Eyes wide open

Author's note: Warnings for decadence and debauchery. Power play and promiscuity. This is a very angsty story, guys, with a lot of forbidden elements in it. Tread carefully.

We'll also be meeting a certain someone who I believe we have all missed in this story. For whoever of you decide to stay, behold a small feast for you!

"Ben? Is it the bad dreams again?"

Rey can almost see her younger version pad carefully into the small hut that's illuminated by the pale moon hanging from the night sky. She can almost hear the soft ruffle of a blanket, and the strange sighs of the young man tossing in his bed.

Almost.

Because the teenage boy is no longer there. Nor is the man he has become.

Rey stares at the Governor's empty bed and the silver light of the moon that falls on the untouched duvet. She never imagined he'd be gone this late in the night. In fact, she would have never found out about his absence at all, if it weren't for that urgent call from Luke. The information he had disclosed to her was exceedingly important, and Rey had thought it would be best if she came seeking for Ben. Even at this late hour.

But Ben, it seems, had made other plans.

"Where did you say he went?"

She asks the guard that was unfortunate enough to be stationed on a night shift outside Ben's quarters. Mike scratches the back of his head clearly in a difficult spot.

"I'm sorry miss. I'm not allowed to give out information about the Governor's whereabouts. Even to you."

Rey presses her lips.

"There's two ways we can do this. You either tell me all on your own where he has gone, and we can pretend you put up an admirable fight against me, or I get the information I need from your mind, in a not so subtle way. The choice is yours."

The guard sighs. "Rey, if he finds out about this he'll do more than just fire me."

"I won't let him touch a single hair on you, even though there's not much of that. And I promise, you won't lose your job."

"There's no guarantee…"

"Mike."

"All right! All right!" The man sighs rubbing at his short cropped hair. "He's at a private party. The likes of which is… well, not your style. Chances are, he'll be coming back sometime around dawn."

"Take me there."

"Did you just hear what I said? It's a private party. No one's allowed unless they're invited. There's no way around it. The security is pretty damn strict."

Rey steps closer to the guard and fixes him with a solid stare. The man's at least a head taller than her and twice her weight but Rey's dealt with larger beasts in the past. "I didn't ask for your opinion, Mike. I simply asked for you to take me to the party. The way I see it you really don't have much of a choice. So quit wasting my time and take me to the Governor. Right now."

The man squirms, and lets out a curse under Rey's unwavering gaze, but eventually relents.

"Fine. But I'm dropping you off and leaving. You'll have to figure out your own way back."

Rey smiles. "That's all I asked for."

Rey easily flips over the tall high security fence landing on a silent crouch within the premises of the grand villa. There's pathway leading all the way to the building's main entrance but Rey prefers to remain hidden within the shadows of the small forest that surrounds it. She puts an attacking pair of watch dogs to sleep with a wave of her hand but avoids to come into any immediate confrontation with the mansion's security walking the grounds. She's here to find Ben. No need to turn this into some kind of an unnecessary battleground. So she easily nudges their attention away from her.

She finds a tall tree with thick branches reaching all the way to a second story balcony, and Rey decides that's the best way to enter the villa. She's up and over the balcony's marble ledge in a matter of moments. It is so frustrating to see how easily a trained Force user can slip inside with barely any obstacles. Obviously, the same thing had happened in Ben's estate. Rey can't believe how stupid and careless he's been.

The room she comes across when she breaks through the balcony doors is dark and quiet. But Rey can hear soft music and murmuring coming from further inside the mansion. A stream of light comes through the semi open doors, barely shedding any of it in the vast room.

A library.

She realizes, as her eyes adjust in the darkness within. A very heavily decorated and ornate library, with antique furniture, plush carpeting and the indisputable smell of molding parchment. Rey under different circumstances would have loved to stay and explore its treasures but there simply isn't any time.

She crosses the room in a few silent steps, muffled by the thick carpet, and peeks through the wooden doors.

And her breath stops.

There's a finely dressed couple walking right outside chatting and laughing with a flute of champagne in their hand, heading leisurely towards what seems to be the villa's main staircase. But that is not what has Rey's breath hitch. Because right across the hall and in plain sight is a man and a woman, half naked, up against a wall, and very much in the process of coupling zealously without a care in the world.

