A/N - The reunion you've all been waiting for...
Ben studied her for a lengthy moment. He had almost forgotten how astonishing it was to see her, how incredible she was. The forest came alive with her in it, colors becoming more vivid.
But though the woods were beautiful, they were nothing compared to her.
Her face was thinner and more mature than the last time he had seen her. The youthful chubbiness of her cheeks had again vanished in the face of malnourishment.
There was a wisdom and maturity in her gaze, a broken air that seemed to enshroud her that hadn't been there before. He didn't know what had happened to her over the past couple of months, but she appeared older and far more wounded than he recalled.
Her hair, free from its buns, flowed around her shoulders and back. Wet from the rain, it was darker than normal. She was far cleaner now than the first time he'd seen her, but she was back in her clothes from Jakku, styled for life in a desert.
The clothes hid a figure that had once been lush, but was now lean again. Though she was thinner than he liked her, he couldn't deny her sweet, simple beauty.
He saw the emotions that flashed over her face, the hope, the joy, and for a moment something he almost believed could have been love. But they were gone so rapidly that he wasn't even entirely sure he'd seen them.
Tears shimmered in her eyes as her hand wavered on her lightsaber. He'd almost forgotten how convincing her phony emotions could be.
He recalled the night she had begged him not to kill FN-2187. She had been so sincere, had sworn that he was nothing more than a friend to her.
Ben no longer believed that, after what he had seen. He believed nothing of what she had told him.
He didn't know the girl before him, but he did know that she was not the girl he'd thought she was. She never had been.
He had come here to bring her back, to make her pay for her betrayal. Now all he would like to do was destroy her himself.
Her hand stopped shaking as she drew her lightsaber, the blue blade flickering to life. He had no doubt that she would use it against him, just as he had no doubt that she would fail.
Just as he had no doubt that he would get his hands on her, and she would pay.
"Rey."
Her full mouth pinched, her eyebrows tight over her narrow nose.
"Kylo Ren."
He paused at the use of the name. She had stopped using it a long time ago in favor of his birth name.
He moved away from the tree he had been leaning against, taking a step toward her.
"Have you come to take me back then?" She inquired roughly.
"No," He replied simply, drawing his own lightsaber and letting his helmet fall to the ground with a thud..
She swallowed heavily, her chin tilted up a notch. He hadn't forgotten about her defiance, her willfulness, but he didn't find it as charming as he once had.
In fact, it was aggravating the hell out of him right now.
She should be cowering, trembling with fear. He wasn't injured, like he had been on Starkiller, and she stood no real chance against him. She had to know that she would not survive this meeting, and yet she didn't show one ounce of trepidation.
Rey was looking her death in the eye, but she wasn't going to back down from him. She wasn't going to cower or beg for mercy. She was going to stand there and meet him head on.
"To kill me then?" She asked, her voice far steadier than he had thought it should be.
"Perhaps," he murmured. He had planned to take her back, to make her pay, but then she would be killed, and looking at her now he wasn't sure he was willing to lose the strange balance she brought to him and to the Force.
What was he going to do with her then?
"I see." Her eyes flickered briefly as they darted around the forest.
He could see the wheels in her brain spinning as she tried to formulate a plan of escape. They both knew it was useless; she wouldn't be able to get away from him.
"Where is FN-2187?"
Her gaze slid back to him.
"If you mean Finn, then he's not here." She retorted.
Frustration and annoyance built rapidly inside him. He was used to her defiance, but he didn't like it, and he wasn't going to deal with it after everything she had done to him.
"I'm surprised you've separated at all, but then I'm sure you've moved on to someone else by now."
"You always did like to believe the worst of me," She muttered, but there was no offense in her gaze, only a fiery rage.
"And you never failed to disappoint."
True wrath twisted her features, and her hands trembled on her lightsaber. Then she straightened her shoulders and tightened her grip.
"I'm glad I held up to all of your expectations." Her back foot twisted in the earth, digging in as she prepared for a fight. "I hope Snoke does the same, considering you chose him over me."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means you betrayed me!" She snapped. "Snoke knew I was there."
He was mildly surprised that she knew about that.
"Dameron told you."
"Someone had to, don't you think? It certainly wasn't going to be you."
"When?"
"When what?"
"When did he tell you?"
"What difference does it make?" She huffed, for the first time looking disconcerted.
He took another step toward her, but she didn't move away, didn't even flinch. He'd had enough of her defiance, enough of her hostility.
She should be telling him everything that he demanded to know. She should be begging for her life like she had begged for her FN-2187's life, but she wasn't, and she wasn't going to.
"Do you have no common sense whatsoever?" He inquired, his voice a low growl as he watched her. "No survival instinct?"
