A/N:So here's chapter 6 - Ben and Rey are finally getting some quality time together :P Hope you will like it!
Disclaimer: All the recognizable characters and locations belong to their respective creators; I merely own the plot (and Quay Ren, although I'm not sure how I feel about him just yet)

Chapter 006 – Hush

Ben decided not to get angry. Well, not just yet.

"I believe I must have misunderstood you, Quay," he said to the holovid projection of one of his Knights. One that, he had thought, would be smart enough.

But then, again, could he really blame him? Rey did not exactly look like the formidable creature she was, not with her pretty eyes and dewy skin. Obviously, Rey's eyes and skin – and lips for that matter – were the last thing he should be thinking of right now.

If only it was that easy.

"She is powerful beyond our expectations, Supreme Leader!" Quay said, his voice rusty, almost droid-like. Ben wanted to roll his eyes at Quay. Of course she is, he thought, she cut right through your neck and killed over twenty people within a minute. Which was exactly what Ben had warned Quay about. So, really, the ignorant fool had only himself to blame.

"Please, Quay, humour me again – how did you go about capturing her?"

"She was in a cantina," Quay said, wincing. The tight metal collar around his neck with a complicated set of small pipes must have still felt like a foreign thing, inconvenience rather than a life-saving device. He will have to get used to it, though. Overcome it. Weakness is unworthy of a Knight of Ren. "I ordered the soldiers to surround the place, while I went inside and approached her – "

"You approached her," Ben interrupted, raising his eyebrows. Quay grew visibly uncomfortable. "You approached her, Quay, even though I specifically instructed you to take her by surprise."

These were not questions, so Quay did not really have anything to say. Besides, Ben was not interested in excuses. Still, he pressed on. "Please enlighten me, why didn't you wait for her to go outside, since you had the place surrounded?"

"I thought it would be less messy if I just ask her to do as I say – "

"And look how that worked out for you!" Ben clenched his fists. He really wanted to smash things. "You made us look weak, Quay! Weak!"

"I beg your forgiveness Supreme Leader!" Quay instantly dropped on his knees, his hands involuntarily reaching to his neck. Ben let out a short laughter. As if this could stop him from getting choked.

"What will my forgiveness do?" Ben asked. "Will it restore the tarnished reputation? Will it somehow stop the spread of the stories about the Jedi Nemesis?" He took pleasure in Quay's shock at these words, "Did you think I haven't heard? This is all everyone is talking about. You made her a hero, Quay, why would I forgive you?"

"Kylo, listen to me," Quay whispered hoarsely. How dare you call me that now that I am the Supreme Leader, Ben wanted to shout, or to silence him for good, but something in Quay's eyes stopped him. If the knight seemed scared before, this was a whole new level. "There is something wrong with her, something really wrong."

"I told you she was strong with the Force, didn't I?!"

"She is not strong with the Force. She is possessed by the Force."

"I don't have the time for your superstitions, soldier." Ben sneered, but he had to admit – it made sense. Force could be…overwhelming. He couldn't imagine how someone without any kind of training (those few days with Skywalker on that island couldn't have amounted to much, so Ben didn't even consider them as training of any sort) would be able to function.

But then, again, Rey had proven to be exception of every rule he could think of. And he thought about rules a lot. Almost as much as he thought about Rey.

"You will find her," he said in a tone that left no room for discussion. "You will find her and you will bring her to me. You know what awaits you otherwise."

"Yes, my lord." Quay answered and ended the transmission. Ben could swear he heard sarcasm in his last words, and, normally, he would not let it slide, but he decided to make an exception. He had something far more important on his mind. Someone, to be precise.

Possessed by the Force, he thought with frustration. This was entirely possible. Snoke had always said that Ben was remarkable; that it wasn't natural for one person to have this much power and only merciless training and discipline would save him from losing his mind. Ben had taken it for granted back then, but since Rey, since his – and hers – powers started to grow, it was exactly that training that kept him sane.

