Coarse sand scoured his trouser knees as he was flung before the enemy. Electric burns from his downed X-wing lanced his fingers, and his stomach ached from the stormtroopers' forced march. Defiance barred him from the truth. It's only a man in a mask. A stranger. Jittering blue energy hovered behind him, and Poe felt as helpless as when his arms were tethered in the Force. Do you plan to shoot me now?
He intended to forget. His small Jedi friend was gone. Ben was a child; violent tempered, but insecure and kind in heart nonetheless. This monster before him – with a mask concealing his eyes and a name that wasn't 'Kyber' – he had stolen Ben away.
For the inkling of a moment, when Kylo Ren crouched before him, Poe wondered if he could steal Ben back.
"So, who talks first? You talk first? I talk first?" Are you still there behind the cowl? Do you get scared at night, thinking your dad left and he won't return? Do you wreck innocent machinery? Would you kick a tooka if it crossed your path?
He almost smiled. Mirth touched his eyes, but he couldn't let it show. Ben hated it when people laughed at him.
I'm not laughing at you. Not anymore.
Kylo Ren's response was an order. A demand for information. Poe ridiculed the mask in retaliation. Would you remove it for me? Tell me it's only a game?
He expected anger for his mockery, or even nostalgia from the kid he knew. Poe received neither. Kylo Ren dismissed him as senselessly as his masked soldiers. "Take him on board."
Someone's not listening to me. Poe couldn't force the thoughts away as he was hauled to his feet. This was Ben, after all. The kid who had smashed his mirror three times in as many months because he couldn't find the floss. (And stealing Poe's supplies was such a great alternative.) The kid who hijacked his helmet to keep him from leaving on a mission. The kid who used to call himself "Mon Mothma" before he realized it was a girl's name.
But when shots erupted behind him and the villagers screamed, Poe knew his friend was gone. You did this, he recognized even while he moaned a plea, trying to block out the flash of blaster fire. You knew they were hiding me. You wanted me to hear them die.
His mind shut down at that point. They're going to torture you. You've been warned about capture. He couldn't think about failure. About the Resistance. About the kid with an obsession for jello and model B-wings. Poe Dameron could not be vulnerable.
Think about BB-8. You have to return for him. You promised General Organa you would have the information for her before the next moon. Too many lives were at stake. Ben Solo was only….
The dark warrior sat across from Poe, and the pilot bitterly looked away. No signs of recognition. No fissures in his resolve. His name is Kylo Ren. He means nothing to me.
He remembered a child's stark, defiant chestnut eyes, and he wished his blaster bolt had burned through Kylo Ren's heart.
He couldn't admit that he had nearly collapsed for relief when the Force blocked it in time.
Thank you to Space Opera Singer, Booksnake3, StatsGrandma57, The-Splatoon-Rook 64, The EarthSong, Fangirl4life2001, nerdyninjaunicorn, CatWingsAthena, ZeDancing Hobbit, Real1Swear, Igeekthetudors, .fire, FoxfaceFan1, Nadreth, CrazedFangirl13, Begoogled, and guests Corrine and Guest for reviewing!