Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or the amazing characters

Chapter 14:

Kylo knew Rey wouldn't approve of killing the locksmith but he couldn't take the chance that the man would tell Hux or any of the hundreds of people who wanted to see her hurting, how to get into her room. He needed to able to leave the Vengeance without constantly worrying about her safety. She wouldn't talk to him at all the next day when he took her lunch or dinner but after 3 days of Kylo being the only person she got to see, she finally relented and asked why. Of course she didn't like the fact that he planned to leave her alone at some point in time but she understood his need for caution.

Rey's training went spectacularly after that. She got over the fact that the slap of the ruler and his almost hurtful questions that were his way of throwing her off the most were just part of the training but it also helped when he started using other methods to distract her. He had discovered that she was particularly ticklish on the bottoms of her feet and he was beginning to mourn the fact that she was getting better at keeping her focus as that was the only time he really got to hear her laugh so openly.

After two full weeks of lifting the chair first without and with distractions Rey was able to keep several things in her room two meters off of the floor with no issue for hours. She really was a fast learner and almost insanely powerful. She could even communicate using their link while doing these exercises.

He was surprised to see how excited she was when he entered her room.

"Good afternoon, Kylo," she said with a slight smile on her face.

Kylo set the two plates on her desk. Which Rey all but pounced on as soon as Kylo stepped away. She really enjoyed food so Kylo tried to bring her something new every day. Today he'd brought her a BLT and a Caesar salad. Neither of which she'd ever had.

"How did your training go this morning," he asked, sitting down across from her. "Good. I was able to lift the desk for the whole hour along with the bed and both chairs. I think I'm finally ready for the next step," she said, drowning her salad in the Caesar dressing the cooks had provided them both. "If you can prove to me that you can hold them all off the floor while in a one-handed hand stand with several distractions, then we can move on to the next step," Kylo said watching her with interest.

Rey was stuffing her face as though it were her last meal. She moaned in pleasure after taking the first bite of her sandwich and Kylo found himself staring at her lips. He had been dreaming of her more often since she'd been on the Vengeance but they'd also been shielding so hard that they couldn't even accidently get inside each other's heads.

"I can do it right now if you like," she said excitedly, wiping mayo from her lip. "You seem very eager," Kylo said. "I've been stuck in this room for 14 days. I just want to do something other than making things float and I read in one of the texts that I took from Ahch-to that a forest is needed for the next part of training," she said staring at him expectantly. "And here I was thinking you were just excited to learn something new," Kylo said with a smirk. "I am excited to learn something new and to get the hell out of this room," she shot back. "Well hurry up and finish your meal, then you can prove to me that you are ready to move on," Kylo said.

Rey nodded and went back to devouring everything on her plate.

Kylo ate his food slowly, though not really enjoying it. He was enjoying being with Rey. Kylo was respecting her wishes and staying away from her as much as he could because being in the same physical space as Rey was almost over whelming and quite different from being near her when the Force connected them. And when he was around her, he had this urge to grab hold of her and never let go. He hadn't once missed Megum or Kalissa.

He studied her as though he were planning to draw her, and she was so focused on her plate that she didn't notice him. Her skin had become paler in the little over two weeks that she had been aboard the ship. Her eyes seemed brighter in the florescent over head lights.

"Ready," she said standing up from the desk and moving to fall into the handstand.

Kylo stood just in time for the chair he'd been sitting on to rise with the rest of the furniture in her room. Kylo had stopped using the ruler days ago and now stuck to testing her mental defenses and striking at her using the force. The floating furniture never wavered, just as he suspected.

I see you are training her in the old ways, Luke's voice came, causing them both to jump.

Kylo rolled his eyes at the force ghost. Rey however set the furniture down and jumped to her feet. She ran over to Luke as though she were going to hug him and then looked sorta lost when she was in front of him. Still, her cheery smile never wilted.

"It's so good to see you Luke," she beamed. It is good to see you too, Rey. I see your training is going as well as I knew it would but you two are not working on balancing each other out. You need to spend more time in each other's minds, Luke said, disapprovingly. Kylo scoffed and said, "I don't think that is a good idea."

Rey agreed. She glanced over at Kylo, but he kept his eyes on Luke. The old fool was meddling again.

"You won't even tell us what the hell is going on, but you expect us to just do as you ask," Kylo spat.

