path through her body, making her tingle. She wanted desperately to linger against him, to lose herself in is touch, his sweet breath, his undivided, passionate attention. But something in the back of her mind was crying a warning, barely noticeable and unclear above the deafening drone of the Force and her own heartbeat pounding in her ears.
Reluctantly, almost painfully, she managed to extract herself from their kiss, and her awareness began to clarify as the crackling energy around them seemed to die out with an almost angry hiss. She was suddenly grateful that he was still holding her steady, because her legs felt shaky and it would probably take another moment to recover.
"What are you afraid of?" Kylo grumbled with a scowl, clearly irritated that their third kiss was once again interrupted prematurely.
"It's- It's the Force," Rey started, feeling foolish but unable to word it any differently. "It feels like a starved animal, finally able to feed... on whatever is happening between us."
"Maybe it is," Kylo huffed impatiently and tightened his hold on her slightly, as if knowing their contact would end soon and he hoped to extend it. He moved to nuzzle the sensitive skin of her neck between ear and chin, attempting to prolong their exchange. "So what."
Rey tried not to let his reaction bother her, but she was beginning to feel trapped despite all the glorious feelings he was inducing upon her body. She gripped his shirt tighter and clenched her teeth, stubbornly resisting his ploy as she bumped his head with her own to make him stop. "That was three," she said, hating how miserable she sounded.
He did stop, but didn't back down as he brought his face to mere centimeters from hers, a smirk splayed across his mouth. "Did you forget about the droid?"
Rey blinked at him, bewildered by his question for a moment before it dawned on her what he meant. At first she felt affronted that he would even deign to suggest such a mundane detail, but her irritation was veined with an amusement, realizing he must be feeling desperate if he was grasping at straws like that.
Apparently, he had enjoyed kissing her as much or more than she had enjoyed kissing him. She smiled back, eyes narrowed knowingly as she gave his chest a playful shove. "BeeBee-Ate goes where Poe goes, and you'll get the fourth at some other, undisclosed time of my choosing."
"That sounds like a loan," Kylo replied as he finally loosed his hold around her but added with what was very near to a growl, "I want it right now."
Rey finally managed to disentangle herself from him and rolled her eyes mockingly. "And of course, the Supreme Leader always gets what he wants."
"Yes, he does," Kylo replied matter-of-factly and made a snatching movement for her but she stepped out of his reach with a yelp. He would have lunged for her in pursuit but his comlink beeped and he stopped to answer it with a grumble. "What?"
"Ah, Supreme Leader," Hux replied on the other end, not at all sounding perturbed by the clear aggravation in Kylo's voice. "Will you be running late again this morning?"
"Yes," Kylo hissed at his comlink, glaring at it as though he intended to toss it in the nearest trash compactor before returning his intense gaze back to Rey.
"Very well, Sire," Hux replied thinly, the call terminating with a beep.
Rey felt the full extent of Kylo's attention on her again and she retreated a few steps with a nervous smile as he converged on her with slow, steady strides. "You'd better hurry," she told him, trying to divert his obvious intent. "You're already late..."
"They can wait a little longer," Kylo muttered as he backed her up to a wall, though he didn't pin her there but merely raised a hand to lift her chin gently. "I don't think you realize what you've just started."
Rey thought that sounded a little too much like a threat, though she had to secretly agree with him as her body almost ached to be closer, as if demanding his attention, his touch. She didn't dare attempt to speak a reply, not trusting her voice or whatever her muddle mind would come up with. If he chose to pursue another round of contact, she wasn't sure she would have the willpower to resist him again.
She had to stifle a sigh of relief when he released her chin, backed away and headed for the exit in one fluid motion. She watched him leave, not moving from her spot as he threw her a final glance, his brown eyes glinting anticipation of a later time as he stepped outside. Yes, later.
