Pompous asshole, she thought to herself at those parting words. As if she'd worry at his absence, more like be relieved. It gave her time to search her surroundings, which, upon doing so, lent her no useful information. Aside from the small table and chair that Ren had sat in, the room was bare – the only other 'furniture' being the contraption she was bound to. The restraints were tight and irritated her skin when she pulled at them, but she kept at it anyway, having nothing better to do. She lived on Jakku, a never-ending desert where every day consisted of a monotonous scavenging routine pulling parts out of fallen ships, scrubbing them clean and turning them in to Unkar Plutt in exchange for meager rations – she could handle a day spent fighting against the cold iron bands that kept her strapped down.
Ren left her room irritated. He'd put on an overconfident air but was frustrated that all he'd managed with her was mindless banter. He couldn't influence her mind, yet Snoke wanted her, so somehow, he'd have to make her bend to his will, to see things his way – without the power of the force.
He returned to his room for the night, removed his mask and lay down on the sheets of his bed. Normally he would show his face to no one, but for Rey he somehow felt the need to prove her wrong about his cowardice, and it was beginning to be a regular thing – her tempting him to take his mask off. Oddly enough he didn't really feel uncomfortable around her, not that wearing the helm was about confidence – it was more about intimidation and power – not to mention the disconnect from other, weaker humans. But in her presence, it felt somewhat normal without it on. He pondered that idea for a moment before he closed his eyes and allowed sleep to take him.
Fear. Sadness. Loneliness. Those emotions flooded his mind suddenly and jolted him awake in a cold sweat. He looked around frantically even though he knew where they had come from – Rey. The scavenger girl's emotions were strong enough to reach him despite the distance that separated them. He figured it was a nightmare like he had witnessed earlier, but even after waiting it didn't seem like it would subside, so he quickly dressed himself and left his room – he didn't even think to grab his mask.
Kylo Ren walked swiftly down the halls of the First Order base, annoyance ticking in his brain, until he reached the holding cell, at which point he promptly entered the unlock codes and strode into the room. Rey was still struggling where she lay, pulling against her bindings as she slept, silent tears streaming down her face. All feelings of aggravation went out the window then, figuratively of course considering the only thing adoring these walls were the harsh lamps that were set into the stone to provide illumination. He could feel her sadness wash through him, how abandoned and lonely she felt, and it was killing him. He couldn't help but sympathise - he too felt abandoned when his own parents had sent him away to learn how to control his abilities. But this girl, it was even worse, she had no one – at least he'd had his uncle Luke, not that he'd ever given him much thought. There was something about being tossed aside by ones' own parents that made it glaringly difficult to accept the social comforts of another, especially when that other only ever seemed interested in controlling him and what he was capable of.
No part of him had willingly tried to connect with her mind yet somehow tuning her out was impossible; as if they were both set to the same Force frequency. He needed the pain he was feeling from her to end, to stop reminding him of his own origins - so he gently placed a gloved hand on either side of her face and, to his own chagrin, quietly but forcefully spoke her name,
"Rey, it's okay, Rey, wake up now." He used as much of the force to influence her mind along with his words as he could and, after a few tries her shaking finally calmed down enough for her to open her eyes; dark eyelashes fluttering against tanned and freckled skin. He felt only a short relief before a wave of anger hit him.
"What do you think you're doing!" Rey screamed in his face, thoroughly unnerved, and he realized that he was still holding hers between his hands. He quickly let go and took a step back from her – Rey could've sworn she saw a brief look of hurt cross his uncovered face before it settled into an impassive stare that might as well of been his mask.
"You don't have to scream at me," a short pause and "I was only trying to calm you down." That granted him a puzzled look from her, so he chose to explain. "Your nightmare. I could feel it and you were keeping me awake." He said it like this was the most natural thing in the world – the fact that he could tell just how bad her dreams had been – but the flicker of some emotion in his eyes and the uncomfortable twitch of his jaw told a different story.
"Oh." Was all she responded with as her anger dissipated, and her face fell, he didn't expect to hear it but the next words she spoke were, "thank you." A careful pink blush creeping over her cheekbones as she regretted her outburst and spike of anger. There'd never been anyone to chase the nightmares away before, no one to fight the harrowing dreams and visions that plagued her every night for years – it elicited a gratefulness from her that she was loathe to admit to her captor, but it passed over her lips anyway.
He felt like he had to look twice to confirm that those words had actually come out of her mouth; gratitude was one thing he didn't think he'd ever receive from her.
The look on his face when she thanked him was almost comical, eyes semi wide and disbelieving, but she forced any laughter down. He stared at her for a few moments more before his brown eyes trailed down her arms and locked on her wrists. They were bruised and bloody from her pulling at her restraints all day, the rough material cutting into her flesh as she tried to break them – but to not avail.
He didn't say anything as he left the room, turning on his heel and silently locking the door behind him as if nothing had happened.