A/N: Ok, so this was my attempt at a one-shot, slow-burn fix-it-fic for TROS. I've made some changes. Just read and enjoy. And oh, it's a major M-rating, guys, but c'mon, after all of that sexual tension between Rey and Kylo, we deserve this.

The Fall of Kylo Ren

It had to end.

There was no way around it. Rey knew that now. She had finally come to terms with it. No matter what happened today–tonight, it wasgoing to be the end. For her or for Kylo Ren, she wasn't sure. It was a reckless decision, no doubt. A stupid decision, sure. But it was her decision to make.

Stars, General Leia Organa was going to ground her for life when she found out. Well, if Rey was alive by then. Had Finn, Poe, Chewie or the rest of the Resistance known what she had planned, they would probably have done everything in their power to have her stopped and shackled to the planet for the rest of her life, but–bless their hearts–that was the main reason for why they knew nothing. There was no stopping her now, no way around it. Her path was set.

One way or another, she was destined to face Kylo Ren in battle – again. Until one of them perished, they would never truly be rid of each other, so why postpone their inevitable death match? She was ready. Kind of. Or maybe she just couldn't stand it anymore. The war. Their bond. Her training. The weight on her shoulders. Everything.

It had to end.

She had drawn it long enough. She had tried to ignore it at first, or ignored him as best as she could, but their infuriating bond through the Force had made her life a living hell to put it mildly. She could only hope it went both ways, but for a guy who was notoriously known for his deadly temper tantrums, he had–mostly–been tediously calm during their reluctant Force meetings. Perhaps even a little bored whereas Rey always felt like a direct opposite in his presence. She was always struggling to contain herself, always feeling completely livid, angry and drained during and after their… conversations? No, that sounded too civilized. Verbal fights, was what it was, and for some reason it often left her wanting dangerous things. Things that lurked in the dark, voices that called out to her, tempting her with promises of unlimited powers and everything sinful that her heart might desire.

Luckily, Rey desired the light more than whatever lurked in the shadows. She had quickly taught herself some sense of control whenever those feelings arose. She'd liked to think it was Luke Skywalkers voice guiding her from… somewhere beyond, but she wasn't sure.

"These are your first steps, Rey."

Lately, it was a sentence she seemed to hear often. Like a kind reminder. It was usually there when she trained, urging her to go on when she would fall and stumble, and once again when she would rise. But how many of these so-called steps were there, and which step was she at now? Was she even ready to face someone as strong as Kylo Ren?

"You've done it before. You can do it again. Find the light."

Rey immediately stopped and turned, her heart skipping a beat as she readied a hand on her blaster. Her other palm was instinctively drawn out in front of her, searching, touching, feeling, but sensing nothing beside small critters, birds and the calm, warm rustle of leaves and seasoned trees around her. She closed her eyes and breathed in, then out, calming herself.

"Find the light. Find the light in Ben Solo."

Kriff! It wasn't her imagination. That voice… it hadn't been Luke's, but it felt familiar. Friendly. Like someone welcoming her home somehow. What a shame it asked her to do the impossible. Didn't it know? There was no saving Ben Solo. She had tried and failed, like many before her. He was a lost cause now. All the wrongs he had done couldn't be righted.

"Ben Solo is gone," she muttered to no one and quickly continued her angered trek across the Takodana forest. "There's no more light left in him. Only darkness. He's Kylo Ren now."

She didn't hear the voice again and she was relieved when there was no one around to contradict her. It would make her so-called Solo-mission easier.

Soon, she was going to kill the Supreme Leader of the First Order. A man that–behind the many titles, the mask and his numerous sins–first and foremost had been Ben Solo once. The son of a Corellian smuggler and a planet-less Princess, but now Rey deemed, he was her worst enemy. To make matters worse, she had more or less served herself on a silver platter to him during their last Force bond. She had baited him, angered him and taunted him until the darkness had shone so brightly in his eyes, she'd felt his malevolent thoughts seethe from his very being, radiating evil and everything alike, poisoning her through their Force bond by painfully tugging and pulling her mind apart until she'd nearly succumbed to her knees.

–

"Enough!" she screamed and, breathing hard, she met his eyes with the same ferocity and curled her hands into fists. Their bond had only gotten stronger in time, more dangerous and unpredictable. It would only be a matter of time before they would start testing if they could fight through it. Kill through it. Rey knew he was wondering about it too. She could almost hear his thoughts. Feel his hatred, which she quickly countered with her own by contemplating if she could go through with it; could she kill Kylo Ren through a force bond that no one knew they shared? What would happen if she succeeded? There would be no evidence. No nothing. Only peace. For a short while, at least.

She watched him lift a poised brow at her thoughts. And then at the blaster strapped to her leg. "It wouldn't be the first time you've tried that."

"Get out of my head," she threatened.

"Do you think you'd succeed this time?"

"Get. Out!"

"You'll have to do better than that, Scavenger! You're practically letting me in as if it's a fucking invitation!" He paused and straightened. "Or do you need me to teach you how?"

Rey swiftly closed her eyes and focused on her walls, building and manipulating her invisible barriers, tall and thick. Unbreakable and solid. It almost felt like a real door she could grab and slam right in front of Kylo's stupid face, hence shutting him out completely and embracing the quiet calm.

Well, at least until he decided to speak again.

"I feel it too, you know. The conflict." His voice was so… rich and deep. Especially during their bonds where all sound around them seemed to mute or fade into a hollow background noise. She hated how she had grown accustomed to it – his voice. It haunted her in her dreams as much as her nightmares.