It was always the same with Luke.

As is the way of Master and Apprentices. I have told you what you needed to know, and I suspect that Rey has filled you in on what I told her. Though I guess I am no longer either of your masters. I know you two can feel that you are stronger together, yet you two do not work as a unit, Luke frowned at the two of them.

Rey and Kylo stared at each other. He had no idea they amplified each other's powers. By the look on her face she didn't either. He sneered at Luke.

"You are just messing with us, Old man," Luke hissed. "Kylo," Rey said shortly making him turn to look at her. "What? It sounds like something he would do just to mess with me," Kylo grumbled.

Luke sighed and stared at his nephew. Kylo didn't like the look on his face.

When you get to the forest training I want the two of you to open your bond as much as you can. You need to feel each other to truly work together and suppressing your feelings for each other isn't healthy, Luke said. "This from a man who has never loved a woman and preached no attachments or emotions," Kylo snarked to Rey.

Luke gave him a scornful look. He should have been used to getting this kind of response from Kylo Ren, but he hoped having Rey around would have a positive effect on him. Apparently not.

"I don't see how that would help, Master Luke," Rey said cautiously while not looking at Kylo. The Jedi were cutting themselves off from half of the force by detaching themselves from everyone and everything because they feared falling to the dark side. Just having that fear left them to susceptible to becoming evil. My hope for you two is that you can combine the teachings of the Jedi with the fresh approach of two people who feel for each other as well as those around them. This new Evil has had time to discover the weak points of both the light and the dark. And when the time comes it will not hesitate to use your weaknesses against each other, Luke said. "If you've known this all along why didn't you tell me the first time you appeared to me," Kylo snapped.

Luke looked to Rey who just shrugged. It irritated Kylo that they seemed to have secrets that they didn't share with him. He would ask what she and Luke still weren't telling him once they were alone.

I did not sense this evil until I became one with the Force and until I saw you and Rey together in the Force did I even think we had a chance at defeating this thing. I then told you what I thought would be enough to get you to work together, Luke said.

Kylo opened his mouth to snipe at Luke again but the com device on his wrist beeped, letting him know that someone was trying to reach him. He turned away from the other two people in the room and pressed the button.

"You better have a damn good reason for interrupting me," Kylo warned. "Yes, we are arriving at the Planet Florn. Also I have reports from the scouts in the Amara system. 5 of their ships have disappeared in as many days," Officer Maiko reported. "What," Kylo hissed.

He glanced back Rey and Luke who didn't appear to be paying him any attention.

"We received a transmission from the lead scout ship saying that a ship has been hunting the other scout ships and blowing them out of the sky, but that transmission was cut short. We assume that the lead ship was lost too," Maiko said, fear lacing his voice. "Was it a resistance ship that shot them down," Kylo asked, the Falcon came to mind but with Rey here he wondered who would be manning the guns for the fur ball. "No sir. Pilot Drake reported that it was a CEC YT-2400 Light Freighter," Maiko said. "Try and contact any remaining ships and tell them to meet up with us ASAP," Kylo said and ended the communication before Maiko could respond.

Kylo stalked back over to Rey and Luke. Luke looked at his nephew expectantly. Rey was studying his face.

"Is something wrong," Rey asked. "No. I have a surprise for you Rey," Kylo said. I hope you two will think on what I have suggested and apply it to the rest of her training. Do you plan on her going through the trails, Luke asked, even as he became less tangible. "If I am," Kylo asked. "I read about the trials and I do not think that I am ready for that, yet," Rey admitted. "You still have months of training, yet," Kylo said. Not if you two can figure out how to fully combine your minds and become one with each other as well as the force. Ben has already been through the trails and could have taken on a padawan before… "Just say it old man, before you tried to murder me in my sleep to keep me from falling to the dark side," Kylo snapped at Luke. How many times do I have to apologize for the same thing, Luke asked. "Once would be nice," Kylo muttered.

He was sick of these games.

"Let's go, Rey. You wanted out of this room I am giving you the opportunity right now," Kylo said moving to open the shiny black door that kept her prisoner on this ship.