Rey's eyes widen and her hand flies to her mouth to clamp down a startled yelp. The couple with the champagne glasses glides down the staircase without so much as batting an eye in the direction of the man and woman, who are panting and moaning shamelessly with every slap of skin against skin.

What kind of a party is this?

Rey is too shocked to process what is happening right before her eyes. And that's when the sensations in the Force start enveloping her. There's a strange intensity building all around, almost throbbing in nature that crawls down her spine and reverberates deep inside her. And it feels very, very uncomfortable. A loud cry escapes the woman. Her face slacks into ecstasy, and her legs quiver under the man's relentless pounding into her body.

Rey decides that she's seen enough. She slips out of the library and towards the opposite side of the hallway, trying to find a decent hiding place for her to gather her thoughts and find Ben.

But luck does not seem to be on her side this evening.

"Good evening, my lady." A rather small, slender, old man dressed in formal evening clothes is standing on the side of the door, flanked by two security guards. He bows lightly at her with a polite smile. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Rey straightens her back, chastising herself for being too distracted by the couple's ministrations to pay proper attention to the rest of her surroundings. Of course, this is a high security villa and her break in has not gone undetected.

"I am here to speak with the Governor of Coruscant," she says briskly, sizing up the two guards. Yeah, she can take them out if pull comes to shove.

"I'm afraid there is no such guest on our list tonight."

She snaps her attention back to the man and tilts her head to the side.

"You're lying," she says. "I know he's here."

I can feel him.

Actually she can feel a lot of people behind these doors, and hear them too. The lust and hedonism spilling in the Force is very potent. And awkward. And the mere thought that Ben could be behind any of these closed doors partaking in these acts…

"Perhaps it would be best for you to leave, and if the… Governor ever drops by I could notify him of your visit here."

Rey presses her lips together. She's running out of patience.

"Perhaps not." She approaches the man, and one of the details cuts in front of her with his thick forearms crossed in front of his chest

The older man smirks from behind. But his smile easily falls from his lips when Rey shoves the guard aside with the Force and brings her ignited saber to the man's neck.

"Where. Is. He?"

The muzzle of a blaster is set on her temple, but the man signals for the remaining guard to stand down.

"The man you are searching for is named Kylo Ren," he whispers after a moment's hesitation, for her ears only. "I believe you must be his infamous Jedi."

Rey clenches her jaw. "Lead me to him," she hisses just as silently.

"I would advise the lady not to insist. This is not a place for her."

Rey feels her resolve waver, just a bit, because she too is aware that this is not a place she would come searching for under normal circumstances. But Ben, it seems, has made it a point to change quite a few of her habits.

"Take me to him."

The man regards her pensively for a long moment before he nods in reluctance. He orders the guards to resume their posts before he turns to her.

"Follow me," he simply says with a curt bow.

He leads the way to a smaller staircase to the side. His steps are clipped and echo down the marble stairs, whereas hers are muffled and barely audible thanks to her soft new boots and rigorous training. They completely bypass the grand lounge where elegantly dressed people are gathered under a sparkling chandelier, chatting and murmuring and in the process of watching tentatively something that is taking place in the middle of the room.

Rey pauses for a moment when a couple of moans reach her ears, but she can't make out what it is that has the audience's interest so captivated.

"This way my lady."

Rey hurries to catch up with him, starting to feel very restless by the sensations permeating the air.

"What is this place? I thought this was some kind of a party."

The man sends her a knowing glance over his shoulder. "It is a private party. The list of guests is small and very particular. For obvious reasons."

A shiver runs down her spine.

"Some of the faces are masked," she comments hoarsely.

"Indeed. There is no need to for their identities to be revealed. Even though…" the man chuckles. "They all know who they are."

The go down another narrow staircase and enter a dark, damp corridor. There are muffled cries and hushed voices, clunking sounds and rhythmic pounding resonating down its length. They seem to drift from behind closed heavy doors and iron bars. But a few of them are cracked open, Rey notices, and even though the first one they come across is empty, the second one is not. She quickly averts her eyes with a heated face at the sight of numerous mingled bodies, intertwined in ways she never thought possible before, and in the process of doing unspeakable things to each other.

She tries not to look at any of the other cells, as she follows diligently the older man down the dungeon's corridor.

But in the last one. In the very last room, Rey doesn't know what it is that makes her stop and look inside. Because it is just as dimly lit as the rest and it's decorated just as scarcely. But there is a naked woman there with her hands bound behind her back, kneeling before a man who sits sprawled on an armchair with his head thrown against its back. He too is masked, but there is something about that ink black hair fanned on the velvet cushioning that seems very familiar. The woman raises her head from between the man's legs, and his hard member comes into sight, glistening and swollen under the dim lighting of the room. The naked woman stands, straddles his lap and goes down on him with a loud sigh. The man moans a deep throaty sound that has Rey watching entranced and with eyes wide open. But that is as far as she sees, because there is a rattling of chains and a male humanoid appears behind the door, naked with strange iridescent eyes, and slams it in Rey's face.

"My lady?"

Rey snaps her head at the sound of the older man's voice, with heated cheeks and feeling very, very flustered and ashamed.

He leads her in some kind of a waiting room which is damp and dark just like the rest of the underground premises, with just a set of chairs and a very uncomfortable looking sofa. Rey is left alone there with buzzing ears and a pounding heart.

This is not what she had in mind when she came in search of Ben. Yes, she had expected to come across some form of a party. Crowded, with music playing, that involved boring political conversations and cold chuckles. Maybe a little drinking and perhaps some illegal spice use here and there.

Rey did not expect…

She shuts her eyes and sets her hand on her heated forehead. What is she supposed to say when he comes in the room? That she was worried sick about him leaving in the middle of the night? Scold him on his choices of entertainment like he so eloquently described them in the casino? Knock him out and drag him back to the hotel?

Rey would love to do the last.

Ben was right. She has no place in his world. But somehow, a little unspoken part of her always believed that she did have a place next to him. Which is why she agreed to be his bodyguard, even though, she knew how far gone he already was. But when Skywalker chose her of all his students to be his protector, she just couldn't resist.

"What are you doing here?"

Rey swivels at the sound of a deep voice. A masked man is standing at the entrance of the waiting room shutting the doors behind him. He looks…

Stars… He…

Rey swallows as the man approaches her slowly, with his wild mane of black hair clinging to his neck and his black shirt unbuttoned, revealing his broad chest glistening with sweat. The fastenings to his pants are undone, and the clothing seems to ride low on his hipbones. But his rumpled condition is not what catches her attention. It's the mask. Forged from the black metal of nightmares, and rimmed around a pair of dark eyes with the silver color of sleepless moons.

Because this is the mask she used to see in Ben's haunting dreams.

He comes to stand before her tall and dark and dominating, and Rey wants to cover her mouth and drown the sob that's threatening to come out.

"Ben?"

"Why are you here?"

"Why are you wearing that mask?"

She watches as he presses his lips together. Because the mask doesn't cover the bottom half of his face. The only part that remains human in his features.

"You shouldn't have come. This is no place for you."

"I was worried. I didn't know where you were."

A smirk plays on the corner of his lips. "Worried?"

He regards her carefully behind his dark mask.

"How could you be so stupid and disappear like this without informing me what you were up to. I thought we agreed that you would fill me in on your plans and…"

"Did you want me to fill you in on this?"

His smirk widens and it makes her feel very self-conscious.

"Well, some form of… of information would have been appreciated instead of just, you know…" she is stuttering, and she hates this, because the way he is looking at her reveals all the ground she has lost already.

"And what exactly did you want me to say? That I would be gone for the night to have sex? I don't believe you needed to know that."

Rey looks to the side because that mask is unnerving, and his lack of decent clothing is very distressing. And even though he is the one that's standing half-naked in front of her, she is the one who feels exposed, instead.

"Don't you have some kind of a cowl to put on?"

"You're blushing," he says, lifting his hand to her face. The pad of his thumb brushes lightly over her left cheek, and it feels as if it's on fire under the coolness of his touch. Rey feels so embarrassed she wants to turn around and run.

But Ben steps closer.

There's a heady scent coming from him, mingled with that musk she's always so aware off, and Rey is starting to feel rather dizzy. She knows what this smell is and why it's on him, but she doesn't dare conjure the image of it in her mind. Her stomach starts to twist in on itself.