"You don't feel anything," Rey hurled the words so harshly at him he nearly flinched. "You have nothing but hatred left in you. That's the only thing you know, along with death and destruction. You're a monster and a coldblooded murderer. Maybe that's what you've always been destined to be – a villain! And you know what? I don't think Luke failed you that night. He failed the galaxy by sparring your life!" Rey gasped, surprised at the venom in her own voice. She hadn't meant for the last part to slip out... had she? Her fingers trembled against her side as she paused to collect herself, but she slowly felt herself losing the grasp of her calm as something dark and vile suddenly surged through her body and mind. It nearly burned her veins as it ignited that last bit of control she had left. She felt like screaming, but she held it all in until she simply couldn't contain it anymore. As a result, it felt like an explosion as she screamed the words at him.

"I should have killed you when I had the chance!"

Kylo Ren was surprisingly composed and collected as he watched her pour her heart and her hate out. They were always opposites like that. Never on the same page. Always each other's counterpart in every sense. Black and white. Dark and light. Calm and chaos.

"Then why didn't you?"

Rey made the mistake and really looked at him. Without his mask he was struggling to maintain his cooled and unruffled demeanor, but she much rather preferred him like this. Exposed and somewhat readable, but still menacingly powerful. It nearly radiated off him in electrical waves and currents, pushing and pulling Rey towards him. Like a suicidal moth to a flame, she was drawn by his power as much as she was repulsed by it. It nearly tore her apart from the inside. The constant struggle of wanting to save him or kill him was slowly wearing her down. It was becoming more and more unbearable for each day that passed.

"Answer me, Rey." The request sounded more like a whispered plea. The way he sometimes said her name… it did something to her. Something she wasn't allowed to feel for an enemy. "Tell me… why didn't you?"

Rey closed her eyes to avoid his stare, but even behind her darkened lids she was still haunted by his penetrating gaze. She could never forget those brown, hard eyes, especially when they were directed at her. He haunted her. Always. In her sleep, in her dreams, her nightmares, even when she was awake. He was always there.

"I didn't kill you because I was weak and… naïve. I thought you could be saved, but I was wrong. So wrong." Rey shook her head as she willed her unshed tears to vaporize. It burned in her eyes, but she refused to shed a single tear in front of him. When she finally found the strength to look at him, the malice in her voice was back. "Next time, I won't make the same mistake."

"I'll look forward to it," he shrugged and let the smallest hint of a smirk reach his full lips before it disappeared into an arrogant glare. "In return, I won't hold myself back and hopefully, I won't be as critically wounded to begin with. You will fight me as my equal… Rey."

And in the meantime you should work on keeping your walls up. What exactly is it my voice does to you?

Rey gasped in both surprise and humiliation, immediately taking a step back as if distance would prevent him from stealthily listening in on her thoughts. As expected, it didn't, and in her frenzied daze, she momentarily let her guard down–all of them. Body, mind, movement. Suddenly, Kylo had reached her in four long strides and slammed her up against the wall to her makeshift bedroom. Or was it his? His gloved hands quickly found hers, pinning them both to the wall and keeping her in place with his whole body.

"I guess this answers our question. If I can do this–" he pulled her back just an inch, only to thrust her into the wall again– "We can kill through it too–this bond that no one knows exists." He leaned down to whisper her own thoughts into her neck. "There would be no evidence. No nothing. Only peace…" His cool breath ghosted over her skin, testing or thirsting for her reaction. "It's tempting, isn't it? And dark, Rey. Especially for you."

"What's stopping you then?" Rey hissed and curled her hands into fists. She was prepared to summon her blaster into her hands if necessary, but curiosity kept her from doing it. She knew Kylo wouldn't kill her. Not like this.

"Honor," he answered finally. "Or mercy. Take your pick."

"You're capable of neither!"

"You're still alive, are you not?"

Rey realized he had let go of her wrists, leaving only the close proximity and warmth of his body as her temporarily cage. He slowly held his palms up in surrender and drank in her reaction. First surprise, then anger and lastly fear – not fear because of his strength or could-be intent of killing her. No. It was something else. Something not suited for an enemy.

Curious, Kylo quickly grabbed her around her neck, forcing her to look at him. Despite the gesture there wasn't the slightest bit of pressure around her neck. He was merely touching her through his gloved hand, directing her eyes into his… and she was letting him. She was too stunned to fight back and too fixated on keeping her thoughts hidden. The conflicting emotions flashed beneath her eyes, the turmoil lashing out at them both through their bond, almost causing them both physical pain.

"Do it," she baited spitefully through clenched teeth. "Take whatever you want."

Kylo straightened in bemusement and slowly let his hand trail down the length of her body, starting by her neck and clavicle and continuing over the small curve of her breast. Her eyes closed at the contact, her breath caught in her throat and her pulse instantly quickened beneath his touch. She was readying herself to push him away, but he quickly broke the contact before she could react. "It's not taking when it's clearly being offered… is it?"

"You're delusional!"

"Am I?" He pointed to their position, one she easily could have gotten out of, but hadn't as much as attempted. Her body was betraying her, defiantly working against her, relishing in Kylo's show of dominance instead of repelling it. "Remember the first time I took what I wanted? Remember the fear, the doubt and the loneliness?" He whispered the words tauntingly into her skin in that voice that sent shivers down her spine. "You should be proud of yourself. You've come such a long way since then. From Scavenger to Jedi – finally surrounded by everything you thought you longed for. Friends, allies, teachers–people you've come to think of as family, but you still feel so alone. Why?" His question wasn't one he expected her to answer. He already knew, but he wanted to hear her say it.

She longed for him in ways he couldn't understand. He could feel it, buried so deep within her she almost thought she could hide the feelings to herself.

"Say it," Kylo whispered, his voice smooth and controlled, but she wasn't having any of it.

Rey kept silent, her breathing becoming harder, shorter and just plain difficult. She fought him, pushing him out of her mind, but it was too late. He had already taken– no, stolen the thoughts and memories she had struggled to keep hidden.

"No!"

He ignored her and forcibly projected her own visions into her mind, stunning her in his invisible grasp. All of her recent fears and insecurities came flooding into her at once, along with the private memories that matched. Flashes and clips suddenly flared to life as if she was watching a holoshow, starring herself as a reluctant and unknowing main lead.

"Please… Ben," she tried, but he only projected a memory harder at her. Clearer.

"That won't help you now. Not this time. Now look."

She swallowed hard and felt herself being forced to watch the visions and feelings she had experienced not long ago. She saw herself being turned down, again, when all she had wanted was someone to train with that wasn't a droid. Someone human to fight and test her, but lately even Finn had started to decline their sessions because she simply had surpassed them all in strength and power. In a way, they feared her abilities as much as they were amazed and thrilled of her growth. She had progressed immensely. She was strong and fearless. She was the Resistance's last hope, but it was also a lot of weight to carry on her delicate shoulders. And it was oh so lonely.

Even in her cramped surroundings of the Resistance's base, she still felt so alone. Except–she had realized–when she was with him… during their unexplainable and unreliable Force connection. There, she wasn't alone.

"Stop it… please," she begged again, but he quickly projected another image into her mind. It was the one she desperately had wanted to keep to herself. Forever. She practically cringed as she saw herself being lowered onto her bed, fumbling, grabbing and drunkenly kissing Poe Dameron, urging and wanting him to be rougher, harder. To take her. To make her forget everything.

All of her thoughts were blatantly accessible to Kylo, but she quickly realized it went both ways as she sensed his anger and jealousy towards the handsome Resistances pilot. But he still managed to remain calm.

"War makes you do… foolish things," he reasoned and reluctantly continued the display of something so private and intimate he almost wanted to shut it off. For both of their sakes. Projecting memories meant they experienced the feelings too. Lust. Desire. Fear. It was all mixed in between Rey's late experience with Poe and her present time with Kylo. She desperately wanted to find a way out, but everywhere she went she saw herself on her bed, whimpering and writhing as Poe kissed her neck, her breast and her mouth. He was everywhere, skilled in his touches, his strokes and the way he moved inside her, but… it just wasn't enough. It wasn't quite right. She was missing something. Or someone… who just happened to rule as the Supreme Leader of the First Order.

Rey watched as her own startled, bedroom-eyes suddenly jolted open at the realization. Her body froze, but only for a second. When Poe thrusted against her again, she gasped and clenched her eyes shut, shortly relishing in the sensation of finally allowing a spark to ignite at the bottom of her stomach. She didn't know why she had imagined him hovering above her, breathing her name, touching her, ramming into her heat until she had moaned and cried in pleasure. She remembered she'd almost bitten off her own tongue to keep her from uttering the tainted name of her enemy instead of Poe's.

Kylo quickly pulled them both out of the memory with a deafening snap that left them both struggling for their breaths and something to hold onto.

"I guess I should be flattered," he huffed indignantly and grabbed the wall behind her for support. "But then you should be, too…"

How many times had he imagined her beneath him, moaning and whimpering his name as he'd claimed her body and her mouth? How many times had he taken a willing girl to his bed and closed his eyes as he'd taken exactlywhat he'd wanted?

For a fleeting second, Rey saw his memories as well. She hadn't taken them. Kylo had offered them to her. They were only short, quick snippets of him with different girls, but Rey had quickly noticed that they all had had one thing in common. They all looked like her. Beneath the black sheets, pleasurable cries and manicured nails that had raked across his chest and arms, he had imagined her lying there. Willing and responsive to his every touch.

"You!" Rey screamed and pushed him away from her, but he hardly moved an inch. "You could never have me! You disgust me! And you have no right! How could you? That was–"

"Private?" he finished. "Your deepest and darkest desires… as well as mine?" he continued dismissively. "You think you could hide that from me? You think I don't feel what you feel? Whether you like it or not, we're bonded, Rey. The Force has connected us. It wasn't Snoke–"

Rey slapped him across the face, consequences be damned. He could have stopped her. His reflexes were probably better than hers, but he let her have that one.

"You should have taken my hand," he murmured angrily and rubbed tiredly at his jaw. "You should have let me teach you. I could have–"

"I don't want anything to do with you, except end you," Rey sneered venomously. "I will end this bond, once and for all… and I'll finish what Luke couldn't."

"When?" he challenged coolly and straightened. It took up all of his strength to not ignite his lightsaber and destroy everything in his wake, including the very last Jedi before him. Rey felt his fury simmer beneath the surface, but he still managed to hold himself so regally poised and superior in the way he simply stood and awaited her answer.

"Meet me at the Takodana forest, the same place where we first met, four days from now. I assume it's only fitting we'll end it the same place where it all began, but this time I'll come alone. I expect that you'll follow the same courtesy."

Kylo's dark eyes narrowed as he nodded in acceptance. "Are you sure that's wise, Scavenger? I meant what I said before. I won't hold myself back this time."

"I wouldn't expect you to. I'm not the same defenseless girl as I was back then. The scar on your face is proof enough. And as much as I've tried to forget it ever happened, I did fight by your side once… as your equal," Rey paused and considered her next words wisely. "But if I fail and you kill me… I hope my death will haunt you as much as I know you're being haunted by your father's."

Rey watched as his eyes widened in surprise. He opened his mouth to retort something spiteful, probably in denial, but before the words had fully formed, the Force chose that exact moment to disconnect them from each other, breaking their bond as quickly and unexpected as a severed holocall, leaving Rey suddenly alone in her room with nothing more than the sad remains of Kylo's scent and the hollow sensation of having bitten off more than she could chew.

Stars… what had she just done?

Rey uttered a strangled gasp and angrily threw the back of head against the wall. Closing her eyes, she slowly let herself slide down as she finally welcomed the tears she had struggled to hold back.

She just couldn't win, could she? No matter what she did or where she went, she ended up disappointing and hurting people, and she couldn't take it anymore. She'd had enough. She had suffered and fought enough.

All she wanted was peace, if not for the galaxy, then for herself. But maybe, four days from now, she would finally get it. She would kill or be killed. Thus, one way or another, their bond through the Force would end and with it, she assumed, she might finally find her peace.

–

Rey sighed and squared her shoulders as she breathed it all in. Her past, her present, her future. She closed her eyes and felt the wind breeze through her hair in a gentle caress, whisking away her fears and doubts. It was the calm before the storm, but she was ready. Whatever happened here, it was meant to happen. It was her destiny.

When she opened her eyes again, she slowly took it all in as if it was the last time she'd ever witness the colorful birds chirping and soaring around her or see the gigantic trees sway tenderly with its invisible partner, the wind. The earthly smells and the rustic sounds of the nature around her felt like a warm embrace and she welcomed it all with a sad but determined smile.

Takodana truly was a beautiful planet. It was so lush and green, so full of life and a serene-like air that cleansed her mind much in the same way meditation did when she sometimes sought out a tranquil moment through the Force.

It was everything Jakku wasn't. That dry and desolate wasteland was something she wouldn't miss. Along with the sand. Force, she'd hated the sand!

The electrical whirr of a First Order's TIE Echolon suddenly snapped Rey back to reality. She quickly looked up and caught a glimpse of the ship's underbelly as it flew past the tall treetops and hovered expertly above the small clearing she had spotted from her own semi-stolen Resistances fighter. She wisely hadn't dared to take the Falcon in case of… her not returning home again.

She heard the Echolon's soft landing and hurriedly sprinted towards it. This was it. Kylo Ren had actually come for her. They were going to fight and battle each other until one of them fell. It was going to be the end. For one of them. Or maybe for them both?

Rey stopped and perched herself on a raised cliff at the clearing's opening. She preferred the high ground for tactical reasons, but she also needed a safe distance between them – before all of the seven hell's would break loose.

When the ship's doors finally buzzed open, Rey felt her heart skip several beats. The calm before the storm, she remembered. There was no turning back now. She watched as the extended ramp slowly lowered onto the ground, the hydraulics hissing and spewing as it locked itself into place.

She had expected Kylo Ren to slowly descend into view, wearing his cracked mask and his many layers of jet-black robes and tunics, while looking all majestic and wicked like the true villain he was. Then he'd stop and beckon her to him, freeze her in his grasp, just like he'd done the very first time they had met on this planet. And if she couldn't detach herself from his grip, he'd drive that flickering red lightsaber into her heart and watch her die before his eyes.

So, when he finally did appear at the bottom of the ramp, she was surprised to see this Kylo Ren before her. There was no mask, no gloves, no cloak and no hidden stormtroopers to assassinate her when she'd least expect it. He even had the nerve to smirk as their eyes shortly met and he felt her sudden confusion by his choice of un-imperial attire… but he just looked so different. He was only wearing a simple, long sleeved shirt–of course it was black–but the thin shirt he wore underneath was crispy white. She could only just barely see it, peering out by his neckline, but there. Underneath the underneath. His pants were still as black as night, and strapped against his belt and thigh, his hilted lightsaber was holstered safely within reach against dark brown leather. If she didn't know any better, he could almost be mistaken for a Resistance fighter.

Kylo shrugged, as if presenting himself to her, and for just a fleeting second, he was Ben Solo. There was no escaping his heritage no matter how hard he tried – he was still his father's son. Changing his name couldn't undo that fact.

"Changed your stylist?" Rey baited inquiringly.

"She quit," he replied stoically. "Apparently it wasn't challenging enough to work with only fifty shades of black–which by the way–isn't even considered to be a color."

Rey scoffed and did a mental doubletake at his words. "Did you just… sort-of make a joke?"

He shrugged again. "You'd be surprised of what I'm capable of, sweetheart, but if you want an honest answer, then I simply figured I might as well die comfortable… well, if you succeed and actually end up killing me."

"Do you doubt me?"

"Not more than I doubt myself," he admitted bleakly. He stared off into the richly green forest behind her, his expression wavering between a misplaced guilt and… sadness? "I felt your determination the moment I broke through the atmosphere, Rey. It almost felt… dark."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

He scowled at her retort and slowly started walking towards her, palms up, stalling their fight for just a little while longer. Rey's first thought had been to retreat, despite of her having the higher ground, but then she remembered she was strong in the Force. Stronger than she'd ever been. She was his equal now.

She quickly jumped down from the small cliff and rose ever so gracefully. Then she slowly started pacing back and forth, her eyes scanning every movement of her opponent, but Kylo had suddenly stopped and turned to his side as if something unexpected had caught his attention.

Rey watched him inhale the clean air as his eyes trailed over the setting sun. For a short second, he looked so serene and peaceful as he continued to observe the brightly lit star. It could very well be their last time witnessing a sundown, so she appreciated the sight as well. She soaked up its last beams of warmth and tiredly closed her eyes.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

The sound of his voice quickly made her open her eyes in alarm, but she only saw him staring at her, his head tilted curiously in her direction. She vaguely heard her own thoughts mirroring his as she appreciated him for what he was – without the darkness. A lost Prince of Alderaan. A natural born leader. He would have broken so many hearts, had he not chosen the dark side. His black, long sleeved shirt clung perfectly to his body, revealing the rewarding effects of his training. He was a warrior, through and through, and his body was the definite proof of it. His broad shoulders, his strong arms and defined chest was sometimes annoyingly distracting, but she would be lying if she couldn't at least appreciate his strength and good looks. Oh, and that damned hair. She just wanted to rake her hands through it, just once. Was it as soft as full as it looked?

As if he'd heard her thoughts, Kylo squinted his eyes towards the skies and ran a hand through his dark locks. "Before we begin, I want you to know the truth about your parents, Rey. You deserve it."

"Why?" Rey uttered, surprised. "What would you gain from telling me that? And how will I know if it even is the truth?"

"Search my mind, if you must. And for what it's worth, I just recently found out about it. What I said in the throne room was just one of the many lies Snoke had told me. He lied about a lot of things. Your true lineage was obviously something he wanted to be kept buried."

"Lineage?" she snorted incredulously. "But I thought I came from nothing," she spat the words furiously, her voice breaking at the sad statement she'd heard spoken from him once.

"No," he replied calmly, and the rest he decided to tell her through their bond as an added proof.

You're a Kenobi, Rey. I believe it's why we're linked through the Force. Our lineage has a long history of… love and violence. I suspect that my mother has had a hunch about it too. Hasn't she told you many stories of Obi-Wan Kenobi lately? Of how he'd tried to save Anakin Skywalker from becoming Darth Vader? Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

He was telling her the truth. Rey staggered slightly at the realization and briefly felt the ground move beneath her, but she quickly recognized it as her mind's way of rebooting from pure shock. She nearly fell to her knees, but when she noticed Kylo running towards her–either to catch her if she fell or impale her with his lightsaber, she instinctively grabbed her own, ignited it and aimed it at his throat in a strike meant to decapitate.

Kylo quickly stiffened and held his hand up, force freezing the whirring blade inches from his neck. Its soft purple-bluish hue buzzed and hummed very differently to his own and he was genuinely surprised that he hadn't noticed it before.

Rey had actually made her own lightsaber… and ever the scavenger, he recognized the metal handle as having been made from her staff.

It was beautiful. Just like Rey.

"This changes nothing!" she screamed and broke the invisible hold he had of her weapon.

Mesmerized, Kylo whirled back and flicked on his own weapon just in time to deflect another deadly stroke from her. He did it so effortlessly, something that seem to anger and fuel her attacks even more, and as a result their blades continuously clashed, again and again, as they violently danced across the clearing. Everytime Rey found an opening, Kylo was there to block it. Everytime she thought she had him right where she wanted him, he was there to prove her wrong.

"I won't go easy on you, Rey. If you win, it will be because you deserved it," Kylo lowered his lightsaber and stared at her as he created some distance between them. He wasn't even winded yet.

"And if I lose?" Rey breathed, hating the uncertainty in her voice.

"I'll tell your precious Resistance of what went down. You'll be a legend. It comes with the name, I'm afraid. Trust me, I'd know."

Rey came at him again, giving him little time to react. Not that he needed it. He easily stepped aside and Force pushed her directly into the grass, face first. When she rolled onto her back, she had expected it would be to repel a lightsaber from splitting her in half, but he'd stopped the blade inches from her face. Rey gulped in surprise, but her stare was fierce and daring as she watched the unstable flickers tickle her face. The red glow of his weapon glazed over her eyes and she momentarily wondered why he had hesitated.

"On your feet," he ordered and stepped back.

She jumped up, her chest heaving as she struggled to fill her lungs up with oxygen. "You said you weren't going to go easy on me."

"Correct. You must earn it. As do I."

Rey nodded and let him be the one to charge for once. That small difference seemed to change their whole fight. He was ferocious and strong, overpowering her every move as if he taunted her with his skill, but she stubbornly met him with the same aggression.

Their fight slowly moved away from the clearing and into the woods. Suddenly they were dodging trees and rocks, smelling burnt wood and avoiding the shimmering sparks from when their sabers grazed the cliffs around them.

Rey had never felt more alive. This was what she had needed during her training. This was what she had missed before she'd even known what this was. It was like finding her missing puzzle and finally being able to connect it. It was her other side of a… dyad. She was suddenly complete and she enjoyed every second of it.

"Kriff!" Rey jolted in surprise when she realized she'd miscalculated Kylo's swift swing toward her midsection. If he hadn't stopped his own weapon, she would have been cut in half. He would have won. She would have been dead… because he didn't give her his all.

In return, Kylo seemed just as frustrated by his hesitance, and he groaned painfully when he tried to will himself to want it. To kill her. Get it over with.

"Experiencing performance anxiety?" Rey baited as she exhaled. "Don't worry, it happens to the best of us." And then she spiraled into another series of attacks and strikes he easily deflected, but this time he countered her with an almost bored and uninterested method of fighting her. That is, until she walked right into his trap and stumbled into the arms of said enemy. Before she could react, Kylo had spun her around, aligning her back flush against the hard planes of his chest and stomach.

"Say that again?"

"Bite me!" Rey spat, frustrated. His scent alone was divine. His raw power was… intoxicating. It drove Rey absolutely crazy.

"Still denying what your body is so obviously craving?"

"You're mistaking this for something else," Rey retorted through clenched teeth. She literally found herself stuck between a rock a hard place, and when he slowly walked her into the small alley of cliffs, their uneven pants and lightsaber whirrs was the only sound she could focus on.

The birds had suddenly stopped chirping.

"What is it then? Hate?"

Rey swallowed hard. She almost found herself leaning her back into his chest. "Yes."

"Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart." He shoved her harshly into the cliff and grabbed her wrist to steer her still-ignited lightsaber against the jagged rocks above them. Small sparks of fire rained down upon them, but neither cared. He'd disengaged his own weapon to detain her other arm from pulling any sudden tricks on them and with his other hand, he curiously reached up to feel the handle of hers.

"It's double bladed," he realized, almost proudly. "Why aren't you using it?"

Because I've needed a teacher…

Kylo had heard her thoughts, because he suddenly turned the handle, igniting both of her blades and stepping back to avoid her strike. But it never came. When she turned around, she suddenly looked confused… and dissatisfied.

"What… what are we even doing?"

"The only thing we're good at," Kylo reasoned, "Fighting."

He gestured for her to come forward and consider her surroundings now that her weapon was double-bladed. Too mesmerized to decline the offer, Rey listened in curiosity as he explained her the pro and cons of her own weapon. He taught her the basics of which strikes and parries to use, and he showed her how to correctly wield it depending on which style she preferred when facing an enemy.

By the time they had practiced enough, so much so, that Rey felt more comfortable and in tune with both ends of her lightsaber, their dance suddenly became passionately intense again.

And for the first time that day, it was Rey's turn to freeze the weapon inches from Kylo's face. She had finally caught him off guard, she had finally bested him.

Now was her chance… because Kylo Ren had to die. It had to end.

He was kneeling before her, his lightsaber still drawn but lowered as he awaited her next move. Or welcomed his long-awaited execution?

Do it, Rey… You've said it yourself. It has to end. Now is your chance.

"No," Rey shouted. "Get up! Fight me!"

"We've fought enough! This has to end, if not with my life, then yours! We can't keep doing this."

"No! Just fight me! Please!" she begged.

Kylo scowled as he got up quicker than she'd anticipated. If she didn't have the stomach to do it, he could always force her hand. It was what she wanted, wasn't it? It would make her sleep better at night knowing she couldn't have stopped it. His death. She would tell herself it had been in self-defense.

So he finally gave her his all. He turned into the merciless monster she'd always claimed him to be. He summoned that familiar darkness that was in his blood and showed no restraint as he came at her with his hard and lightning-fast hits… because Kylo Ren was unstoppable once he gave himself into it.

"I've trained my whole life for this, Rey! All I've ever known is this – fighting to survive! It's what I do best!" He blocked her weakened attempt to ram her saber through his heart, once again, proving his point. He had always been stronger than her. "You really thought you could beat me? You could never beat me! You never even stood a chance, except for the ones I gave you!"

Rey dropped to her knees and let her lightsaber fall to the ground. She couldn't do it anymore. She was done. Kylo was right and deep down she'd always known. She had traveled this far for one reason only. To end it and have him do it. All the hurt and despair were feelings she had finally realized she couldn't carry on her shoulders alone.

Kylo slowly walked up to her and reached out to caress her cheek. "You have no idea how many times I've imagined you on your knees before me, but… not like this." He disengaged his lightsaber and turned to his side, as if watching her defeated and broken in front of him was too painful for him to witness. "Get up, Rey. Leave. If you don't have it in you to kill me, then walk away now. Pretend this never happened. Blame me when you have to explain yourself to the Resistance. Let my reputation precede me. Fuck if I care…"

Rey suddenly wanted to scream and explode with an anger she'd never felt before. In a flash, she had risen and pulled a long pin from her hair–one she ironically had gotten from the very mother to the man before her. It was more a weapon than an accessory to her hair. Its blade was long and razor sharp and the Alderaanian emblem was spiraled into a beautiful silver handle.

Rey held it to Kylo's throat, ready to draw blood.

"Go on," he baited coldly. He hadn't as much as flinched. "It would be ironically symbolic if an Alderaanian blade would be the cause of my downfall. Especially this specific blade." He took a step forward and winced as it sank deeper into his skin, but it still wasn't enough to draw blood. "I imagine my mother has already told you the story of how her great grandmother had used it as her last resort when she had been assaulted by her very own bodyguard?"

Rey nodded and swallowed hard. It had quite the scandal, back then. "The Queen killed her own bodyguard with it. To save herself from being raped and assassinated. And it's been passed down from one generation to another–"

"Until now," Kylo finished solemnly. "But I guess you're more of a rightful heir to it than I'll ever be."

"Your mother seemed to think so."

"Then go on, Jedi. Do it." He craned his neck towards her, baiting her to drive the sharpened edge deeper into his skin, but she still couldn't do it. "Or how far do you need me to take this, for you to…" Kylo took another step towards her. "–make me stop?"

"Don't–" Rey whimpered and gripped the hair pin threateningly tighter in her hand, but she still couldn't find the strength to do it. For every step Kylo took, she reluctantly had to back away until she clumsily stumbled over a bulging oak root.

Kylo quickly caught her wrist and threw her up against the tree, only to watch her bounce off it and fall down on all fours. She was breathing hard, flinching from sheer pain and fury.

"Don't what?!" he barked and crouched down beside her. He grabbed her around her throat and slammed her whole body into the forest floor, causing dried leaves and sticks to scatter all around them. "How fucking far do I have to take this, Rey?!"

He was suddenly on top of her, his hand gripping her neck to hold her in place – to dominate and frighten her. To repeat Alderaanian history. He could push her to the edge, and he intended to do just that if that was what if took to make her want to kill him… but she was hardly even fighting him. When he hooked his hands under her knees, forcing her to straddle his waist, Rey had dropped the hair pin to clutch both of her hands into the front of his shirt.

Find the light. Find the light in Ben Solo.

Her back hurt against the dampened forest floor and her body ached from their fight… but the pain was suddenly replaced with something so forbidden, she'd denied it ever since the very first time they'd met.

Want. Need. Belonging.