"I live in hell every day," she grated through clenched teeth. "A hell that the First Order created for us. The only sense I have is for survival, but since you've pretty much admitted that you're here to kill me, I see no point in worrying about anything else right now, do you?"
He took another step toward her, and she raised her lightsaber.
"I'll use this, I swear I will," she hissed.
Ben quirked an eyebrow in amusement at her threat. She would use it, but it would do her little good.
"Will you now?"
Her hand clenched around her weapon.
"Your stormtroopers were on Endor the other day. They raided one of our encampments, though I'm sure you already knew that," She continued to glare at him as she broke off, waiting for him to say something. When he didn't, she continued on. "There were children in those caves! Children!"
"There are laws, and you and your people are breaking them."
Rey's eyes fairly sparkled with wrath, and he could sense her rapidly unraveling control. He had always enjoyed baiting her, watching her response, but this was different; this was not the girl that had stayed in his apartment at the palace.
No, this girl was stronger, more callous, colder. This girl vibrated with anger and hostility. She looked like a warrior, and she was, he realized. She had always been a fighter, but now she was so much more than that.
She was not the girl that had offered him her body. She was the woman that was going to attack him with a lightsaber at any moment.
He had pushed her to a breaking point, pushed her control to the edge. Rey charged, hacking and slashing wildly.
Ben parried her blows easily, and trees came crashing down as they moved throughout the forest. He was on the offensive now, and he forced her to move backwards.
But no, that wasn't quite right. She was leading him backwards, heading deeper into the forest, drawing him farther away from the area she had been walking toward when he found her.
She was trying to lead him away from her friends.
Increasing the distance between them, her lightsaber flickered off as she ran from him, darting through the woods in a zigzagging pattern, easily avoiding any obstacle in her way. It was amazing to watch her, amazing to see her sleek agility in action.
Though he was fascinated by it, he was tired of being avoided. She was headed for a large tree, and he sensed her intention to climb and take refuge in its branches, somewhere he would not be able to follow.
Deactivating his own saber, he poured on the speed, rushing after her, unwilling to let this continue. She had just thrown her arms around the tree branch when he caught hold of her.
She didn't cry out, didn't scream as she planted her legs against the trunk and shoved off it with all of her might.
Ben stumbled slightly backward as she lurched sharply against him with the full force of her weight. He kept hold of her tunic though, clinging to her as she tried to dart forward, tried to pull free of his hold.
Rey was far more stubborn, wild, and determined to escape than he had thought she would be. He knew she was a spitfire, but she was a lot more volatile than he recalled her being.
She flung herself forward, the thin material of her clothing slipping free of his rigid hold.
She staggered, just as surprised as him to be momentarily free of his grasp. He grabbed at her, wrapping his arms around her waist as he caught hold of her.
She cried out in surprise as they tumbled to the ground. Though he didn't care about her, he shifted his weight, trying not to crush her beneath him as they rolled over the ground. She was frantic now, squirming against him, her terror evident as she tried to escape his ironclad grasp.
Ben was surprised by the brief moment of guilt that tugged at him. He wanted her to pay for her perfidy, but he hadn't meant to terrify her to this extreme.
Rey tried to stagger to her feet, but he kept hold of her waist, pulling her back underneath him as he flipped her over. Her eyes were wild as she thrashed against him, her hair a strangling mess around her flushed face. She was panting beneath him, her fright palpable as she continued to try to writhe out of his hold.
He seized hold of her hair, his hand wrapped into the thick, wet mess. Rey pushed at his chest, shoving against him as a whimper escaped her.
Ben didn't know what he was thinking, what he was doing, but instead of drawing his saber and ending her as he had imagined doing for the past couple of months, his lips descended upon her mouth, seizing hold of it.
Her hands flattened against his chest, and she went still as stone beneath him. He pressed tighter against her, requiring some sort of response, needing something from her, anything.
Needing to break her in some small way, just as she had broken him.
Then, her hands curled into his shirt and her fingers dug against his skin. A small gasp escaped her as her lips parted, clinging to him as her body melted against his.
He invaded her, savoring the taste and feel of her as he melded against her. He forgot everything, all of her deception, all of his hatred and suffering as he held her. It was hard to remember anything when she was so right and good in his arms.
He had never felt anything as superb as she was, and as long as he held her, he didn't care what happened around them.
It wasn't until he tasted the saltiness of her tears upon his lips that he realized she was crying. It wasn't until he pulled away to wipe the tears from her cheeks that he realized he cared for her far more than he had been willing to admit to himself.
It wasn't until she rested her forehead against his chest and began to sob heavily that he realized they were both doomed.
A/N - Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
As always, please leave a review with your thoughts, suggestions, and predictions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!
~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)