His cool hand cups her cheek and his fingers weave in her hair. Rey closes her eyes because she doesn't think she can remain standing when everything around her is starting to spin.

"Why did you come here, Rey? What is it that you wanted to see?"

She swallows around a dry throat, and refuses to open her eyes. Not even with his warm breath fanning her face. He is close. Force help her, he is so close. Rey has to get away but her knees are weak, and her chest is aching from the thumping of her heart. She is surprised he in unable to hear it. Or maybe he can and it's the reason he is teasing her so.

A large hand wraps around her waist and his warm body closes the small distance between them. He is caging her in, and Rey is afraid she will never break free again.

His lips come to whisper in her ear and Rey feels her whole body break into pieces.

"What should I do with you, my little Jedi?"

The words trickle like pearls down her spine. One by one. Pooling heavily in a place she's never touched before.

Rey opens her eyes and stares at the masked face. Searching for the man behind it. She can feel his breath mingling with her own, and there's a want tingling under her skin, gathering down low. Questing for friction against a hardness that is starting to press against her.

She raises a hand to his chest trying to keep some safe distance between their bodies. His skin is sweaty and hot and there's a hammering underneath it that almost matches her own. But everything is foreign and terrifying and so intoxicating at the same time…

Rey squirms in his arms.

But his hold on her only intensifies, and then his face lowers to her neck. And suddenly, his hot breath is caressing her sensitive skin and, oh stars, she thinks those are his lips trailing a soft and wet path down the curve of her neck. It feels so wrong but so, so good too and…

"Ben."

His name falls from her parched throat, sounding anything but the way she intended it to sound. She tries to push him away but her willpower is so weak in comparison to the sensations that are taking over her body.

And then suddenly Ben freezes. His body stiffens, and his arms loosen around her waist. He doesn't quite let go but it gives her enough space to move and breathe. Stars, it feels so good to breathe.

He stares at her for two of her heartbeats.

Ben raises his hand and snatches the mask off. It tugs on the sweaty strands and reveals a startled face and wild brown eyes.

There you are…

Rey wants to sigh with relief.

"You've never…" he trails off. His Adam's apple bobs once. Twice. Before he continues almost reverently. "You've never been with a man before. Or… woman. I forgot you've never…"

Rey stares back at him in silence.

No she hasn't. She knows some of the other students have experimented, under Luke's endless warnings to be careful. That falling in love had been Anakin Skywalker's downfall to the Dark side. A few of them have complied and have chosen to live a life of celibacy. Some, like Nyxx, have been a bit more adventurous.

But Rey…

Rey has chosen not to get attached in any way. She knows the pain that comes when someone you love walks away.

Ben breaks away from her and steps back quickly.

"Fuck!" He growls into the shadows of the room, raking those black strands with his hand. He pants through flared nostrils, and seems just as out of breath as her.

It allows enough space for logic to return, and along with that, the reason why she had come in search of him to begin with.

She takes a step towards him.

"Don't' come any closer," he warns in a cracked voice. "I'm not myself. I don't want to do something that I'll regret."

Rey halts. "You could never hurt me."

"I don't want to hurt you," he corrects her almost desperately. Rey blinks at him surprised, but cooperates. She is aware of the lewd sensations and basal instincts that are permeating the air. And he is very much affected by them still. He had been, after all, in the middle of such an act when she arrived. Rey swallows at the knowledge that she too had been very vulnerable just moments ago.

Still is. A little.

Maybe more.

"Give me a moment," he pleads and she nods. He turns around to button his shirt, swearing like a drunken Hutt every two seconds. And Rey bites down a smile when he curses loudly in his effort to tuck himself properly into his trousers.

He is somewhat in control when he turns around to face her again. His eyes are gleaming behind those wet strands, and his cheeks are flushed but there seems to be some kind of logic in his gaze.

"Luke Skywalker got in contact with me earlier tonight." She has to say something that will dampen the sensations around them. And that's the cruelest thing she can come up with. Rey mustn't allow herself to be so out of control around this man. He is so, so dangerous. "He said he wants to speak to you about a mega weapon the First Order has constructed and that needs to be stopped."

