"Were you able to reason with Ben?" Rey asked as Luke entered the hut. Luke shrugged as he took a seat at the table.

"I think so. He needs a few moments to think it over," Luke said. Rey hated that he was so vague; she wanted to pressure him to say more, but she knew it wasn't worth the fight. Luke looked over at Rey, who was staring blankly at the wall. "Is something bothering you?"

"No," she quickly replied, snapping her eyes back to attention. She knew her words wouldn't stop Luke from realizing what she was really feeling—the Force acted that way. There was no privacy when someone was able to sense the world around you.

"Are you worried about the plan?" Luke asked. The question surprised Rey. To be honest, the last thing on her mind was her mission to become Maul's apprentice.

"I suppose it must be," she replied, looking away again.

"Don't let the fear of what's to come control you," Luke said. "The Resistance will prevail."

Rey wished she could say that that was what was bothering her, but it wasn't. She wasn't worried about the future of the galaxy or the future of the Resistance or even the Jedi. All she could think about was how tragic it was that the man she'd decided to save on Yavin 4 was soon going to be back where he was a few days ago—sitting in a prison cell, awaiting punishment.

It was such a stupid thing to be thinking about.

He deserves it, she reasoned. Ben Solo…Kylo Ren…it didn't matter what he called himself now or who he thought he was. Someone had joined the First Order, had murdered, had killed. Recent events—the thing with Snoke, the thing with Maul, the thing on the Falcon—none of it changed what he had done.

She felt comfortable with her reasoning until she thought back to the day they'd escaped Yavin 4. Before she'd even known Ren had changed sides, she'd willingly saved him.

She'd hurt a member of the Resistance for him. Without hesitation.

I did it for General Organa, she thought. I did it for justice. But Rey knew her actions had little to do with concern for General Organa or a fair trial. After all, she could have killed Ren on Felucia. No one would have blamed her if she'd taken his life in that moment. It would have been fair. Maul had even admitted that Ren didn't put up a fight at all. Still, she'd consciously spared him. She'd been half-heartedly fighting him. The realization made her nauseous.

So it was empathy, then. She understood him.

Rey decided that she needed to talk to him before tomorrow. She needed closure, some kind of affirmation that she had done the right thing when she had decided to save his life, and that she was doing the right thing now.

But then she asked herself why what he thought even mattered to her.

Against her better judgment, she used the Force to reach out and check into Kylo Ren's feelings. It was still there, the strange feeling she'd sensed earlier in him when they left Mos Eisley. But instead of it being confusing, it felt terrifying; it was almost as if she sensed the emotion growing within herself.

A few more moments passed. Rey kept debating whether or not it would be worth it to go speak with him, or if she should just ignore her frustration and leave him alone. But curiosity won, just like it always did.

"I'm going to talk to him," Rey declared, quickly standing up out of her chair. She had expected Luke to react, but he didn't say a word.

Ren was pulled from his thoughts when he heard the door of Kenobi's hut hiss open. He was surprised to see Rey.

"We need to talk," she stated as she approached him. Light had completely disappeared from the sky, but the illumination from the Tatooine moons provided enough light for them to just barely see each other.

"I've come to terms with your decision, if that's what you're asking," Ren stated, still not turning to look at her. He wanted to avoid conflict, if possible. Fighting wouldn't solve anything.

"No, it's not," Rey said. She paused before continuing, wondering if she should reconsider her actions. But multiple questions had been irking her ever since they'd left Coruscant, and there was no use trying to avoid them anymore. "It doesn't make sense that you gave up on the First Order, or that you turned on Snoke or…" She was going to say more, but her throat closed up. She realized that she was afraid of what his answer would be.

Ren looked at her. He wasn't expecting the conversation to take this turn.

"Does there have to be a reason?" he asked, hoping to defer any kind of confession. Rey was silent. She gritted her teeth as she considered bringing up more of the thoughts gnawing at her. He didn't need to know everything; it wouldn't change anything. Not now. But he understood the dark side, and maybe that knowledge would help her understand what she had done for him.

