"Sir, there have been reports of Resistance spies on the planet Pasaana. Should we engage?" a young officer asks.
Kylo Ren, Supreme Leader of the First Order, turns his head toward the officer. He smirks at the way the officer tries to still their quaking knees. A short smile curls across his lips, amused for the moment before he responds.
"We'll send a small squadron to deal with them. They aren't worth my time. Find me when you have something of more use," he replies as he begins to turn away.
"One report indicated there was a woman with them," the officer adds.
This stops the Supreme Leader in his tracks. His helmeted head whips around and he marches back swiftly to the officer, stopping only when he towers over her. The officer gulps softly, trying to hide the shakes threatening to take over her body. She waits quietly, nervously looking at the mask streaked with red cracks all around.
"Prepare my ship and inform the Knights of Ren. Station the Finalizer in the planet's atmosphere. She must not escape the planet's surface," Kylo orders.
"Y-y-yes, Supreme Leader," the officer says with a bow of her head before quickly turning to deliver the commands.
Underneath his helmet, Kylo finds it difficult to breathe. He doesn't need more than one report to clarify the truth in what the officer shared with him. All that matters to him now is she is there and he needs to do everything in his power to bring her to his side. Kylo strides quickly towards his chambers and closes the door quickly. He reaches out with the Force, trying to push through to connect with her in their mysterious bond. There is a little pulse around him, then nothing. Kylo tries again, pushing through with all his might. Then the familiar silence encapsulates him. He smiles in his success and searches around for her. His heart lights up the moment his eyes land on her, the woman he's spent over a year combing the galaxy over.
He doesn't say anything at first, knowing her reaction may not be as pleasant given their last interaction. A pang of regret flows through him as he remembers his proposal to her. Every night since then he has thought of the words he should have said that day, the words that mean more and should have explained how he felt. But what was said was said, he couldn't change the past. Kylo needs to look towards the future and his future must have her in it. His eyes gaze at the beauty before him. In all his travels across the galaxy, he has never had any woman capture his attention as she has. She is strong, confident, understanding, fierce when fighting for the people she cares for, and so much more. In all his time of being tormented by the darkness, she is a beacon of light making his world feel light. After a few more moments of staring in awe, he takes a deep breath and finally announces his presence.
"Hello Rey," Kylo says plainly with gentle intent.
The Supreme Leader watches as her body jumps, clearly startled. She stands up from her spot and turns to face him, a look of confusion and a little bit of fear on her face. The slight fear in her eyes pains Kylo but he tries to block it out, focusing only on keeping his emotions in check. He has a job to do and he needs to fulfill it outright.
"It's been a while," Rey replies after a few moments of drawn out silence between them.
She crosses her arms and looks at him, shaking her head as she sees the helmet he wears. Kylo cocks his head slightly to the side in question of her new stance. He can see the hint of a smile flash across her beautiful mouth but it's gone in a flash.
"I always liked you better with the helmet off," she says softly, turning away to sit down.
Kylo stills for a moment, realizing she's sitting on his bed. He feels a familiar warmth flood through his body and he wishes he could act on it. But he swallows it as he watches Rey get comfortable.
"I have to keep up appearances," he states flatly.
"Ah yes, the new Supreme Leader," Rey replies, nodding her head slowly.
They look at each other quietly. The moments tick by slowly as their bond hums with life for the first time in a long time. Rey sits back on the bed, placing her hands behind her to support herself as she crosses her legs.
"We wouldn't want anyone to be jealous of your wavy locks, now would we?" she teases gently.
Kylo thanks the Force he's wearing his helmet to hide his blush. His fists curl into a ball as he tries to quiet his palpitating heart. She leans forward slightly, a smirk of delight crossing her face.
"Or is it because you don't want them to see what I gave you?" Rey adds.
Finding it more challenging to keep his emotions under control, Kylo swiftly raises his hands to the sides of his helmet and removes it from his head. He shakes his hair out a little before locking his eyes onto Rey. Kylo doesn't miss the change on her face or in her body. The smirk falls from her face and she recoils slightly, feeling the same warmth pool in her belly every time she sees this man. Rey watches as he crosses the room and stands just above her, his towering figure making her tremble. He leans down until his face is millimeters away from her own, their noses almost touching.
"You think you know everything just because you've beaten me and you've seen into my mind. But I've seen into your mind and know who you are. It's only a matter of time where there will be nowhere else in the galaxy for you to hide, my runaway Rey," Kylo unfolds before her, looking deeply into her eyes.
Rey stares back into his eyes. They are soft, despite him trying to be strict and bold with his words. She has seen the rage in them before, but never directed at her. If things were different and they weren't on opposite sides of the war, she would grab him and take him everywhere with her. He is the first person in her life who knows what she has felt and has had similar thoughts and fears. Whether she likes to admit it to herself, he means a lot to her. But as long as he aligns himself with the Dark Side, she can never truly give in to her feelings for him.
"I don't want to run away. I don't want to hide from you. I want…I want you to come back to the light, Ben. Please…" Rey pleads softly, fighting back the tears in her eyes.
Kylo opens his mouth to speak, raising a hand to gently reach out to her face when an alarm sounds loudly throughout the ship. The moment he flips his head back to look at where Rey was sitting, she's gone. The bond has ended. He snarls and curses the blasted ship. But as he looks out his window, the view of Pasaana is in his sights. Kylo takes a breath and steadies himself.
"This time you won't run away from me," he whispers to her through the Force.