I do not own Star Wars!
The girl pulled Rey through a series of winding, stone hallways as Jason and Samarah hurried behind them. Despite the child's size she kept a firm grip on her even though Jason constantly called for her to let go of the force user.
"Wait Kasi! She's not well, you shouldn't be dragging her around like that!" he said trying to convince the young one to let Rey go.
Rey could hardly hear the canyon dweller's protest as she focused on where the child was taking her. If she didn't speak to Ren before the others started to ask him questions he could blow her cover, or worse, hurt somebody. He may not have had his light saber, but he still had the Force on his side. The scavenger thanked the Maker that she at least had the cuff activator to control him. If she didn't, who knew what he might try to do.
Finally they arrived at another metal door that slid open once they approached. The girl, Kasi, pulled Rey inside and brought her towards a cot. As she neared the cot there was no mistake, Kylo Ren was the "creepy guy". He looked horrible with his skin peeling from sunburn, and his dark hair a tangled mess. Ren also appeared to be connected to an IV bag like she was. However unlike her, he was not bandaged up. Instead the bandage she had placed on his face was gone revealing a long thin scar where she had struck him with her light saber. He instantly met her eyes which showcased the familiar swell of emotions; however they seemed more subdued for the moment.
Kasi finally let go of Rey's palm and grinned. "Here is the creepy guy! See isn't he creepy?" she curiously asked.
Hearing her question, Kylo Ren's eyes immediately widened.
Rey almost laughed at his expression. The fact that the Commander of the First Order had let a child's comment get to him was highly amusing. With his dark hair, pale skin, and large scar across his face she could understand why a kid would think he was "creepy".
"Yes, I do," Rey replied deciding to please the child and piss off Kylo Ren. After everything he'd done she knew he could take a jab.
It wasn't long before Jason and Samarah caught up. When they arrived they were heavily panting and Samarah rested her back against the wall to catch her breath while Jason wiped sweat from his brow.
"I'm sorry about my little sister, sometimes she just gets excited," Jason apologized. "She's also become quite attached to this young man. Kasi kept an eye on him while he was unconscious."
Kasi quickly nodded. "He was sleeping so long I didn't think he would wake up, but then he did and now we're all here!"
Despite Jason's frustration with Kasi he still smiled at her as he playfully ruffled her curly, dark hair. "Good job kid," he said.
This caused Kylo Ren to look away for the moment. He was being surprisingly quiet for some reason.
"So do you know this man?" Samarah asked.
"Yes his name is…Re..Revan," Rey replied. Hearing this, Kylo Ren's head snapped back around in order to send her a curious look. "He was traveling with me to look for the Jedi Temples," Rey explained. Ren raised an eyebrow at this but still did not say anything. His silence was strange, but the scavenger wouldn't waste the opportunity it provided.
Rey turned back around to face Jason and tried to put on a saddened expression. "Listen I was wondering if I could have a moment alone with him? I'm so relieved that he's alright that I just need a second to speak with him," she earnestly asked. Jason looked slightly hesitant at her request, so she decided to step up the act.
"Some of what I might say is quite…personal," she said for extra measure while trying to appear shy at admitting this.
Jason flushed and began quickly nodding, understanding what her words implied. It was strange to see the uptight man behave in such a way. "Oh, um, yes of course! Samarah, Kasi, let's go!" he urged his siblings.
"But I want to talk to the creepy guy!" Kasi complained.
"They'll be other times. Come on," Samarah said while grabbing her hand and leading her out of the room.
The moment Rey heard the electronic door slide closed, she let her sad expression vanish.
"I didn't realize you cared so much," Ren pointed out.
Rey shook her head and pulled a chair up next to the cot. "About you? Never," she said.
Kylo Ren didn't reply, but his smirk said everything. He didn't believe her. "Says the one who always risks her life for me."
Rey sighed in frustration. "I don't have time for this again," the scavenger said. Why couldn't he just let the topic go? She had her reasons for saving him, but if she tried to explain them to him he would only become angrier.