She waved to Luke as she ran out of the room after Kylo who was walking swiftly down the seemingly identical hallways toward the hanger where his shuttle was waiting to take them down to surface of the planet. Rey's face was pressed to the viewport the whole way down to the surface of the planet. He knew Rey well enough to know she would immediately fall in love with the Oceans and greenery of the planet he was taking her to for training.

Snoke had trained him here for a short period of time but Kylo had learned as much about the planet in that time that he could. His plan was to lead Rey to a path and let her run until she exhausted or hurt herself too badly to continue but now he was thinking about what Luke had suggested.

It had been quiet sometime since Kylo had done anything other than combat training and Kylo was beginning to think that maybe he should get back to force training. He came out of his thoughts to find Rey staring at him.

"So, what's first," Rey asked with a grin. Meditation with the bond open as far as we can get it. If Luke is right and we are exponentially stronger together, I think it's worth trying to train together, Kylo said directly into her mind. Do you really think it's a good idea for us to try and share our consciousness right now, Rey asked.

Kylo shook his head and shot Rey a wary look.

The worst that could happen has mostly already happened. The only thing you could find in my head now is how I truly feel about you, how you asked me not to feel about you. But that could only happen if you go looking in places you shouldn't. The point of our merging is to share with you the knowledge that I gained from my training with both Luke and Snoke, Kylo said, sweeping his long black cloak out behind him so that he could sit without it being trapped under him. Okay…How long will we have to do this, Rey asked, taking a seat next to him. Until we both feel comfortable with being so deep inside each other's minds, Kylo said.

He closed his eyes and let the calm of the Force fall over him. He opened himself up to it and Rey. He felt it when she did the same. It was only maybe 60 seconds before they began breathing in sync and Kylo felt Rey's mind brush his before sinking inside as he did the same.

A rush of memories and feelings hit Kylo so hard that he thought he was going to be sick for a moment. First it was a vision of a much smaller Rey sorting through piles of scrap for something that might earn her a decent meal. Then a slightly older Rey, fighting off some sand people who were trying to steal all the scrap she had collected. That same Rey being cornered by 3 men who stank of alcohol and smoke, each of them grabbing for the young girl and Kylo could feel how scared she was.

Kylo broke the meditation and found himself standing, his lightsaber in his hand and teeth bared at the men who were long gone. Rey was still seated on the ground in the meditation. He wondered which of his memories was making her grimace like that.

He settled back into his meditative pose and sunk back into her mind. An older Rey was fighting off a bounty hunter that was trying to hurt a small child cowering behind Rey. Then her memories started to pick up speed, only showing Kylo bits and pieces.

Rey and the traitor running through Nima Outpost holding his head with the BB unit right behind them. Rey strapped to the interrogation table, her sudden attraction and surprise at seeing his face for the first time. Her and Kylo fighting on star killer base. Them touching hands on Luke's island. Fighting together in the throne room, her hope that he would join her. Their bond opening on Crait and her desire to take his hand but also her desire to help keep her friends safe. A green planet with a red sun. His mother. Kylo himself with Kalissa in his arms and Rey's pain and heart ache. Bits of dreams of him in Rey's arms and her dismay that none of them were real when she awoke in the morning. Poe's lips on hers and her shock and dismay that followed.

It was a head rush to say the least and Kylo found himself a little dizzy when he finally settled into her mind. He could feel what she was feeling, hear her thoughts as though they were his own and found that he could feel her inside his own mind. She was staring at him with wide eyes that he could see himself through and knew she was experiencing the same thing.

Though while he was suspicious of how well their minds fit together, Rey seemed astounded and excited. He could tell that nothing from his mind had truly affected her just as nothing from her's had affected him.

Now what, she asked, her voice slightly breathy even in his head. He gazed into the wide hazel eyes and said, Now we run together.

Kylo took her hand in his and led her off of the shuttle. The air outside the ship was hot and humid. Kylo found the path he was looking for and stopped at the mouth of it.

The point of this exercise is to stay focused in the Force as we run through the jungle, letting the force help you feel your way around and over obstacles. It will also help enforce the idea of the Force as a tangible thing that can provide you with guidance, strength and energy in the face of struggle and adversity. With our minds linked it will also help us learn to rely on each other without thinking about it. But you have to trust me, completely, Kylo said, letting her feel how important it was to him that she did trust him.

At least when it came to keeping her safe and helping her get stronger.

She looked up at him, making direct eye contact and said, I do…