And then there were these superstitions that Quay, and many others, believed in. Tales, which claimed that the Force can choose a person and completely destroy them. Neither in a good or bad way. Just make them dissolve into itself and become something else entirely. He never took these stories seriously, but now he couldn't help but wonder – what if Rey is slowly losing her humanity, what if she will soon kill people by just looking at them, what if she will turn the air to poison by just breathing it?

Oh, get a grip! He smashed his fist against the metal wall. The dull sound of the stroke only annoyed him more. He looked at his knuckles, they will look bruised soon. He hit the wall few more times, until he dented - and then completely wrecked - the metal panel and blood gushed from the knuckles.

He really only had himself to blame. He had made her the most wanted criminal and now she was an instant hero. He thought he'd been so clever to have the whole galaxy looking for her, but all he really achieved was to make her famous. Not in the way he'd want to.

"What – what's happened, Ben?" a small voice disrupted his thoughts. How had he not notice the distinctive sensation of all the air being sucked out of the room? How had he not felt the connection he'd longed for so much?

He turned to look at her and felt like he was punched right in the chest. She looked just so beautiful, he had to admit it. Her hair was kept loose, curling slightly at the ends, and making her face look even more delicate than ever. She was wearing the same black coat that he had seen on the footage of her fleeing the cantina she'd massacred. It looked good on her. Ben wondered briefly what was she wearing underneath it, but then he noticed that her cheeks were wet from tears.

"You're crying," he said. She wiped the tears with the hem of the sleeve, embarrassed.

"You're bleeding," she retorted. Ben looked at his hand. He didn't even feel the pain anymore. He seriously needed to get a grip. "It's nothing." He said and snapped his fingers at a tiny medical droid that was hovering on a stand-by. The droid quickly approached him and started applying the bandage. Ben pushed it away, but kept the bandage.

"No, it's not." Rey walked up to him and took the bandage from his hand. Not looking at him, she wrapped it around his fist. Ben remembered all to clearly how, not so long ago, she had shut the Millennium Falcon door in his face, severing their connection. And how he basically cried then and there, kneeling in the middle of the abandoned Resistance base on Krait, thinking he would most likely never feel her presence again.

And there she was, her fingers so gently bandaging that stupid wound on his fist (although now he was kind of glad he'd hurt himself). How strange it all was, how almost unreal.

"Look at me, Rey," Ben said. When she didn't, he reached for her chin and turned her face towards him. He felt her tremble under his touch.

"I – I don't know why I did it, Ben," she said and tears welled up her eyes again. "Please don't cry," he whispered and traced her jawline with his fingers.

Not much of a Supreme Leader now, are you? He wanted to laugh at himself, and maybe he would, if it wasn't for Rey's tears. He couldn't bear to see her cry. It actually physically hurt him. He would fight the world, the whole galaxy if needed, if only he could make things better. Too bad I'm the one who messed it all up in the first place, he thought with disdain.

"Isn't it funny," Rey smiled through the tears, "We are so gentle with each other and then we turn into monsters for everyone else. At least, I do."

"You are NOT a monster, Rey!" Ben said, exasperated, grasping Rey by the shoulders. She pushed him with sudden anger. "Yes, yes I am! I killed all these people, Ben!"

"It was self-defense –"

"Oh, please, I didn't attack only Quay, I attached everyone, Ben! And I was perfectly, frighteningly calm!" she wasn't at all calm now. He tried to say something, but she didn't let him. "And it's your fault! You made the entire freaking galaxy hunt me! Why can't you own up to what you did? Why do I have to be your scapegoat?!"

"I need to see you," he said. Rey's eyes widened in shock. He was a little surprised with his honesty himself. Perhaps he should just not open his mouth, Rey was messing with his head. With no help from the Force whatsoever.

"Well, here I am!" Rey said, still angrily. At least she wasn't shouting anymore.

"And is this enough for you?" he asked. Rey didn't answer. For the longest time she just looked at him and, when he thought he won't hear anything – or, perhaps, another rejection – she whispered.

"No."

A/N: SOOOO what do you think? Like it, hate it? Please hit the review button and let me know, I appreciate every single review! As always - thanks for reading this little twisted fanfic :)