Ren scowled when he heard this. "Yet you have time to come up with ridiculous stories? Is this your idea of a joke? Making up names and saying that I'm seeking out Jedi Temples with you? I didn't realize you had it in you to so terribly lie," he explained, anger slipping into his tone. "Careful Rey, we all know that lying is a characteristic of the Dark Side."
"In that case I'll never know whether that statement was even true because you claim to be a part of it," she countered. As soon as she said this, Rey chastised herself for letting her anger get the best of her again.
Before Ren could furiously respond she put up her hand to silence him. "Just stop, we can't keep fighting like this. There are others around and they could hear us."
"I'll stop when you stop," he said. He was acting childish, but Rey knew she had been as well. Therefore she knew she needed to make an example of herself and demonstrate that she could act mature, hopefully then he would do the same.
Keep it mature Rey, mature she repeated to herself. He's not worth losing your anger over every two seconds.
"Fine," she said. This caused Kylo Ren to send her a slightly surprised look as if that was the last thing he was expecting to come out of her mouth.
Taking advantage of his silence, Rey began to tell Kylo Ren about everything that had happened. Rey explained where they were, who these people were, and the story she had fabricated about them. She came up with a well thought out cover story for Kylo Ren and explained it to him as well. Surprisingly he listened closely as she informed him.
"We're going to stick with this story, and you're not going to hurt anybody, alright?" she stated placing her hand on the activator to warn him.
Ren sneered at this. "Quit trying to threaten me scavenger. We both know you wouldn't truly use it even if I had a saber against your neck." He looked her in the eye. "You're too soft."
Rey was about to counter him but he spoke first. "That's why I will willingly go along with your story. Not because you told me to, but because it's my choice."
The scavenger was surprised to hear him say this. Why would he not immediately blow their cover? It would only benefit him if these people contacted the First Order. So why was he going along with the plan? What was he up to?
"So what's your reasoning? What do you get out of this?"
"Simple, there's no reason to attract attention to ourselves. Besides how will we ever get our light sabers back and get out of here if I go on a killing spree as you like to imagine I will," he replied irritably.
"How do I know you won't just go ahead and contact the First Order?" Rey suspiciously asked.
"I doubt even if I found the right technology I could establish a stable connection to a communication channel out here in the middle of the desert."
Rey leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "What about the light sabers? You're not going to force choke Jason and demand them back?"
Kylo Ren rolled his eyes at her paranoia. "I doubt I could get away with it without you or another one of these Bantha people finding out. You seem to forget that I'm outnumbered and can't exactly escape. Even if I grabbed a speeder I wouldn't know where to go."
He had a point. Technically they were trapped here until Jason or someone else pointed them towards the nearest spaceport. The last thing they wanted to do was get lost in the desert again. Not having the light sabers also meant no protection, and Rey needed all the protection she could get in order to ensure that she returned Kylo Ren to the First Order in one piece. If she stole them back these people would never help them, or worse, attack and capture them. No they had to earn their trust if they were ever going to leave the canyon with the light sabers.
As Rey looked at his serious expression she internally cringed because she realized she had to trust this twisted, unpredictable man. Kylo Ren was definitely up to something, she could just feel it. As much as she wanted to just tie him up and throw him somewhere until the Resistance came she knew it wasn't an option. She just had to accept the danger that came with his proposal and put him down if things got out of hand.
"I hope I can trust you," Rey warned.
Kylo Ren sighed and rested back against the pillows. "You have no choice," was his only reply before allowing his eyes to slowly close.
Rey looked down, feeling upset with herself. "I know," she muttered under her breath.
After Rey had left Kylo Ren's room, Samarah had quickly found her lost in the hallways and had escorted her back to where she had awoken. On the way back she ran into her own room before speedily returning with armfuls of clothing and a pair of brown shoes. She informed Rey that she would lend her some clothes so that she could change and join her family for lunch. When the scavenger had inquired about her old clothing Samarah told her that they were quite dirty and had numerous tears. They would have to be cleaned and mended before she could wear them again.
