Chapter 27
Kylo Ren watched as the streaks of stars returned to normal space near a red gas giant planet with many moons. Rey stood up and leaned against the dashboard next to him. "You said you would show me jedi ruins. Where are we?" she asked as he flew them in closer to a moon that was more vegetation than water.
"That's Yavin," Kylo said, pointing at the red planet, and then he pointed at the green and blue moon nearest them. "That's Yavin 4. The Massassi Temple is there. It was built to service a Sith Lord, then used as a rebel base during the war with the Empire, and more recently housed Skywalker's Jedi academy. It burned the night Skywalker betrayed me, but I expect there's plenty of material and technology left that might interest a force-talented scavenger."
Rey grinned, and Kylo felt relief. Even knowing her scavenging tendencies, he had not been sure how she would react to his suggestion.
"So what's the plan? Go down there and build our lightsabers together?" she asked casually, but she watched him carefully as they glided down to the moon's surface. Kylo kept his face expressionless. Rey had tried several times to discover what he thought of the yellow Kyber crystal that had called to him during their time on Ilum yesterday. He knew what it meant, but that didn't mean he had to accept it just yet. He wasn't ready.
Kylo shook his head. "I'm returning to the First Order. I requested that a shuttle pick me up here so that you can use this ship while I'm gone. Consider it yours. Build your lightstaff and scavenge what you will from the ruins. You should be able to contact me through the bond, but I've also included the codes for contacting the First Order within the ship, including the clearance sequence to reach me directly. Keep my helmet with you. It will allow the Resistance to find you when they're ready."
A burst of pure panic slipped through Rey's mental shield. "You're leaving me?"
Kylo swallowed hard, but he waited until the ship landed near an old, damaged temple before turning to face her. "We discussed this. You were never meant to come to the First Order in person while our future remains undecided. It's too dangerous."
Rey shook her head, and his heart dropped as he saw anguish and hope battle across her expression. "But you weren't supposed to come to me either, and that worked out. Besides, I thought we still had to establish a basis for the bond."
Kylo took a deep breath. He had not confided in her his fears yet, and he was not sure he should. Rypo had gone through Rose's head, and Rose had known the truth of their bond and what happened to Snoke. Nothing in Rypo's countenance suggested that Rypo had discovered the truth of things, but Kylo had thought he had cleared Banto's suspicions before he left as well. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice. He had to find out what the knights knew and whether they still had loyalty to him. For all he knew, he would be returning to an ambush.
"Ben, what's wrong?" Rey said.
He gazed at Rey, wishing he knew what to do or say. He sighed as he recalled his earlier pledge to be honest with her. He would tell her the truth, though it may put her in danger. "It's possible that I am returning to a trap."
"A trap? Then let's go together! I can protect you!" Rey said. Kylo smirked at that. Rey had definitely proven her right to fight beside him. He would never forget how amazing the battle against the Praetorian Guard had been with her at his back. However, this was not likely a battle that would be fought with lightsabers.
"If it's a trap, then coming with me would only entrap you too. If it's not a trap, then coming with me would still put you in danger. Rey, stay here."
"No, Ben. Please. I don't want to be alone," Rey said. Tears came to her eyes, and she choked back a sob.
"You are not alone," Kylo said, meeting her eyes and taking her hands into his own. "You will never be alone again, Rey. No matter how far apart we are, you can reach me. Open the bond every minute if you need to, and I'll be there right beside you. You will know everything that's happening."
Rey shook her head. "No. I don't care. I want to be with you."
"You agreed to stay away from the First Order!" Kylo said, snapping.
"And you agreed to stay away from the Resistance!" Rey snapped right back. "But you came anyway, and I will come with you, Ben. I will not stay here waiting and wondering when or if you will return to me. I won't go through that again. I won't!"
Kylo shuddered. "No, Rey. I let you into their fold once, and you nearly died. Do you have any idea how terrified I was for you? How horrific it was to watch Snoke torture you and know I was powerless to stop him? I will keep you safe!"