She exhaled a steady breath and flattened her palms against his chest, feeling his thundering heart gallop beneath her hands. His breath immediately intensified; his eyes widened in surprise as he felt her intentions change. Testing her, he thrusted his body violently against hers and practically groaned when her response was to arch her back and expose her neck to him, eyes closed, mouth slightly agape, gasping, moaning and whispering his name in frustration.

"Ben," she called him.

He let her. She could call him whatever the hell she wanted right then.

"Rey," he rasped, trailing his lips over her neck. "You really shouldn't want this."

"I know! …but–" I do, she admitted through their bond.

He groaned loudly at her confession and breathed a calculating path of bites and kisses down her pulse point. He wanted to claim her in every way he knew how, but there was still a part of him that expected she would break it off at any second. And then she would accuse him of things far worse that murder.

"Don't do this to me, Rey. You have to stop me. Trust me, I won't be able to stop–"

She pulled him down and crashed her lips into his, drowning whatever restraint he had left with a kiss. Her hands raked eagerly through his hair as she tasted him, gave herself to him and moaned her silent demands into his mouth. "Need you... want you... touch me."

Those words would be his downfall. Kylo was sure of it. He almost had to tear himself away from her lips to steady himself. He'd never felt this drunk and not-in-control before, but he had no intention of sobering up yet. He quickly kissed her again, afraid that if he didn't continue and give into her needs, the spell would break, and he'd find himself stabbed with a deadly pin to his throat. He wasn't going to let that happen now. At least not until he'd experienced what it would feel like to make her come beneath him, or better yet how satisfying it would be to finally fill her up with the most intimate part of himself.

"Then do it," she pleaded, both frustrated and turned on by his thoughts. She grabbed his hand and guided it to her breast, urging him to squeeze and tease and bite as she fumbled with her leggings.

Off, she screamed through their bond. They needed to get off in more ways than one. There was nothing romantic or slow about it. They were acting purely on instinctual need and lust. It had to be the only explanation to what was transpiring between them.

Kylo obeyed her as if she'd been his superior, hurriedly tugging, pulling and touching as if his life depended on it. In a sense, it probably did. When he reached down and touched her at her most vulnerable, she bucked and gasped beneath him, clawing him through his shirt and needing his mouth to complete her. She was already slick and wet as he tested his fingers against and inside her. He was torturing her in the most deviously way possible and she was relishing in it. She was practically glowing. Because of him.

Find the light. Find the light in Ben Solo.

Rey swallowed a gasp and rose slightly, meeting Kylo's clouded gaze and telling him what she wanted without ever saying it out loud. He only nodded and readjusted against her, following her eyes as he slowly unclasped his pants. He almost hesitated…

There's no turning back now, Rey…

I know, she whispered through their bond and bit her bottom lip in anticipation. She had no intention of stopping now. It was too late. The damage was already done. She needed this. They both did. It didn't matter how wrongly immoral and forbidden it was, she just needed him.

She quickly reached out to lift the hem of his shirt, wanting to feel him, feel his skin and the taut muscles on his stomach. His eyes closed just by her touch, so she skillfully continued, tugging the front of his pants down and eagerly feeling his arousal through the fabric. When she finally reached down to free him and grasp her fingers around his hardened length, he froze and groaned.

The sound alone was so primal, Rey immediately felt her body respond to it.

"Tell me you want it," he ordered. "Don't you fucking deny it anymore."

"I–" Rey hesitated, too spellbound and drunk-on-lust to string an incoherent thought together.

"Just fucking say it, Rey!"

Her whole body shuddered from the sound of his voice, and she knew she could do nothing but comply to the truth. "I want it…" she panted dizzily. "I want you."

"Good," he whispered and kissed the spot between her neck and jaw. When he reached her mouth and felt her melt into his kiss, he slowly guided her hand around his length as he eased his way inside her, stretching and conquering her heat with a control he'd never thought possible. "Remember those words," he growled and suddenly pushed into her with such brute force, she screamed and whimpered in pain, but he quickly silenced her with a kiss of reassurance and gentleness – a secret promise of what he was capable of giving her.

"Look at me," he demanded and grabbed her by her chin. He held her gaze as he thrusted himself inside her again, slowly but firmly. "There's no pleasure without the pain. No darkness without the light. Don't fight it. Give in to it."

Rey had to swallow her own breath as she nodded and sank deeper into the soft forest bedding. She felt him start a steady pace within her, each thrust becoming faster and harder, more aggressive. How something so intrusive and painful could feel so good and addictive was beyond her. She had to hold onto him, dig her nails into his back as she did what he'd instructed her. She gave into it all. Kylo Ren could do whatever, take whatever as long as he didn't stop their bodies from touching, feeling, fucking.

Rey was hardly inexperienced, but she had never felt a yearning and lust so strongly it all but consumed her. She barely recognized her own moans and whimpers as he rutted against her, harder and faster, until she felt herself nearing the end of her high. It was happening way too soon, but she couldn't prevent it. The feelings were too much. Too powerful.

Please, please, please…

She needed to grasp onto something, anything, so she was relieved when he grabbed her hand and entwined her fingers with hers, immediately stabilizing her, but also pinning her in place so she could do nothing but surrender to each passionate thrust he drove into her. He was everywhere. He was inside her body and mind, fulfilling her every demand and desire as if it had been his sole purpose in the galaxy.

"You're mine," he whispered and guided her hand around his neck in a loving caress. "You've always been mine."

Now come for me.

Rey gasped and felt her body convulse as she gave into his demand. It felt like an outer body experience as she nearly exploded and felt herself being split into millions of atoms, only to be reassembled and mended into something that suddenly felt more whole. It was like a final piece of herself clicked into place.

It felt… amazing.

Her body visibly trembled by the aftershocks and the continuing sensation of coming down from a high she'd never felt before. She could hardly get her own breathing under control and Kylo didn't give her a chance when he deepened a kiss the same moment he buried himself deeper inside her, only to pause the second after. He tiredly buried his face in the crook of her neck and uttered something that sounded like a mix of relief and frustration. He had withheld his own climax to watch hers and Rey almost felt his struggle as he willed himself to not let go. Not yet.

"Why did it have to be you?" she whispered breathlessly, more to herself than to him. She gazed over his shoulder and felt herself get lost in the stars above them. They were one in the Force. There was no more escaping that reality. They were simply one. She knew from that moment on, no one would ever make her feel what he'd just managed to stir in her. No one would ever exceed him in skill or power. Kylo had awaken something she had thought she had wanted to stay dormant forever, but now she wasn't so sure. More terrifying and surprising was that it wasn't his darkness that had consumed her. It was his light and with it came the sudden realization of how much she wanted to feel him get off from her as well.

"Your thoughts are very loud," he murmured haughtily. "But pleasing for my ego."

"Don't flatter yourself–"

He shoved himself into her again, making Rey swallow her words with a pained sigh. She sent him a narrowed glare and steadied a firm hand on his chest. She wanted to test if Kylo Ren was more than just aggression and violence, but she already knew the answer. His gentle calm was suppressed as deeply as her feelings for him had been, but she could access it. She just had to know how and where to look.

"That night… when I was with Poe–" She immediately felt him jerk at the mentioning of the cocky pilot, but she quickly rose to scatter a series of bites and kisses along his neck and jawline. "You thought I was imagining you, but I wasn't…" She paused before his lips, teasing and tasting him. "I was imagining Ben Solo."

"We're one and the same, Rey." His voice was restrained and agitated, but her skillful little mouth and prying hands kept him somewhat sane and grounded. "You can't have one without the other."

"I can handle both," she breathed seductively. He might not have realized what he'd just admitted to, but for Rey it meant that Ben Solo was still a part of him. He was alive. The thought almost made her want to smile and laugh, but then she felt him readjust against her, sending a current of shivers down her whole body and restarting a fire she'd thought she was too spent to reignite.

Force, was she wrong.

Kylo quickly found his mouth to close the distance between them. Their kiss started out fast and chaste, but slowly evolved into something gentler, yet passionate. Rey poured everything into it, willing him to hear and obey her. To slow down and savor it. They kissed as if it was their last, their first and their everything. Chances were that it very well could be.

Be with me.

He groaned against her lips and carefully slipped into her warmth in a pace he found equivalent to torture. And if there was one thing Kylo knew and thrived in, in was torture.

Be with me.

He drove into her again, as deep and slowly as he could muster. He took everything she offered and followed her body's siren-like guidance by latching onto her nipple and eagerly squeezing her other breast with his calloused hand.

Stay with me.

When he settled himself against the crook of her neck and heard her gasp in surprise by her renewed hunger, he knew he couldn't take much more. He bit her below her neck and reached for her through their bond, searching and feeling for where and how she wanted to be touched.

"That's… cheating," she breathed lazily, but she honestly didn't care. She made herself accessible to whatever he dared take. She was all his.

"Bad guy," he answered and jerked harshly against her because it was what her body demanded of him. She got off from his power and he treasured every second of it. She wanted to feel him come inside her, she wanted to feel him lose control as her body tightened around him, urging him to finish inside her and drain every last drop of him. She wanted to be claimed as his and his only.

Kylo completely lost it from her thoughts alone. Her mind and body suddenly drove him to the brink of a euphoric release that immediately took her with him.

Bliss, was suddenly the only coherent thought and emotion they both felt as they came together. He felt her light shine and consume them both in a bright glow that literally lit up the entire forest and swallowed all darkness for those drawn-out seconds that it lasted.

Between gasping breaths, joined bodies and sweat soaked skin, Kylo made his last attempt to fill and claim her. He rested his forehead against hers and lazily pushed into her a last time, feeling his own release mix with hers as their storm finally settled and the realization of what they had done came crashing down like a kriffing meteor.

"Ben," she uttered breathlessly and closed her eyes.

Kylo huffed and did the most unexpected – he grinned and removed a few leaves from her hair… and Force, if that simple smirk and gesture wasn't the most heartwarming thing Rey had ever seen.

"So, was this how you planned on finding and bringing me back to the light?"

"Well," Rey shrugged deviously. "Did it work?"

Before Kylo could answer, Rey felt him tense and freeze against her, all light and good suddenly leaving his whole being to be replaced with an alarm and anger that came more natural to him than breathing… and then Rey felt it too – The Resistance.

Someone had tracked her.

Someone had followed her.

"I swear, I–"

Kylo kissed her into silence and quickly summoned his lightsaber to him as he rose and readjusted his clothing. "I know, Rey. It's not your fault. At the end of the day, I'm still your enemy." He drank in the sated sight of her and hated that they weren't on the same side. It didn't keep him from offering his hand to her again, but this time, not with the ultimatum of ruling the galaxy with him. This time, it was merely to help her rise and that was the hand she took.

Ben's hand...

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A/N: Phew! Sorry for any major mistakes. It's late and I'm exhausted. And I'm sorry if I've offended anyone, but it is fiction. I wish I had the time to write a full-on 20-30 chapter Reylo fic with an interesting plot, but for now this is what I could manage. Maybe I'll continue it one day. Aaaanyways, please let me know what ya'll think. I, for one, would have loved to see how TROS could have turned out if some of the above had been considered. (Minus the sex, of course. Imagine the scandal, Disney!) ...but that's why we have fanfiction! Don't sue me!