Summary: Rey saw the darkness in him, but she saw the light. She just hoped that when they met again, she would see Ben Solo and not Kylo Ren standing in front of her. [SW: TLJ spoilers]

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or any characters affiliated with it.
Cover art by elithien, permission to use her art was given.

"Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night."

Do not go gentle into that good night, Dylan Thomas

Keep Marching On
02: Kylo

He felt her before he saw her.

"Why are you here?" he asked, closing his eyes. He was tired, so tired. Why did the bond choose this time to connect them?

"...I don't know." He refused to look at her but something within him broke at her voice. His made sure his face didn't reveal anything, but because of their bond, he knew she felt it. "You could've changed it. This didn't have to happen," Rey muttered after seconds of tense silence, her arms wrapped around herself.

The moment she stopped talking, he retorted with the same thing she said to him. "You could've come with me. I...would've given you the universe." He would have given her anything, had she just...taken his hand. He slightly turned his head in an attempt to face her after this thought, but he found himself not able to look at the girl.

They were both avoiding any sort of confrontation by looking at anything but each other, believing that it would stop them from saying something they might have regret, but the emotions flaring throughout the bond told a different story.

She remained silent as they both occupied their empty rooms – him in his bathroom and her in a small corner of the Millenium Falcon. "What's done is done, Ben –"

He couldn't help it, he growled out the first thought that came to his mind. "It's Kylo." At this, he finally looked at her, ready to yell at her, but the words on the tip of his tongue disappeared as he opened his eyes and took her in.

Wearing the same clothes he was used to seeing, her hair was down as it fell across her face, hiding her eyes from him. Seeing this, his resolve faltered.

Rey was everything he wasn't. Warm, light – hope – while he was...what? A monster, a murderer, a traitor, the embodiment of darkness? Those titles were just one of many in a long list of names he had been called.

He didn't deserve to be near her – there was no point in her trying to change him either. Ben Solo was dead, gone, the moment Luke tried to kill him all those years ago.

This thought must have transferred between the bond because Rey's head shot up and her eyes met his, intensifying whatever it was that was between them. But before either of them could say anything, the bond between them ended and the breath he had been unconsciously holding in released. Kylo couldn't help but make a fist in an attempt of control, his nails digging into the palm of his hand.

However, with said control already stretched as thin as it was, he couldn't help but let out a loud scream, his voice echoing throughout the large bathroom. He then released his pent-up frustration on the mirror with a powerful punch, the sound of it cracking and falling making the room seem larger than it truly was. The glass shattered and cut into his hand, his mind not registering the pain that he should have been feeling. The only thing he could do was watch the blood stream down his arm as the blood dripped, little by little, into the water, mixing with the half-filled sink.

Kylo finally turned his face towards the mirror and looked at his reflection with a heavy heart – the shattered glass reflected exactly how he felt at that moment. His emotions, his anger, his control, his...being, was broken. The person staring back at him looked so...defeated – it didn't take a genius to see that in his eyes.

But he took a deep breath and straightened his back, trying to return his focus to what he had been getting ready to do. He had been trying to get himself back into the daily rhythm of taking care of himself, but at the back of his mind, he felt her. It wasn't prominent and it wasn't like the usual times they would see each other in the bond, but she was there, a constant reminder of his failed attempt to bring her onto his side. She wasn't watching, but her simply being there was enough to add to his anger and frustration.

And at this, he came to the realization that he had never felt so lost and alone in his life.

A/N: Hey, don't get used to the uploading on the same day thing. I'm just really in the SW/Reylo feels right now. Oh yeah, sorry for the short chapter. I'll try to make it longer in the upcoming ones.

Also, I don't know what I'm doing and/or going with this story. I guess we're all in for a ride because I don't know what I'm going to do. I might make it into a legit, full story, but for now I guess it'll be something like a series of oneshots-ish that are connected with each chapter.

Please review! It helps a lot!

Thank you Allied Hero for your review, it's what convinced me to upload this chapter :)