Ben

I was in a meeting, discussing battle strategies when I felt panic vibrate the bond and I stopped, mid sentence, my eyes frantically looking around as I listened.

No images. Just desperation, disappointment, and pain. Pain from blows on my belly, my arm, my leg, my face.

Not mine, Rey's.

Rey was desperate. Rey was panicked. Rey was in pain. Rey was being beaten.

Then as quickly as it started, it ended and I was left panting, my fists curled tightly at my sides. I had to get to her. Now.

I shot up and left the room, my officers staring after me with wide eyes. I tried to get the Bond to open, to let me in, but it was closed to me, keeping me from her.

Either she was unconscious, or she was given some sort of ability blocking toxin. Had she been captured? Was she being held against her will?

Where was she? The last flicker I got from her was on the outer rim. I'd head there. Unless she'd been kidnapped and her captors jumped to another system.

I'd kill them. Anyone who had her. Any one who laid a hand on her. I'd rip them apart bit by bit and take my damned time doing it.

I barked an order for my ship to be prepared, demanding that it be ready by the time I reached the hangar. The men scurried like rats to heed my word.

I stepped on board, the hydronics of the loading door hissing behind me as they closed, and I wasn't standing on my ship, but in Rey's bedroom on base.

She was sitting on her cot, her hair falling out of her three bun style, and her clothing was ripped and filthy.

She glanced up at me and scoffed, turning her head so that I couldn't see her bloodied face. "Go away!"

I stepped toward her, my boots scraping the steel floor as I forced them forward, scarcely breathing as I took her in. One of her sleeves was missing, dirt caked into the broken and bleeding flesh of her arm, her elbow. Her pants were ripped, her right knee already starting to swell.

I knelt down in front of her, and she looked at me, her battered face hitting me like a knife. I raised a trembling hand, stopping half way between us to draw back and remove my glove. Her eyes followed the movement, and I saw that the right side of her face was darkening, tiny cuts marking the smooth, tanned skin.

When I reached for her again, she made no objection as I swiped the line of blood off of her chin from her broken lip with my thumb.

"Who did this to you?" I whispered, fury laced into the deathly calm of my voice.

Her eyes searched mine, and then she looked down, a blush blazing across her unmarked cheek. Shame vibrated the bond, and I had to grit my teeth together to keep my rage in check. Was it the pilot? The traitor?

"No one." She answered, lowly.

I didn't think it was possible, but that made me angrier. "Rey." I growled. "Tell me."

She pulled away. "You'll laugh!"

I straightened. How could she think that of me? That I'd get some sort of twisted amusement from her being brutalized?

"I won't." I promised, then my voice dropped. "Please?"

It was the same broken plea I'd given her in the throne room, but I pushed that memory to the back of my mind. I'd go back to being angry about that later.

She considered for a moment and then sighed. "No one did it to me."

I opened my mouth to demand the truth from her when she cut me off.

"I found a kitten in an old abandoned part of the base, and when I tried to get it, it ran up a tree."

My brow furrowed as I struggled to follow.

"It ran up a tree and I climbed up after it." She looked down. "And then I fell…out of the tree. And the branches..." She waved a hand over herself, as if I hadn't noticed her injuries.

And though I promised I wouldn't, I laughed.

She gasped, crossing her arms across her chest and moved away from me. "You are unbelievable!"

"Im sorry! I just wasn't expecting….any of that."

She shot me a death glare, and I sighed. "Really, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh." Honestly, i had laughed out of euphoric relief more than anything. "Did you get the kitten?"

Her death glare morphed into a withering death glare. "No." Then her hazel eyes filled with tears. "It ran away and I couldn't chase it."

My heart ached at her trembling lip, which she bit down on and turned away.

"Im sorry." I said a third time, but she was gone, replaced by the black walls of my ship.

I blinked, looking around, still kneeling on the floor.

"Orders….sir?" The pilot asked.

I stood, swallowing.

"Where are we going?" He wanted to know, his gloved hands hovering over the controls to punch in the coordinates.

"I'll take my Silencer." I told him, before turning and walking away.

*o*o*o*o*

Rey

I took longer than I should have in the fresher, washing away the dirt and blood, and letting the hot water ease my aching spots.

Rose helped me bandage my cuts and scrapes, and id spent the majority of the night in her room icing my knee.

When I returned to my own room, I was greeted by a cardboard box with holes punched in the sides on my cot. I eyed it cautiously, wondering if I should call a guard, when I heard the most heartbreaking meow come from the box.

I gasped, rushing forward, and tore it open, finding the tiny grey kitten i'd fallen out of the tree trying to get. It looked up at me with huge blue-grey eyes and I scooped it up, cradling it to my chest.

My spine prickled, and I whirled to see Ben look over his broad shoulder at me.

He'd just gotten out of a shower, his wet hair dripping on a black t-shirt, and he was in a pair of black sleep pants. He stared at me, then the grey bundle in my arms.

"Ben," I whispered, tears spilling over onto my cheeks. "How did you...why did you…"

He turned away from me. "I dont know what you're talking about." But before he faded from view, I saw that the hand he'd wiped my chin with earlier was now covered in tiny scratches.

o*o*o*

Authors note: I legitimately have no idea where this came from. I was doing character development, and the next thing I know, I'm pacing in my kitchen writing this. it's shocking, because after I finished lucky, I was going to not start any other fics, and focus on my original novel.

im going to make this a collection of drabbles. no plot and no connection unless specifically notated.

let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions!