Title: The Man and the Mask

Date Added: Apr 14, 2019

Rating: K+ (everyone)

Description: Rey is attacked by a masked Kylo Ren, but not all is as it seems.

The Man and the Mask

Rey gazed around her at the forest with her lit lightsaber out. Birds sang in the distance, and a warm gentle breeze rustled the shadows from the high tree canopy under the afternoon sun on Yavin 4. If it weren't for the overwhelming sensation of someone's desire to kill her, Rey would have found the scene beautiful and pleasant.

As is, she just wanted to survive it.

"Come out!" she demanded with a snarl. "I know you're there."

Her heart thudded in her chest as she reviewed the possibility that it could be anyone other than Ben Solo, no, Kylo Ren. They had parted badly on the Supremacy months ago when they last met, but he had never wanted to kill her before. Even then, he had wanted to conquer her, not destroy her.

Except, he had been leading the First Order when they tried to shoot her out of the sky in the Falcon.

Still, he was the only one stealthy enough to stalk her in broad daylight, and he did have reason to kill her. They had parted ways and returned to where they started: enemies.

There was a sense of deja vu, and Rey realized that these woods were not unlike the ones on Takodana where Kylo Ren had first captured her. However, now she was strong. She knew both the monster and the man under the mask, and she did expect him to be masked, all the holos showed Kylo Ren in his mask once more, covered in red-filled cracks as if it had been shattered and welded back together again. Regardless, Rey could face him now.

She hoped.

A blade buzzed in her periphery, and Rey pivoted to face it with her own blade. "Hello, Kylo Ren," she said in a voice filled with bitter frustration as the tall dark figure stepped out of the woods.

"Rey," Kylo Ren said, the voice modulated once more. Rey's hairs stood on end at the uncanny resemblance of the Kylo Ren before her to the one she had grown to know so well. Logically, she knew they were the same person, but the modulation box had been damaged at some point, changing his voice frequently in the holos. He was slimmer now too. Perhaps the stress of leading the First Order had interfered with his health. Even his posture seemed different…

"I won't let you win," Rey said, holding her lightsaber high as she entered a stance.

"I didn't expect you to, but I will defeat you," said Kylo Ren, and he charged her.

Kylo was stronger and heavier. Rey could not take a direct charge. She dodged as he approached and spun to hit him with her hilt just below his ribs. Kylo lost his balance for a half second, then came back with a hard swing aimed at her neck. Rey blocked it, but fell backwards onto the ground.

Kylo didn't hesitate. He immediately stomped forward and swung his blade down, just missing her as she rolled to the side to dodge. Rey scrambled to get up, but he was already swinging down again before she could get to her knees. Rey winced, expecting the end, as the blade came within inches of her.

She never felt the blade.

Abruptly, the blade pulled away from her, and Rey wasted no time crawling away from it and looking back to see what happened.

There were two Kylo Rens: The masked one who attacked her and another one, unmasked. Both tall, fierce, and dressed in black.

Rey's jaw dropped as she tried to make sense of the scene before her. The masked Kylo Ren stood rigid with his arms locked behind him, much like hers had been on Takodana when she had been captured. Behind the masked Kylo Ren, stood the unmasked Kylo Ren with eyes glaring at the masked man and a long arm out grasping the air in front of him.

"I found you," the unmasked Kylo Ren growled. He straightened his posture, walked up to the masked man, and carefully removed the mask to reveal a young, blond man with freckles on his cheeks. "Bye, Kava Ren." Kylo Ren carefully extracted his still-lit blade from the blond man's grasp and beheaded the young man in one easy swing.

Rey gaped as Kylo Ren, or should she call him Ben? Whatever name he used, he did not even look at her before turned off the lightsaber, attaching it to his belt, and turning away.

"Ben!" Rey cried, more out of disbelief than with any real idea of what she would say to him. Had he somehow not seen her or had he chosen to ignore her presence?

He immediately turned around and met her eyes with a stare so vibrant and vulnerable that Rey's heart burned at its sight. "Rey," he breathed.

No surprise marked his face, so he had known she was there and chosen to walk away. It hurt. She could see the rapid rise and fall of his chest from where she sat, but he did not move an inch. He simply watched her, as if terrified that she might flee if he so much as flinched. Did he think she wanted him to avoid her?

Rey looked to the body of the man who had posed as Kylo Ren and then back at the real one. "I don't understand… I thought you were under the mask."

"I am no longer Kylo Ren," he said, and some of the tension fell from him as he shifted his gaze to the body. "That name was stolen from me alongside my mask and blade following the battle of Crait. They meant to take my life as well, but I escaped."

"He had the force," Rey said, still confused.

"They all did. Hux turned my knights against me, and they took turns wearing the mantle, so to speak, while running the First Order. I've been hunting them down ever since. It's done now, though. This was the last one. My knights are no more."

Rey absorbed this and folded her legs in front of her. On realizing her lightsaber was still lit, she turned it off and put it away. She felt no hostility from him and saw little reason to keep up her guard. If he wanted her dead, he would not have saved her from his former knight. "Then are you Kylo Ren again?"

"No, that name was tainted by the actions of my knights. Hux was a snivelling, weak man, but he had his uses. I would have never killed him, nor done many of the other deeds my knights took on when they no longer had anyone but each other to keep them in check." He looked back to Rey and smirked shyly. "You may call me Ben, if you need a name."

Rey smiled at the realization the man she cared for was still very alive inside him. "Thank you, Ben. So what's next? Are you going to join the Resistance and take down the rest of the First Order?"

Ben chuckled and shook his head. "Hardly, Rey. I just destroyed the First Order's current leadership. They need me again, whether or not they want me." He looked away. "Many of them won't even realize a change in leadership took place. I will never wear a mask again, and this thing," he said, looking at his own mask, "I will melt until it is past recognition, and I will reclaim my birth name of Ben Solo, though it will serve the First Order. It is my truth, and I will not allow myself to be replaced again."

Rey's smile faltered as the hope that had just budded back to life was snuffed back out. Her heart felt heavy, and it was with trembling limbs she carefully pulled herself up to standing again. What should she say now that Ben was at once so close and so far?

Were they not enemies again?

Rey looked to the lightsaber on her belt and back at Ben. His eyes had followed her motions, and he offered her a sad smile.

"I saw you got it fixed. I'm proud of you. Repairing a lightsaber is nearly as dangerous and challenging as building one," Ben said.

Rey shook her head in her mounting frustration at how impossible things were between them. "I don't want to fight, Ben."

Ben was silent for a moment as he gazed at her thoughtfully. "It's your choice," he finally said.

"What's that mean?"

"I won't attack you again. If necessary, I will defend myself against you, but not to the point of hurting you. Rey, I meant what I said before."

Rey looked away. Ben had said so many different things to her at this point, she didn't even want to ask which one. "Then what? We remain benevolent enemies? That's not how things work, Ben!"

"Yet it's how they have always worked between us, Rey, at least where I was concerned. I wanted to teach you from the moment I found you."

The words Rey wanted to forget came back to her, and her heart sank as she questioned if she had misunderstood. "Only to teach me?"

"No," Ben said in a deep, raspy voice. His gaze somehow both sharpened and softened as he took in her appearance, her eyes, her lips… his eyes stayed there longest, and then he looked away with ears blushed red. "But I do not hold your rejection against you. I was… rash… and… severe. Too severe, to expect you to abandon your friends." He took a deep breath and stared at the canopy above them. "I also understand why you may find my path objectionable."

Rey's eyes burned with tears. She didn't want to talk about this, and yet, she didn't want to leave Ben this way. "Ben," she said, and realized she didn't know what to say next. She needed more time with him to sort out her thoughts. "Ben, would you run with me?"

His eyebrows shot up. "A run?" He paused, confused. "You want to run… with me? This isn't some sort of elaborate trap?"

"It's not a trap. And yes, I want to run with you," Rey said with confidence. Running had always helped her clear her mind.

"Lead the way," he said.

Rey looked down at the body. "Won't it be a problem if that's found?"

Ben shook his head and gestured for her to start moving.

Rey took a deep breath, considered the original reason she had come to Yavin 4, and fell into a brisk run to the East, away from her ship and toward the abandoned Jedi temple on the planet.

Ben fell into step beside her, occasionally slipping behind her when the trees grew too dense to stay at her side only to return at her side when the path widened again.

"You came to explore the temple?" Ben asked after a bit.

Rey nodded. "I want to learn more about those before me."

A silence followed, as if Ben were reluctant to comment on this. Rey considered the possible reasons that may be and came to a realization that caused her to stop in her tracks. Ben stopped as well, gazing at her with calm and an even breath despite their run. "You've already raided them for everything I could use, haven't you?"

Ben sheepishly looked away. "It's possible I may have missed something." He looked back to her. "You are welcome to what lore I found."

"And the artifacts?" Rey asked, for she had read enough in Luke's books to know several objects of power had existed that required the force to use.

Ben shook his head. "I will not hurt you, but that doesn't mean I will give you the means to destroy me and everything I have worked for."

Rey gritted her teeth, seeing his reason for withholding them but also wishing she could see the artifacts for herself. "Will you prevent me from keeping what I find today?"

Ben looked at her for a long moment, then shook his head. "I would like your time with me to be absent of fear."

Rey regarded Ben as her heart exploded yet again in turmoil. He was more man than monster now. Perhaps he was more man than he had ever been. "What do you intend to do with the First Order and the Resistance?" she asked to clear her aching heart. She wanted to be with the man before her, but she knew she couldn't while they were at war.

"I haven't decided," he answered quickly. "Who leads the Resistance? Would they be open to conversation with me?"

Rey shook her head. "It's a Bothan named Grin´dayla. He's a radical. Wants everyone in the First Order dead. He even tried to get Finn on trial for his history as a stormtrooper. It took both his status as a war hero and the support of nearly every other war hero in the Resistance to spare him." Her face fell with the memory, but her eyes lit up again a moment later. "Your mother is second-in-command though."

Ben smiled even as his eyes hardened. "So if something were to happen to Grin'dayla…"

Rey's eyes widened, and she stepped back from Ben, realizing exactly what her seed of an idea was sprouting in his mind. Should she discourage him? Grin'dayla had already imprisoned several other Resistance members on the basis that they had worked for the First Order or the Empire in the past, and no amount of explanation or status would protect her if the Bothan ever discovered her true history with Ben. Even General Organa regularly received harassment for simply being Ben's mother, though she stood against everything the First Order had done.

"It's not just the stormtrooper. He's a danger to you and my mother too," Ben said, correctly guessing what had been on her mind.

Unbidden tears formed in Rey's eyes as she realized she was effectively sealing the Bothan's fate by not denying the truth, and yet, relief came with the reality that Ben would take the steps to protect them that she was unable to take herself.

"Don't be cruel," Rey found herself saying. She might not discourage this death, but she could discourage dragging it out.

Ben's face filled with warmth for her, and his hand reached out to touch her and froze as he remembered himself. "I'm no sadist, Rey. I'll make it quick."

"Thank you," Rey said, her shoulders dropping with the release of tension she hadn't known she was holding.

"You're welcome," Ben said. "Thank you for letting me know I could help."

Rey laughed bitterly. "He wouldn't even be wrong to suspect me as a traitor… but what he's doing is wrong. He's a monster."

"You called me a monster once," Ben said, tilting his head to the side as if to study her better.

Rey sighed. "You had seemed so heartless then, but I was wrong. You are ruthless, but it's from too much heart, not too little. You're trying to do the right thing, even if it's misguided. Grin'dayla only cares about staying in power."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps Grin'dayla is acting out of the misguided notion that the Resistance needs him to be in power. Even Snoke did what he thought was best."

Rey cringed. She did not want to consider that Grin'dayla, whom she couldn't stand, may not be that different from Ben, whom she loved. Rey froze in horror. Did she love Ben?

"Don't fear, Rey. I do not need to be convinced that he is a monster to eliminate him. It is enough that he threatens those I love," Ben said, misunderstanding her sudden fear.

