author's note:
Super tired today so it's rough and possibly error-y, but I'll tighten it up tomorrow when I'm fresher :)
summary: Where our duo swap fluids throughout the night, Rey senses a disturbance in the Force (dum dum dee dum), they try their hand at reaching out into the great beyond, and a certain nemesis rears its hungry head again.
It must have been all the fresh air.
Ever since getting out of those caves, Rey absolutely couldn't keep her hands off Kylo. The open spaces were playing tricks with her mind, making her think and feel things that she really shouldn't.
She couldn't even blame the pollen of horniness. No, this time it was all her. Regrettably.
Point of fact, Rey had never been hornier before in her whole life. Something was happening to her soul, and she doesn't want to name what she thinks it might be.
Their plan of climbing up high and trying the signal charged with Varn's stone had initially been to leave on this same day, shortly after they finished bathing. But then Kylo had been hungry for food and Rey had been hungry for him. Both needs were met with gusto, and they made love twice more, first before a fresh fish and berry meal and then again after.
By that time, of course, their dalliances had brought them the onset of night. Before, when they were going over the boundaries and ground rules of their new association, Rey had forgotten to mention a very critical rule regarding their sleeping arrangements. This omission ended up hardly mattering since very little sleep had taken places during those hours of darkness.
Now she lays there, curled up next to his chest by the first in flagrant disregard of both that and rule number two.
"Tell me when you're done cuddling and ready to kick me to the curb," he murmurs into her hair.
Rey flicks at his chest, aiming for one of her bite marks she gave him earlier during the throes of things.
"Shutup."
She's been saying that a lot to him recently, though it lacked most of the bite of their earlier squabbling. It had become somewhat of a necessity since she discovered that Kylo liked to talk during their lovemaking. Potentially this could have been fine and even stimulating, except he did more than whisper praises or sweet nothings. He would talk in the future tense, of everything they could or would do soon.
It brought up too many questions. Too much presumptuousness and things that Rey isn't ready to face. Pretty truths. Ugly lies. A mix of the two.
Instead of continuing their little back and forth, Rey snuggles in deeper. Buries her face into his neck and listens to the steady rhythm of his heart. He's already on the early stages of sleep, and Rey is half inclined to let the man rest and half to manually work him up so he can pleasure her again.
Rule number four. The only one they could both agree on, though now she highly doubted he'd planned on keeping his side of any of them. In short, though, their sex was phenomenal. So so good. Turns out they did have one thing they did better than fight with each other.
The memories help her make up her mind. Rey kisses his neck, savoring the heat of his skin and the gentle sheen of sweat that she had given him. Kylo grips her a little tighter, his head lolling to the side as the battle with consciousness begins to leave him.
They'd both had their own favorite ways of making love. She can think about that, let the memories of the satisfaction they've so recently shared lull her into hopefully a continuation in her dreams. Kylo liked her to be on top, riding him while he controlled the rhythm and motion of their hips with his hands on her. He could kiss her like this, and he did often and well. Or take her breasts into his mouth and tease that erogenous zone as well as her lower half. Together they had discovered that she could have quite spectacular orgasms this way, often more than one right after each other. And Kylo would hold her through it, bucking his hips up into her slack body until he found his own release as well.
Rey liked that position. Liked it very much. However, if she had to choose because honestly they were all very good, but her favorite was being taken from behind. She'd had it in her mind ever since he'd shared his fantasy with her, and there was just something about him holding her down and bending her over while he claimed her. He would try to go gentle, not take her too deeply, and that made Rey have to resort to dirty tricks. Call him names or taunt him as the Great Supreme Leader before he would finally give in to his primal side and really let go. She could come the hardest then, when he would hold her with her head to the ground and her rear in the air while he moved within as deeply as he could go.
Gods, at the memory of that, of how karking blissful their latest coupling had been, Rey begins to feel very much awake. Fresh air indeed. Finally making it out of those beautiful but grim caves had done something to her. Flipped the switch in her head from 'run from your enemy' to 'gotta have him now' mode.
So Rey wakes him up by sliding out of his arms, an action that alone would rouse the possessive and dominant side of him. Then she settles herself astride his legs and waits for him to rise to greet her.
Very little sleep indeed is had for the first half of that night.
Dawn greets Rey with a spectacular light show of all the colors of the rainbow greeting her eyes and Kylo's hand between her legs, bringing its own set of fireworks to her morning.
"K-Kylo..."
She's already soaking wet, swollen and aching, leading her to believe that he must have been teasing her for quite some time before she woke up.
"Morning, beloved. Did you sleep well?"
His other hand strokes her inner thigh and she automatically parts her legs for him, her body taking over what her still half-asleep mind hasn't fully processed yet.
She nods, reaching out and drawing him to her. Their lips meet just as their bodies connect, and Rey never cease to marvel that it doesn't hurt her anymore. Not even in the slightest. They've been having marathons of sex, constantly tearing at each others clothes and using lips or hands or tongues pr more on each other, but really the number of days of this sort of activity have been limited.
She shouldn't fit him so well, receive him so perfectly. She shouldn't come so damn much, because she's already reaching her peak and Kylo is hardly even breaking a sweat.
He bends down to kiss her then, his hips keeping a fast pistoning motion that he's learned she enjoys the best. When she peaks Rey doesn't bothering holding her voice in. Kylo loves hearing her screaming his name. Shout out her pleasure so loud that any remaining forest friends of hers give her a reproachful look before taking off from the screaming madwoman being pinned to the ground by her bondmate.
Kylo works her expertly, using their bond as a cheatsheet to keep her peaking and purring throughout his vigorous thrusts until he's ready to joining her himself.
Then they collapse. Sweaty. Entangled. Happy.
Kylo falls on top of her this time, and Rey holds him to her breast, soothing his until the tremors of pleasure leave his body. His breath tickles her skin, ghosting over her heard nipples and making her squirm despite the full repletion filling her body.
"Kylo."
She doesn't know why she says his name, other than she needs to say it right now. Her fingers rake through his hair, and she smiles inwardly as she takes in the sights of how his inky dark waves part and smooth around her touch.
Kylo comes up with a soft groan, leaning over her and kissing first her lips and then her forehead.
"Good morning," she says with a giggle.
This is perfect. It truly is. Especially if you quint and let the edges get fuzzy.
He kisses her mouth again. Then her chin. Then her neck before working his way around each curve of her clavicles.
"I feel like I'm on honeymoon," he breathes, his voice almost dreamy with desire.
This isn't them. This isn't their life. Neither of them were born to feel this way.
"We're not married, Kylo," she corrects. "To be on honeymoon, we have to get married first."
He lifts his head up. There's so much of his father in his eyes.
"Is that a dare, Scavenger?"
"Shutup," she says instead, not unkindly.
Kylo smiles at her now very familiar phrase, resting his head against her shoulder and reminding her how heavy he is.
A silence falls and Rey can feel an odd shift between them. When she pokes at their Bond, it's even stronger than before. Hardly even a tether now, but more of a continuous flow of connection between them. Thoughts and feelings and impulses usually pass freely now, so much so to make their shared pleasure even more volcanic, but this time… right now, Kylo has shut himself off from her a little. Numbed a piece of their Bond so she can't sense what's on the other side.
"Hmm?" she asks, stroking his hair in the way that she knows he likes.
Kylo sighs. The sound is wistful. She wants to soothe him. Wants to claim him. Wants him to take her and claim her as well.
"Rey?" he lifts his head up, and his eyes are deep and far away. "Do you ever..."
His words fall off. Rey frowns. Her Kylo Ren is a man who talks first and thinks hardly ever. His silence is concerning, especially considering the perfect afternoon, evening, night, and now morning they've been having.
"You can tell me, if you want. You might as well, there's nobody else to talk to but some Pineapples and Squiggles."
Kylo shakes his head, tired but still bemused over her insistence of naming the planet's fauna something ridiculous. He clears his throat and her hands slow to a still, her attention pricking as she waits for him to continue.
"We don't have to actually leave, Rey. We can stay here on this planet. Let it become our home."
Rey falls still. His words are… tricky for her.
Home.
Home.
"Is that what you want?" she finally asks, kissing his forehead since he's practically broadcasting his want for her to do so.
"Maybe."