"I don't want to be safe! I just want to be with you!" Rey shouted. Tears streamed down her face in a rush. "I just want to be with you," she repeated as the steam blew out of her and she crumpled into a ball, crying and hugging her knees. "Please, Ben."
His own anger evaporated at the sight of her misery, and he shrank down with her, wrapping his arms tightly around her and leaning his head on top of hers. "Shh, it's okay. Everything's going to be okay."
"Not if you're gone."
Kylo scrunched up his eyes and sighed. He knew that she was stronger than this, but he knew how badly her parents' abandonment had scarred her. Leaving her would scar her again, and perhaps bringing her with him would make a difference. "You can come with me."
Rey froze in his arms, then gently pulled back to look him in the eyes. "What?" she asked softly.
"You can come with me. I won't abandon you."
Relief flooded Rey's face, and she sobbed anew, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, Ben. Thank you."
"You may die."
"I knew that the first time I came to you too," Rey said. She snorted. "That escape pod even looked like a coffin. Chewbacca must have thought I was insane."
Kylo agreed, but he couldn't find humor in it. "You were absolutely insane. What convinced you to go so far for me, anyway? We had become⦠something like friends, but you trusted me with your life in that moment. Why?"
"I told you then. I had a vision that if I saved you, you would turn," Rey said.
Kylo gazed at her. "Was that everything?"
Rey bit her lip, as if uncertain. "It was what I focused on, but I've wondered since then if maybe I knew even then that I would fall in love with you."
Kylo trembled. "And do you love me?" he asked carefully.
Rey gave him a deadpan expression. "How can you ask that? You saw inside my heart. You know what I feel. Here," she said, and she dropped her shields, filling the force around them with the flood of her love for him. "I love you."
He dropped his shields as well, and the force swelled around them. "I love you too."
Rey giggled. "I feel like I could force lift an entire planet right now."
He smiled. "Yea, me too. We should do this more often." He bent down and kissed her passionately. Rey returned it, and they only broke away when they heard a shrill chatter behind them from Growlie. Ben, or was it Kylo? In that moment, he wasn't sure, but he gazed at Rey until he saw her glance away and saw her eyes go wide.
"Are we doing this?" she asked in wonder, and he turned to look as well.
All around the ship, objects were floating in the air, including Growlie, who was drifting upside down near the ceiling. "Let's put them down," he said.
"Yea, let's do that," Rey agreed, and they carefully put everything back in its place. Kylo put Growlie in his pocket for safe-keeping. The bird nuzzled in, apparently thankful for the security. "That was amazing."
Kylo nodded. It had been overpowering. "Skywalker once said something similar had happened when I started training with him. He said he had never seen someone so powerful before."
"Really?" Rey said. "He told me I had your potential, but he didn't mention anything floating. She put her shield back up, and Kylo did the same. "So what happens next?"
"The shuttle should arrive tomorrow morning. Let's go explore the temple together and see if we can find the parts for your new lightstaff to be built," Kylo said.
"But not your new lightsaber?" Rey asked.
Kylo shook his head. He knew where the force wanted him, but he wasn't ready. "Not yet."
Thanks for all the feedback on everything! I plan to go back to writing original fiction when I escape this reylo kick, and I won't get constant feedback then, so you're helping build up a buffer for my self-confidence. :)
I'm nowhere near done with my reylo kick though. Good grief, I started writing a farcical reylo ff a few days ago that I hadn't even planned. It's ridiculous. I kinda love it. I'll start posting it once I decide the rating for it. I still have the M fanfic I've been planning to write waiting on me to start, and I got another idea I may attempt later. And if you must read more reylo by me now, this is actually my second reylo fanfic. My first is The Force Likes Reylo and was written while I was sick with strep since I can usually still write even when I feel too awful to get anything else done.
Some day, I'll go back to writing original stuff and hopefully get published and have fanfics written about my own characters. Until then, I'm glad to have your company on this crazy shipping ride. :)
Please review!
