Alone Together

Kylo Ren and his forces stormed through the broken door of the Resistance base. He was fuming at how easily he had fallen for his uncle's trick. He ordered the troopers to search the base, even though he could already sense that the Resistance was not here. Hux stood at a distance and watched as Ren entered the command room. His face showed utter disdain and hatred. His pale cheeks were hollowed out and there was a dark, blotchy, purple bruise on the side of his face when Ren had thrown him against the interior of the walker. He knew Ren was not a competent leader, and that his emotional distractions would run the First Order into the ground. Hux would not let this happen.

Kylo walked into the empty command room, his cloak billowing around him. His mother had been here, and she still held no hatred for him. But there wasn't any hope either. A strange glint caught his eye so he knelt down to inspect it. He picked the small object up and his chest tightened painfully. His father's dice. He flinched as he remembered his blade piercing through his father's torso, his eyes shocked, but forgiving. Watching the sunlight reflect on the gold of the dice, he realized that his father always kept these hanging over the dashboard of the Millenium Falcon. How were they here? Then he felt it again. A low rumble in the Force that shot through him as he felt the vibrations in his body, and mind. He looked up and his breath hitched as he stared up in shock.

Rey was loading the last of the Resistance fighters aboard the Falcon as Chewie started the launch process. The blue of the engines reflected onto the glistening white snow. Also something she had never seen before. She was still reeling from feeling Luke's death and trying to process it all. She helped the last Resistance fighter up the ramp who gave her a smile and thanked her. Rey smiled back and turned to lift the ramp up again. She turned around, arm raised when she stopped suddenly when she felt a sudden, yet familiar shift in the Force. Her hair grazed her shoulders as she turned her head. She looked down the ramp and suddenly felt as if she had forgotten how to breathe. She was looking into the dark eyes of Kylo Ren.

The Force had decided to connect them once again, muffling the rest of the world, as if Rey and Kylo were the only two beings in the galaxy at that moment. They were both confused for a moment. Snoke had said that he had forged their Bond, but here they were. Had Snoke merely initiated it? Had the connection between them been real after all?

Kylo's lips parted in surprise as he stared at Rey. She was equally stunned, her chest rose and fell as she breathed heavily. The hand that had been about to close the door remained in the air and he noticed that it was trembling. He felt so many emotions flow between them to the point where he couldn't tell if they were Rey's or his. He felt surprised, and relieved, which only served to confuse him more. He wanted to reach out to her, to say something, but he felt like he could no longer speak. His eyes never left hers, and within them, he was asking a silent question. Why?

He saw several emotions fly across her face before her jaw set. He thought he saw a glimpse of relief that she had felt when seeing him, but he wasn't sure. There was no longer any hatred in her eyes, but they were disappointed, melancholy, and even a bit of conflicting anger. Then he felt the smallest glimpse of, hope? His breath shook when he realized that she still had a sliver of hope for him.

Rey looked into his dark eyes, unable to look anywhere else. She was confused, as she thought that the Bond would've died with Snoke. But even more confusing was that the first thing that she felt after the shock subsided was a rush of relief. He looked so lost, so broken. She tried to steel herself, to be strong. She wanted to say something, anything but her voice refused to work. A rush of anger came over her as she wondered why didn't he just come with her? Away from the Dark side? But she began to understand it wasn't that simple for him. And she was angrier at the horrible circumstances they were in that kept them apart.

His eyes seemed to be asking her a silent question before she heard the word ring inside her mind. Why? Had she really heard his voice? Testing if it went both ways, she sent her own message to him. You know I can't. Judging by the startled look on his face, he had heard her message. His adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed.

His gaze never left her hazel eyes as he sent his voice into her mind again. If you had taken my hand, we wouldn't be alone anymore. Rey flinched slightly. Her expression became stoic and her hand lowered to the panel as she pushed the button to close the ramp. She sent one last message as the ramp closed.

I know. The ramp shut closed as she severed their connection. Kylo flinched visibly as his father's ship cut him off from Rey. He stared at where she had been. He was only met with the stone wall of the base. His eyes went to his father's dice. They slowly disappeared leaving his hands empty. He clenched his gloved hand into a fist. He had won. He had killed his uncle, the majority of the Resistance was gone, and he had become Supreme Leader. This was a victory for the First Order. But then why did it feel like he had lost? Kylo's head hung as he stared at the ground, with Rey's final expression burned into his mind.

Rey's hand shook after she had closed the ramp. It shut with a resounding thud and she was breathing shakily. Kylo's last expression had seemed so broken, so lost. His last message rang in her head. If you had taken my hand, we wouldn't be alone anymore. It was like a blow to her stomach and all the air had left her lungs. She had desperately shoved her churning emotions down so they wouldn't show on her face. If they did, it would have been that much harder to force that last thought at him.

I know. That simple declaration seemed to break him, and it broke her, too. Only after the ramp had closed did Rey allow herself a moment of privacy. She squeezed her eyes shut to prevent tears from rolling down her cheeks as she swallowed hard. Taking one last glance at the door, she turned around and went to join the rest of the Resistance. But all she could see was Kylo's broken expression just before she had severed their connection.

*Author's Note: Ugh this scene breaks my heart watching their faces. What are your thoughts on me including Force Bond sessions between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker? It wouldn't technically be canon because Pasaana was apparently the first session since this one. But if people are interested I would be happy to include some! Also, try listening to Imagine Dragons' song "I Bet My Life," and try not to cry while thinking of the Reylo arc in the Last Jedi. *sobs.