Now back in her room, Rey stood quietly beside Samarah as she excitedly placed numerous outfits across the cot while commenting on them. Their colors tended to range anywhere from grey to white and were made of a coarse material. Some had robe openings while others were plain shirts like the ones she wore on Jakku. Though the outfits with robe openings were different, she wasn't really used to them and instead gravitated towards a grey shirt with sleeves that went to her elbows. Finding some white three-quarter pants she also pulled them to the side so she could eventually change into them.
Even with her outfit decided something about it bugged Rey. It was missing something. Back on Jakku she always wore a long gauzy, wrap over her clothing so that if there was ever a sandstorm or the sun was too harsh she could quickly use it to protect her face. Rey wasn't sure how long it would be before she got her old clothes back, so she decided to ask Samarah about whether she had any.
"Hey Samarah, do your people commonly wear wraps?" Rey asked.
The younger girl held in chin thought. "Not usually, but I'm sure I could find one for you to use if you want." Suddenly her brown eyes lit up as if remembering something. "As a matter of fact," she hurried over to the chest from before, "I keep a blanket in here, but you can use it if you want".
Samarah pulled out the long grey cloth Rey had found earlier and handed it over to her with a smile. "Think this will do?" she asked.
Rey took the soft material in her hands and nodded. "This should be fine, thank you Samarah," she spoke.
"No problem! I'll wait for you outside so when you're done just step out of the room and I'll take you to the dining area," she informed the older girl.
Rey quickly changed into the clothing and threw the grey cloth around her and fastened it in place with her own belt. Instead of wearing it as a wrap and letting the ends hang around her, she decided to use it more as a shawl since there was so much more material. Her wavy chestnut air was still loose and grazed the top of her shoulders, but she decided she could find hair ties later on. It wasn't like she was scavenging and needed it to be immediately out of the way. She slipped her feet into the shoes and walked towards the door. Unlike last time it slid open once she was in front of it.
Meeting Samarah, she led her down the hall and through a different corridor. As they neared the dining room Rey could smell the scent of food drifting down the hall. This caused her stomach to rumble on its own accord.
Samarah heard this and laughed. "So when was the last time you had a real meal?" she asked.
"Pretty much never," Rey admitted. She hardly considered the packaged meals she ate back on Jakku as proper food.
"Then you're in for a real treat, Jason's cooking today," she explained.
"I take it he's a good cook then?"
Samarah nodded. "Like you wouldn't believe."
When Rey entered the dining room she found Kylo Ren already seated at the table and looking quite bored. He was wearing a dark grey shirt with a robe opening, pants, belt, and boots. It was almost strange seeing him look so normal. When he wasn't garbed in his long, dark clothing he looked a lot less like a menacing murderer and more…human. He almost appeared younger as if the evils of the world hadn't already aged and tainted his character.
Meanwhile the kid from before, Kasi, sat next to Ren and was engrossed in explaining something important to him. Jason on the other hand was preoccupied with placing bowls on the table, but did manage to steal a glance at her before he went back to his task.
Samarah moved towards the table and pulled out the seat next to Ren for her. "You can sit here," she suggested before walking towards her brother so she could help him. Rey couldn't exactly protest, so she sat down and tried not to remind herself that she was about to have lunch with Kylo Ren of all people.
Now closer, Rey couldn't help but listen to Kasi as she tried to chat with him. "Have you ever seen a womp rat creepy guy? They're also creepy!" she told him.
Rey smiled when she said this, but quickly covered it so Ren wouldn't see.
"No," he replied in irritation.
"What! You haven't? That's crazy! Here!" Kasi exclaimed before picking her stuffed animal off of the table. She then placed it on Kylo Ren's lap before he could say anything.
He looked down at it in surprise before tentatively picking the ugly looking toy off of his lap. Rey curiously studied him, hoping he wouldn't snap at the child.
Kasi happily watched him do this. "That's my womp rat! His name is Womp Rat!"
Kylo Ren frowned at the girl and carelessly dropped the toy back onto the table. "Why would you name it what it's already called?"
"Because nobody ever does!" she proudly stated.
Ren huffed in annoyance, while Rey openly laughed at this. "I think that was a smart idea, don't pay attention to Revan here," she said. This earned another look from Kylo Ren, but he held his tongue.
Kasi grinned at the scavenger. "Thank you Rey!"
"You know my name?" Rey asked in curiosity.
"Of course! Jay and Sissy were busy, so I kept asking the creepy guy until he finally told me!"
Rey looked at Kylo Ren, but he would not meet her eyes. She was pretty surprised that he had honestly answered the small child's question to begin with.
"Kasi, leave Revan alone. It's time to eat," Jason said while finally taking a seat. Samarah took the one on Rey's other side.
Once everyone was seated the siblings began to take food from the bowls scattered about the table. Seeing them do this, Rey and Kylo Ren eventually followed their example. There were many things Rey had never seen nor eaten before. She tried flatbread and was amazed by how soft it was. She also had her first ever bite of fresh meat and loved how tender and flavorful it tasted. It was not chewy like the dried ration meats she ate on Jakku. However what she enjoyed the most was the mysterious blue liquid Samarah poured into her cup. It was so sweet and creamy that after one sip Rey couldn't help a small smile from appearing on her face.
Kylo Ren quietly ate beside her and didn't appear to be as impressed as she was. His face did not reveal delight like hers as he suspiciously looked at the food on his plate before taking hesitant bites.
"Hey creepy guy, can you pass the bantha milk?" Kasi asked.
"Kasi! His name is Revan, it's rude to call him "creepy guy"!" Samarah chastised.
"Ugh fine, Revan can you pass the milk?"
When Kylo Ren didn't immediately do anything Rey nudged him in the side and sent him a look. She nodded towards the kid as if to remind him to be polite. Had he learned no manners growing up or did he just decide to abandon them when he joined the First Order?
Ren silently sighed and grasped the jug before placing it by the girl.
Kasi smiled at him and pointed at her empty glass. "Can you please pour some for me?" she sweetly asked.
This time Rey didn't need to remind him to be nice and he wordlessly poured the blue liquid into the girl's glass. The scavenger almost wanted to laugh at the scene. One of the galaxy's most dangerous figures was pouring a child some milk. What was the world coming to?
After a few more minutes of eating, Jason decided that it was time to ask some more questions. "So Revan, how did you meet Rey?" he inquired.
Rey's fork froze before it could enter her mouth. This was it, he either blew their cover and ruined the whole plan, or he said the right thing and proved that he was at least somewhat trustworthy. Well as far as killers go Rey reminded herself.
"We were both looking for Jedi Temples when we ran into each other and decided to just travel together," he replied. His voice was not exactly enthusiastic about what he was saying, but it didn't sound fake either. Rey was immensely relieved and quietly released a breath.
"So you're training to be a Jedi as well?" Samarah asked in interest.
Rey saw Kylo Ren's fist tighten as it rested on his leg. "Yes," he answered after a moment.
"Creepy guy is going to be a Jedi!" Kasi suddenly shouted. She abruptly grabbed his arm and looked up at him with big, earnest eyes. "Have you heard of Luke Skywalker? He's from Tatooine and he's a Jedi, and he saved the Galaxy, and I hear he's really nice!"
Rey felt a slight disturbance in the air and saw her glass of milk rattle. She looked up at Ren and was prepared to do something when he took a deep breath and the rattling stopped.
"Yes, I met him a long time ago," he managed to say. Only Rey noticed the cold undertones of his voice. She vaguely recalled how Han Solo had mentioned Luke when she had accidently probed into Kylo Ren's mind. Rey wondered if he would hide the fact that he had trained with him for possibly years.
"What was he like?" Kasi quickly wondered.
Jason and Samarah had stopped eating and were listen closely. Even Rey herself patiently waited to hear what Kylo Ren had to say.
"Let's just say he's not everything the stories make him out to be," he sharply declared before looking back at his plate.
Rey deflated like everyone around her due to both what he had said and the fact that he didn't seem to want to talk anymore. It was disappointing that the only way she could learn anything about Luke Skywalker was through a stubborn force user that appeared to have a grudge against him.
After eating for a little while longer Rey decided that it was time she said a few things. "Jason, I know I should have said it before, but thank you for saving our lives. If you hadn't found us we may have died out there," she explained.
"You're welcome Rey," he returned with a small smile. "Though generosity is not something commonly practiced on Tatooine it was something our parents ingrained into our family. Therefore it would have felt wrong to leave you two in the sand."
Speaking of parents, where were theirs anyway? Instead of asking, Rey just assumed they might have been preoccupied or off doing something else for the time being. Perhaps she would just meet them later on.
"Your parents are good people then," Rey said, a touch of sadness in her voice. Were her parents compassionate? Though she had spent her whole life imagining that she had the perfect family that would return for her one day, she was beginning to realize that she many have been wrong. What type of family would leave their own daughter alone to fend for herself on a hostile planet?
She shook away her thoughts and tried to focus on the present. "Though we are extremely grateful for your hospitality, at the same time we don't want to over-stay our welcome. Therefore if you could help us get to the nearest spaceport with our light sabers we would be extremely grateful."
"That's not possible," Samarah suddenly said. "At least for the time being."
"Why's that?" Rey asked. Did these people honestly plan to keep them there? Though the food was excellent Rey knew this wasn't some vacation. She needed to return to the Resistance as soon as possible.
It was Jason who answered. "About thirty minutes ago some of the other families that live in the canyon took the speeders out to make milk deliveries. I just returned from my deliveries so I won't have access to one again until they return in about a week," he explained. Rey thought back to the speeders she had seen earlier. Were they really all gone?
Rey sensed Kylo Ren tense beside her. "Are speeders the only way to get to the nearest town?" she quickly inquired.
Jason nodded his head. "Unfortunately they are. The dune sea is too harsh and dangerous to traverse without transportation. Some people use Dewbacks, but nobody in the canyon owns any."
"Yay!" Kasi suddenly cheered. "Creepy guy and Rey get to stay longer!" she cried before grabbing Kylo Ren around the waist and tightly hugging him.
"Kasi!" Jason and Samarah yelled in unison.
Meanwhile Ren appeared quite stunned for a few seconds, maybe even uncomfortable. However it wasn't long before his frown returned and he tried to pry Kasi off of him. He put his hand on her small forehead and tried to push her off that way, but she just laughed at this. Rey was immensely amused and decided that meeting Kasi was one of the most interesting things to have happened to them on this trip of theirs. The entire scene was utterly ridiculous but in a good way. Rey couldn't remember the last time she had been so amused. Living as a scavenger on a planet like Jakku didn't have many light moments.
Jason and Samarah had now arrived at Kylo Ren's side and were trying to help him get Kasi to let go. Despite the humorous situation, Rey couldn't help but allow Jason's words to finally sink in. They were trapped here for a week and there was nothing they could do about it. This meant they would also have to keep up their act if they wanted to convince the family that they were harmless traveling Jedi in training. Rey knew she could do it, the question was how long would Kylo Ren last?
Rey watched Jason try to pull Kasi off of him. She prayed to the Maker that the coming week would go smoothly, yet something told her that what she was asking for was actually a miracle.
I suppose hiding the fact that "Revan" is one of the most dangerous figures in the galaxy shouldn't be a problem Rey sarcastically thought.
A/N: Hi my dear readers! So if you were wondering what Rey's new clothes look like it is actually one of her outfits that was designed for her in the Force Awakens concept art. I thought it looked pretty cool so I decided to incorporate it into my little tale. If you want to see the outfit just type in 'Rey concept art' in a search machine and it should be the first one to pop up!
Lastly big thanks to crzykittyfangirl, Earial13, Skyfluffles, RGLStarwarsmaster, GreyGlassEyes, Angelique Sauvengarde, PagesOfHappiness, christos200, Devilvader99, kat and the wonderful Guests for the reviews!