"I keep asking myself why I saved you on Yavin 4," she started, looking away from him, regretting her words as she said them. "I attacked a member of the Resistance who was threatening you. Back before I knew anything about you. I don't know why I did it. I could have taken his blaster or something but I didn't. I don't even know if he survived and…" she glanced at Ren for any kind of reaction, but he remained stoic, "…and I've been wondering why I did that for you and I just don't know. He thought he was doing the right thing. He didn't deserve it, but you—"

She didn't have to finish her sentence.

Ren didn't want to have this conversation with her. Not now, not ever.

"You don't have to remind me of what I deserve," he stated coldly. The familiar feeling of anger welled inside of him. It required conscious effort, but he was able to mostly conceal his frustration.

Rey hated that she felt sorry for him and that she wanted him to be free. He wouldn't answer her question, at least not directly, so she decided to continue.

"Why haven't you tried to run?" Rey asked.

"Maybe I wanted to help." Rey shook her head in disbelief. She sensed his uneasiness and was upset that he was so vague. She didn't know what she wanted to get out of talking to him, but she knew this wasn't it.

She thought he was past the point of being cold and rude towards her; they'd certainly been through enough. And if it wasn't her decision to be Maul's apprentice that was bothering him, then what was it?

Then she thought back to what Maul had said. She'd ignored it, simply because she didn't want to think about what it implied. She thought it could disappear. But it hadn't.

So Rey spontaneously decided to take a chance and ask. She had nothing to lose.

"Is it because," she started, breaking the silence and inhaling deeply as she felt her stomach tighten in nerves, "is it because that you feel…that way about me?" She expected a weight to be lifted off her chest, but instead it pressed against her like a heavy weight. She cringed at the awkwardness of her question.

Ren lost the ability to breathe. He felt more vulnerable than he'd ever felt before. He finally turned to look at her, but he couldn't think of a single word to say.

"No, don't answer that," Rey said after the awkward silence, panic subtly lacing her voice. "Please. Forget I said anything." Rey turned to go inside. She hadn't made it one step when Ren grabbed her hand.

"Why do you think that?" he asked. "Tell me." Rey felt her breaths shorten as she convinced herself to look at him. Why had she hoped he would stop her from going back inside? He stared at her, his eyes looking frantically back and forth from hers. She removed her wrist from his grasp.

"It doesn't matter," she said while simultaneously wishing he would encourage her to speak more. She was both terrified and curious to see how he'd react.

"Please," he begged.

Rey thought about what to say, but she wasn't sure she wanted to say anything. There was no easy way to say it. She shifted her eyes to the scar. Wherever happened to him, he would have the scar. Her scar.

She was terrified of what she was feeling. But she found her confidence, found her ability to objectively state the facts.

"Maul mentioned it and I thought…" Rey didn't finish her thought. "And this entire time you've trusted me. You've tried to help me. And you didn't want me to join Maul." She realized the "facts" sounded ridiculous once she said them out loud. They didn't imply that he felt any kind of way about her at all. The only real confirmation she had was the feeling gnawing at her, the odd sense the Force kept conveying to her.

He still didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry," she said. She wanted to go back inside, but she knew leaving would be the only thing worse than staying. "I only asked because—"

She didn't need to say the words; he knew. It was the reason why she'd asked him why she'd protected him. Why she had to know why he left, why he hadn't run away.

"Because you feel it, too," Ren whispered, speaking her thoughts. His response sent shockwaves through her. There was no denying that she was feeling something anymore. Or that the idea of him being away from her was painful. Or that she wasn't ready to say goodbye.

Without warning, he shortened the distance between them. Rey didn't back away. She looked up at him in equal parts fear and anticipation. A piece of her started to hope that he'd kiss her.

But in the next moment, he backed away and snapped his attention to the distant desert landscape.

"This doesn't change anything," Ren stated, his words cutting her like a knife. His sudden bitterness was unexpected. She felt like a fool. This had been a mistake. Nothing had come out of talking to him, just like she'd expected.

"You're right. It doesn't matter," Rey agreed. She'd appeared indifferent. But she quickly ducked her eyes in embarrassment and without hesitation retreated to the hut, trying to prevent her emotions from overwhelming her.

He didn't stop her this time.

Thank you so much if you're still reading this! I've been absolutely awful at keeping up with writing. I've had a lot going on in the past few weeks, and I had absolutely no time or energy to write. Finals are over, though, so I'll be back to publishing regularly. Thank you so much again, and please let me know what you think of this chapter!