He blinks at her, trying to process what she's just said and the expression on his face is priceless. It takes a moment for what she's said to sink in, and then in a split second, the Governor is back.

"We have to go," he states.

"I agree."

"How did you get in here?"

Rey scrunches her face at that. "I broke in."

"And hell of a job you did at that! Mylo informed me of your trespass, and the fact that you threatened to kill him."

"That's a little exaggerated, actually. I was just trying to fish information about your whereabouts."

"Do you think this place is a game?" He thunders at her. "That anybody can just stroll inside, have a good time and go back to their merry lives with no strings attached."

"I didn't say that," she tries to defend herself. "Wait… What kind of strings?"

Ben stares heavily at her.

"Can you cut off your strings? Who's in charge?"

"I think it's a little late for that. Force, I knew you'd be trouble," he mumbles. "You always were, even back in the academy. We're leaving before anyone else finds out about your presence here. You'd better count your lucky stars it was Mylo that discovered you"

"Why are you so anxious about someone finding out about me being here?"

He grabs her hand and starts dragging her out of the room. "Because," he hisses at her while Rey has her bewildered gaze trained on their clasped hands, "…this is a special club and your innocence does not go unnoticed."

She looks back up at him. "What do you mean?"

"It means that I don't want to end up paying the price for your intrusion."

They are back at the dark corridor, filled with those mysterious sounds and shut doors. "You're not talking about money, are you?"

"No, I'm not."

Rey halts and gapes at him. "Ben how could you be part of this?"

He too stops and turns to face her, even though he can't look her in the eye. "I don't come here often. And I don't do a lot of the things others do. Now, please stop asking questions and move."

They go down a different corridor that she hadn't noticed before, and he opens a small closet. He grabs his overcoat, cloak and blaster before grabbing her hand again and dragging her behind him.

She follows him through corridors and rooms which hold apparatuses Rey is too scared to ask what they are used for. Then they go through another narrow, stone corridor before they reach a metal door. Ben puts in a code and it creaks open for them to go through.

They stumble out into the crisp, night air and Rey hasn't felt this sort of relief in years. Ben looks up at the stars with his hand holding on to hers tightly, and takes a deep breath. He shuts his eyes and mutters something under his breath. He seems as relieved as her.

"Ben, why are there so many stars?"

The teenage boy turns his soft brown eyes and looks at her a bit exasperated. "Because every time someone asks a question, a new star is born. Now, how about you be quiet and try to meditate with me."

"My shuttle is stationed at the far end of the landing bay." His deep voice snaps her back to reality. Rey looks into that dark gaze that awaits her. He lets go of her hand and goes to move on ahead.

"Ben?"

"Yes."

"What was that woman doing to you on her knees?" Rey believes she has an idea but can't resist teasing him a bit about it. He was, after all, peeping on her yesterday too.

Ben levels her with a loaded gaze that seers right through her, even in the darkness of night. Rey tries her best to contain the smile twitching on her lips. Because he is no longer with those women. He is here. With her.

"I am most certainly not answering that, you little minx. Now get your ass on that shuttle before I show you what actually goes down in that mansion."

Rey nods a little impishly. And feels his eyes follow her as she moves on ahead.

Author's note: I believe you can all imagine the kind of "price" he would have to pay, right?

Next chapter has a bit of action in it. And Rey proves her worth as a Jedi.

PS: Just a little comment I've decided to leave because some readers I think are getting uncomfortable. Kylo/Ben might not have fallen to the Dark side, killed his father and annihilated civilizations next to Snoke. But he is still very affected by the Darkness. If you haven't picked up on who is behind the nightmares, you will along the way. So Ben behaves just as bad... but differently. Yes, he is engaged with Hanna and has meaningless sex with other women. But we still don't know much about his relationship with his fiancee, do we? Yes, he is mean towards Rey, who he knows has feelings for him, but maybe he doesn't want her to get too invested in him and get hurt in the end. So why is he so hot and cold? Maybe because, just like in canon, he can reach out across a galaxy and touch Rey's fingers, and the next moment vow, in a fit of rage, that he will kill her. That's him. At least the way I see him.

People can be complex. Emotions can be complex. Right from wrong is not always easy to distinguish. And as life has taught me, the people we love the most are the people who can hurt us the most. Otherwise, we wouldn't care.