Rey's heart lurched at hearing his confession. She had suspected as much when he asked her to be at his side, then doubted it again when the battle of Crait took place. Just this morning she had wondered if he wished to kill her, and she couldn't have been more wrong. He loved her. Her vision swam, and the colors seemed too bright as she realized what this could mean for both of them. She stumbled slightly and found Ben's arm wrapped around her waist, holding her up against him.

"What's wrong, Rey?" he asked. Nothing but concern was in his eyes, and she realized he had no idea of her feelings, and why should he? She had tried to kill him and left him to die several times now, and she had rejected his offer on the Supremacy.

"I love you," she blurted out. She watched his eyes widen in disbelief and felt the shock of her words throughout his body as it stiffened next to her. "Ben, I love you," she repeated, wanting to make sure he understood.

"You love me," he said in a voice laced with doubt and confusion.

"Yes, I love you," Rey repeated, feeling a bit frustrated now at having to repeat herself again.

"But on the Supremacy, you… You really love me?"

"Yes! I didn't reject you because I didn't care for you, Ben. You were asking me to abandon my friends though, and I couldn't…"

"You're sure? That you love me? This isn't some sort of cruel joke?"

Rey glared at him now and wrenched free of him, furious that he found her confession so hard to believe. "Yes, I love you! How could you think I would joke about something like-"

"May I kiss you?" he asked, interrupting her. He bit his bottom lip, wetting it. The moisture glistened in the gentle forest light.

"What!?" Rey cried, backing away quickly even as she gazed at his lips.

Ben rolled his eyes and stalked closer to her, though he stopped at a respectable distance. "If I love you, and you love me, then a kiss between us would not be very objectionable, would it? May I kiss you?"

"We're still at war, Ben," Rey reminded him and herself, trying to keep herself from becoming any more entangled with him. What had she been thinking letting him know her feelings? And yet, she couldn't quite regret it. There was something right about letting him know. Her eyes fell to his lips again. There was something right about being with him.

"We've been at war this entire time, Rey," he said, and his voice turned her name into a gentle caress to her ears.

Rey found herself closing the gap between them and gazing up at him. She had somehow forgotten how very much taller he was than her. Ben reached up and brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and Rey found herself leaning into his hand and closing her eyes in pleasure at his touch.

"I love you. Do you love me, Rey?" he asked. His voice shook, and his hand cautiously moved to behind her neck, gently angling her face up at his.

"I love you, Ben," Rey answered. Every nerve in her body buzzed with anticipation. She had been shocked by his request, but...

"May I kiss you?" he asked again.

Rey nodded and reached up to help guide him as he leaned over to kiss her gently on the lips with closed eyes. They were rougher than hers, but they still felt like heaven, and Rey whimpered when he removed them a few seconds later.

"Again," she insisted. Ben's eyes widened, but he complied, and Rey deepened the kiss between them until she forgot about the war. When she finally pulled away for breath, she closed her eyes and leaned against his chest. "I don't want to leave you again."

"Then don't," Ben said, wrapping his arms around her.

"But my mission…"

"Which mission?" Ben asked. "The mission to research the jedi? Have you forgotten that I can help you? Did you have another mission?"

Rey paused, wondering if she should tell him when he was still the enemy of the Resistance, and yet, she had already betrayed them in so many ways, and she did not believe he would abuse the knowledge. "Your mother asked me to find you. She feared at the changes she saw following Crait and hoped I might help you find the light again."

Ben squeezed her gently and gazed at her. "It seems that staying close to me would be to your advantage for both of your missions. I will help you search the ruins. I will show you what I have discovered, including the artifacts, if you swear not to use them against me. I will keep you safe, and when the time comes, I will kill Grin'dayla and discuss terms with my mother as the new leader of the Resistance." He reached his hand up to her scalp and massaged it underneath her tied-up hair. "Please, Rey, don't leave me. We can be together."

"I suppose I shouldn't neglect my missions," Rey said. Rey's body trembled in excitement, and she hugged him tightly. "I'll stay with you, but I will need to report back to the Resistance, and I am not part of the First Order. I'm not accepting your earlier offer."

"I understand," Ben said, hugging her back. "I just want you by my side."

Another one-shot! This one was inspired by the Episode IX teaser trailer. I'm so excited!

Please let me know what you think!