Maybe means yes. Maybe means maybe.
Rey swallows, a feeling building within her despite her best efforts to subdue it. Truth be told, his idea isn't a new notion to her. This planet, for all it's cruel surprises, hasn't been all bad. In another world with a completely different context, she could have been very happy here. Maybe she could still be?
"The others," she says. "The Resistance. My friends. Your subjects."
She doesn't hide the bite of scorn to her words. Kylo buries her face in her neck, and Rey immediately wraps her arms more fully around him.
"They are nothing to me, Rey. We will be safe here. In time they will forget about you and I and then… and then it will be just the two of us."
An image fills Rey's mind. Kylo has it all figured out. He would build them a house somewhere high on what he imagines the mountains they've yet to reach to be like. When those horrible chemical storms come, they would be prepared. Maybe there would be another cave entrance, or maybe they'd build their own. A haven for them. A place with no one and no more debts. No Last Jedi. No Supreme Leader. Them together until the end of their days.
"Gods," she whispers, her throat tightening up, "you've really thought about this, haven't you?"
He nods, his arms closing around her until they approaching the point of crushing.
Rey kisses him again, feeling how part of his soul lights up with every drop of attention she gives back to him.
What he is saying is appealing. Very. But it's still a fantasy. Dream home with her other half or not, she is still the Last Jedi. It's her title, and she has made a promise to far more than just Master Luke to live up to it.
"The signal, Kylo. We have to at least try it, even if we both know it won't work."
Kylo doesn't seem moved at all when she says the words, but Rey knows they're not what he had been hoping for her to say.
"It's impossible," she tells him quietly. "It can't possible not fail. The odds of it working, of it not just blowing up in our faces, are beyond slim to none. It won't work. But… we have to try. I can't live here with you in paradise if we don't try."
And if it works. If it works…
How can Rey leave him now? Not too long ago it was all she wanted, but after these last twenty four hours especially… it will destroy her. Ruin him. It will be hell. She doesn't want it to work, but-
"But we have to try. Or we'll never know peace because of what might have been."
An odd change ripples through her mind. It's a very strange feeling, like being somewhere very very far away.
She looks at Kylo and he frowns, dropping his chin.
"What-"
"There's still so many mysteries to this planet, Rey. So many thing we haven't discovered."
But we could. We could if we stayed here.
He doesn't say it, but gods he's stubborn. Rey supposed she is, too, but not like him. Rey has been blessed with the gift of reason, thank you very much. Enough to know that they have to get away from here somehow, even if maybe that's not what she wants. Perhaps.
Kylo flexes his arms underneath her, picking her body up and pulling her into a deep hug.
"We'll figure something out, Rey. You shouldn't have to worry about anything. I don't want you to."
His hair tickles her face. She kisses him, just because it seems like the right thing to do to bring their morning waking back full circle.
"It's still pretty dark out," she tells him, we should wait a little while until the sun comes out before we get moving."
She wriggles underneath him, mindful to twist her hips along his own in a mirror of how he had writhing not so long ago.
Kylo huffs.
"Woman, you are insatiable."
"I want you."
"Aren't you tired? I'm tired. We didn't exactly get much sleep last night."
"And whose fault was that, Kylo?"
He raises an eyebrow. It makes him look like a real prick.
"Your's pretty much. You just kept groping me when I was innocently trying to sleep and-"
She shushes him with her lips over his before pulling back to see her victory in his eyes.
"Are you hands also tired, Kylo? What about your mouth? I know it can't be because you just keep talking..."
Kylo sighs, nuzzling her before pushing himself up to make some room to work between their bodies.
"Cheeky little thing, aren't you?"
"Mhmm..." she hums in agreements, pushing his shoulders downward to get him moving.
He'd wanted to get an early start to their day. Mid-morning is still close enough, right?
There was a tone of finality in the air that Rey couldn't place.
Somehow she felt like something big was about to happen. This was a very different sort of notion than when it had been Varn leading her forward. Rather than a nearly uncontrollable pull, this was a feeling of both restlessness and deep foreboding.
Rey would like to sorely believe that it was nerves about her half-cocked idea of sending a distress signal. Fear and hope all tangled together within her that maybe, somehow defying all the odds, it would actually work?
She didn't think so, though. This felt different. Like a disturbance in the Force lurking over every horizon as they journeyed up the hillside.
Haven't they done this before? Same plan, different mountains. So much can change in just a few days and yet stay completely the same.
"You're very quiet, Rey."
Kylo squeezes her hand, and when she looks up at him there's honest concern in his eyes. She can see all the colors of the slowly fading daylight reflected there, and it brings a smile to her face.
"I don't know if I want this to work," she admits, turning away from him so he can't see the truth of her feelings in her eyes.
She pulls her hand free of his, since Kylo hadn't kept his promise on rule number two even for a moment, and crosses her arms over her chest. They've been getting higher slowly but surely, and with the advancing evening there's not a faint hint of a chill to the air.
"I'll keep you warm," Kylo offers, a slight lift of flirtation in his voice.
Rey smiles, snorting and kicking at the ground. He's hopeless, isn't he? But oh so sweet right now, for her. Only for her.
Kylo follows behind closely as she turns to keep going on their way, and she again feels his presence fill her mind, searching as deeply as she allows.
Except they only go a few hundred more meters before something catches her eye, and that feeling of malcontent surges up again into the forefront of her mind.
"Do those look like claw marks?" she asks.
Kylo frowns, staring at the deep gashes right at kitty-height on the trunk of the tree.
"Kark."
Well that pretty much summarizes it. Without the green energy pumping itself into the planet, it's harder to sense things. She can't feel where her little jungle friends are so closely until she stumbles across a Squiggler literally in their tracks.
And naturally, of course, Kylo wanted to kill and eat it. So, by the time she's stopped him, the critter is gone without a trace.
Which means that other things can't be traced as well.
"Let's just get out of here," she says, tugging on the elbow of his sleeve. "Keep going. Nothing for it." We don't want to go looking for a fight so let's not.
Kylo shoots her a sideways pointed look, traces of annoyance clear on his face.
His lightsaber. He's still salty about that. Rey's pretty much over it completely, oopsie shit happens, but she has to reluctantly admit that fighting off a hulking jungle beastie with only one blade between them is something best avoided.
They hurry on, pushing their way quickly through the sparse but scratchy underbrush as they head uphill. Nothing for it. After all, the best either of them can do is hope and pray to the gods that the Force will be merciful and cut them a karking break for a change.
Given all the distractions and drama that had taken place while in the caves, Rey had not bothered to take the time to assess the state of the broken signal.
Yes. Still broken. Very.
However, it seems like the extent of the damage had been largely contained within the shattered fuel compartment. Her first adaptation of it from a computer terminal to a transmitter had been an ugly thing, but now its future purpose had been saved by the simplicity of her initial repair.
Kylo hovers over her as she works, fretting silently like a nervous parent as she tweaks and adjusts the housing to try to fit something as comparatively small as the Varn Stone. He's annoying her in the way that he always does, but he's also serving as a useful windbreaker so there's that. And he hands her tools and offers tidbits of encouragement when it becomes obvious that the only piece of advice he can give her is a hearty good luck.
"There," she says, snapping the remnants of the housing back into place.
She picks up the transmitter carefully, not wanting to risk dropping it as she carries it over to the clearing. They're up about halfway on a smaller mountainside, and despite the lack of significant elevation, they chose this spot for their first test run because it was relatively clear. No more tall trees to get in the way of whatever signal they could send, if there would be any one at all. Perhaps they could have found a better spot elsewhere, but it was already getting to late afternoon and Rey desperately needed to know if this idea was even remotely feasible.
"Wanna do the honors?" she asks, setting the makeshift transmitter-slash-possibly-bomb down on Kylo's spread coat as the wind whips at her hair.
"Do you just want me to do it in case it blows up?"
"Yes."
Honesty. The cornerstone of any successful enemies to lovers relationship, right?
Kylo seems less than impressed with her candor, but he complies nonetheless. Rey shows him exactly what to press to turn it on, and what to frantically yank out if this goes the way it so easily could.
And the second he activates it, Rey immediately feels the pull. The green energy that had been so subdued rushes back through her. It's almost reassuring in a way, now that she knows what it is.
"Is it doing something?" Kylo asks.
Well, it's glowing. Lighting up both them and a good twenty foot radius around them with that familiar electric vibrancy. When Rey looks at the dials, they're sort of bouncing. The energy of the Varn stone is technically powering it, but in a very unfocused way.
"Turn it off," she tells him. "I have another idea."
The transmitter grows still again, but that feeling of power remains. Good news so far, at least in the sense that the device is still in one piece and so are they.
"This is powered by the Force literally, right?" she says, her fingers stroking the housing over the suddenly precious stone.
"Right."
Kylo seems more unnerved by this development than she, but of course Varn's energy had always reacted more favorably to her than him.
"Well, here's what I'm thinking: we meditate. Do that thing we did before where we try to 'see' the planet, except this time we try to amplify it."
Kylo frowns. He looks up at the sky. Rey can feel a pull there, as if the Force is telling them that her mind is moving in the right direction.
"Amplify it?" he asks, looking not especially impressed with her idea. "You mean we use the crystal to… boost our own abilities? Rey, I know you're excessively attached to this idea of your great great grandfather, but this is pretty far fetched."
If Rey was feeling petty, she would bring up the obvious contradiction to Kylo deriding her for grandfatherly attachment. But arguing wouldn't get them any steps forward and right now the clouds are literally the only place her head is at.
"Us, you and me, our powers, the stone, the transmitter. What's the worst that could happen?"
That obnoxious eyebrow of his raises again.
"Do you really want me to answer that one, Rey?"
Oh she doesn't. Not remotely. But what she does want is his hands, and he doesn't fight her when she takes them both in one of her own as she draws him down to sitting on the cold, hard gravel of the ground.
Finding the meditation calm is challenging, especially with the erratic and unpredictable flickering energy coursing through them. Rey wants to believe that some part of Varn is with them now, watching over their last ditch attempts at escape. She focuses on remembering him. Remembering what he had looked like as he had guided them to their ultimate freedom from the caves.
Ah, there it is. The focus that she needs. From behind her closed lids Rey can see the crystal begin to glow. Immediately her scope of perception broadens, fanning out laterally first. Trees below them. Life further. Kylo closer.
His soul burns brightly, their connection bringing her mind into a perfect synchronization with his own as the mental view begins to rise under their command.
"It's stronger now between us, isn't it?"
In the flesh Kylo may be innocently holding her hands in his own as they both attempt to clear their minds and reach out. In their shared headspace, however, he's stroking their Bond almost reverently. Their connection is thriving, and the only thing holding it back from transforming into something unknown and alarming is Rey's reluctance to permit it.
"I can see us," she says.
High above them. A bird's eye view. No, higher than that. Above the winds. Above the mountains.
There's something there. Something. There.
She can almost see it, almost understand it. That strange feeling of incredible significance that had been fluttering through her throughout the day. It's coming from the sky, but this isn't at all like that horrible storm. This is-
"Ungh… a little more, Kylo. Push a little harder."
She has to grit the words out through her teeth, so much of her efforts spent extending her mind far beyond the scope of their tiny spot in the vastness of the open universe. She's not sure if Kylo's helping or hindering her. He's the dark to her light, which can be very powerful at times, but now is also holding her back.
A little more. She can almost-
"A shape. Somewhere out there. It's unnatural."
"Yes. I… I feel life."
Kylo's hands squeeze hers, their shared perception waving in echoes.
She sees it for one second only, but it's enough. Her eyes spring open in shock, mirroring her bondmate's expression perfectly.
"A ship."
That's what she had felt. What she had been feeling since they'd left the caves. There's a ship out there, somewhere far far away but still within their solar system.
"We have to climb!" she shouts, leaping up to her feet so quickly that Kylo has to scramble to catch the transmitter before it clatters to the ground.
"Rey, we-"
"No, Kylo! This is it! This is our only chance!" She starts to tug on his arm, more than willing to drag him step by step uphill if that's what it takes. "We have to get up as high as we can and do it now before it leaves the system! We'll use my lightsaber, that will make a bigger signal boost!"
His reluctance is obvious, but so much be her insistence. Kylo hesitates only for long enough to summon his cloak back into his hands and obnoxiously yank the transmitter out of hers so that he can gallantly carry it, and then they're off. Dashing, running, gasping and panting up the steep, rocky sides of the hill. Time is of the essence, and Rey will still need enough daylight to make the necessary modifications to both the device and her saber.
The slope just keeps getting steeper, but Rey is driven with a purpose. They may never get another chance, or at least not for a long, long time. Her inner panic seems to energize them both, reflecting into Kylo through their bond and giving them both a boost of energy as they race higher and higher.
But her panic also makes them reckless.
They round a bend, climbing a sharp corner of the now treacherous hillside, and stop stop dead in their tracks. In the distance, the near distance, is a tiger. A big, big goddamn jungle kitty, far larger and faster than the ones they had faced before.
Without the aid of the kyber saturation coating the cats, Rey hadn't sensed him until now, but he had certainly noticed them. This king of beasts must have been the one she felt before from down in the caves. Even then, when she was hundreds of feet under the surface, it had been stalking her.
And now it found them, lured by the shining glow of the Varn's stone they had so carelessly activated. Behind it are three others, all leaping and bounding over the boulders in a path straight towards them.
author's note:
Well we all saw the kitties coming back, right? Are they going to be friendly? Nope. No, indeed they are not. Good thing our duo can both fight back with their… oh crap...
Next chapter: Tiger king tiger king, burning bright… in the jungle forests under the green sunlight… what do you know, what do you see… but two lost tasty treats, and a perfect opportunity…
(and can you tell why I never ever tried to write poetry? One of the two times in middle school I had to do a poem, I got my sister to write it for me in exchange for doing her drawing assignments. But don't cheat in school kids, you go ahead and take your D- grade like a champ, Negan style)
Comment replies:
kfulmer7 – Kylo had been detecting her speech about the boundaries for a while, and he'd been (not so) quietly simmering in annoyance about it every time she thought it, so he was totally strategic about when to bring it up on HIS terms. No chill at all with our boy, is there?
And sorry to say but no, dem jungle kitties still aren't gonna be their friends. We gotta have a villain in our story, and the kitties and our duo got some unfinished business together!
Sydkiwi – yeah, Rey's not playing housewife with Kylo, though she won't deny there are certain benefits to their new lifestyle arrangement! Jungle kitties made their return too, but of course they did right?
Thanks again for commenting and keeping up with this story! 3
pobrediabla- Rey was super clingy wasn't she? She's not ready to admit it, but she loves treating Kylo and she really can't say no to him. Lucky for her Kylo hasn't figured this out yet or she'd really be in trouble! Next chapter we get one last love scene so be warned that 21 will be NSFTT (not safe for train tickets) ;)
and a huge thanks to you as always for commenting! You guy's comments really keep me going and I love you all so much for sticking with this crazy story! :D
Aranthera- Don't feel under any pressure to review if you don't want to, but it makes me super happy when you take the time to! These last two chapters have been so lovey-dovey, but it helps to set the tone for what's to come. Is that a spoiler? Hmmmm…. you'll just have to wait and see!
Nerd Mom Writer – This chapter they're starting to talk about how their future will be, but not so much if they're rescued. They both pretty much admitted they want to stay on the planet and do the horizontal tango until they're old and grey, but will the universe allow them to have that much peace and quiet?
thanks as always for commenting too! 3
Missing a Muse – No worries about a super downer ending, I promise! I only do happy or at the worse neutral endings, but remember that this is part 1 of a series so unfortunately it can't end on a perfect happily ever after just yet! They've still got to have plenty of drama to build up for the second part! Anyhow, I hope you liked this chapter and thanks so much for commenting again! :D
Shestoolazytologin – Kylo doesn't play fair, especially when it comes to his Rey! And Rey does all the cuddling, she's such a hypocrite since she absolutely loves it, but she's still so stuck in her head. Real progress being made in their relationship, though, FINALLY.
It's sad for me to that this story is coming to an end, but there will be a second part at some point! And after On Ben's Knee I have a ton of ideas for other fics, though I think it will be a while before I want to do another piece over say 12ish chapters. So a bunch of shorter 50k novels, does that sound good?
Thanks as always for commenting and I hope you enjoyed chapter 20! 333