A Rose Watered with Vinegar

Chapter 6

oOoOoOo

When word came that she was awake, he didn't promptly go to her. Truthfully, Kylo was incredibly unsure of the whole situation. A part of him feared she'd be angry with him for bringing her to his flagship, his home, despite the fact that he had rescued her. Another part was anxious to get down to business, to figure out who had attacked them. Yet another wanted to simply sit and talk to her, ask her about everything, understand her more fully. All of it clashed inside him as he paced the hallway outside the medical bay doors.

With a shake of his head, he decided he couldn't waste any more time. Steeling himself, he walked into the bright lights and sterile aromas as the doors dutifully slid open.

The various doctors and nurses bowed to him as he past, but he paid them no attention. He followed the maze of hallways past the lobby area until he came to an abrupt halt before a door that read "Z-127" in large block letters. This one. He didn't need to ask anyone which room she was in. Her presence in the Force provided that information. It rolled off the room and coated him, so inherently Light and calming and airy.

He tentatively pressed the button on the wall, and the door gave way.

Rey was sitting upright in a long bed, staring blankly at a screen on the wall that was playing some segment of the New Order News Network, an animated Togruta clamoring behind a desk in a crisp black uniform. The screen was muted, but closed captions flitted across the bottom, revealing the topic of the spokesman's rant. The attack on the New Order and Resistance meeting.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, and she looked sharply to him. There was instant resentment on her pretty face.

He started to approach the bed but stopped about halfway to it. "How are you feeling?"

She sighed, and some of the anger left her eyes. "Better. I just can't wait to get this stupid bandage off," she said, gesturing to the wrap that covered most of her forehead and disappeared behind her ears. "It kriffing itches."

He chuckled lightly. "You should just be glad that's all it feels."

She bowed her head at that, the memory of the attack obviously coming back to her.

"Rey—"

She cut him off. "How long have you had this?" she asked, gesturing to the screen. "The network, I mean."

Irritation pricked the base of his neck at her evasion. "Awhile," he answered tightly. "It was Hux's idea, admittedly, and Snoke loved it. More fuel for his mental warfare train. It used to be simply ravings against everyone in the galaxy that even remotely disliked the First Order, but since I took the proverbial throne I've introduced some less...direct methods." He gestured to the phrenetic host on the screen. "But as you can see some things can't entirely be changed."

"I've never seen it before," she admitted. "The Resistance doesn't really let anyone access the Holonet. We're given datapads, but they're heavily modified."

His lip curled. "Of course those cretins don't. I forgot anything outside their bubble is evil and wrong."

She shot him a disapproving look. "You talk like you know anything about us. It's for our safety."

"Awfully convenient safety aligns perfectly with their desire for censorship."

She raised her arms in exasperation but winced at the effort. He instinctively moved to help her but caught himself.

"There you go again!" she cried. "You act like you know everything!"

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's not my fault they've brainwashed all of you!"

She huffed. "Great way to plead your case, Kylo."

He swallowed his irritation. This wasn't going as he planned. He needed to take control. "Look, Rey, I don't want to argue. We need to talk. There are problems bigger than the trivial ones we create for each other in play right now."

She looked away and sighed. "I know." He was considering how to begin when she spoke again.

"What happened?" Her voice was incredibly small.

"I only know what happened in the moment," he said with disappointment. "I remember everything simply going dark. I have no idea how long I was out. Could have been a minute, or ten. When I woke, I could barely focus. Until I saw you." He heard her take a quick breath.

"You were just lying there in the middle of the room. Everything else disappeared from view. I—" His voice grew quiet. The strained desperation in his voice sounded almost alien to his own ears. "I thought you were dead."

Her eyes abruptly went wide. "What about the rest?! Finn and Poe?"

He fought the urge to roll his eyes. Only she would ask about her friends first over what happened to her.

"They're alive," he informed her tersely. He'd sent word to the Resistance that he had rescued Rey as a gesture of good will and notified them she would stay aboard his ship until she recovered, which of course was received with warm and delightful threats of violent retaliation. Most of which from Dameron and the traitor. The idiots. "But the Sullustan is dead. I saw his body when I first woke."

"General Tulub..." she said, her face becoming downcast. "He was a good man. I didn't know him well but L—your mother always spoke highly of him."

Kylo flinched at the mention of his mother. Rey's eyes took on a strange glaze. "She misses you, you know," she stated softly.

Oh no, he thought. They were not going to have that conversation.

"I don't want to talk about my mother," he ground out. "We have to talk about what happened. You never let me finish the story."

She stayed silent so he went on. "When I saw you just lying there I didn't think. Nothing else mattered. I just went to you. The thought of losing you—" he trailed off, suddenly becoming embarrassed of his candor.

"You don't care about what happens to me, Kylo. You've made that abundantly clear." He hated the tinge of pain in her voice.

"Then why didn't I leave you?" he asked. She glanced away. "Why didn't I kill you in Snoke's throne room? Why did I let you leave Crait? You know I care. The things I felt, thought we shared..."

"I felt them too, Ben," she whispered. His stomach somersaulted at the sound of his name. "I—I don't know what it was, but I've never felt anything like it. It was good. And...I wanted more of it."

"Then why must you always hide from me?"

Anger shot jaggedly in her voice. "Because, Ben! We're on opposite sides of a war. I'm not going to just dump the Resistance! You should know this by now."

Ah, his recurring stumbling block. She was refusing to let it die. She was impeding his vision, didn't care to understand what he wanted for the galaxy. But he wasn't going to give up. He had to show her.

He forced himself to remain calm. "We're getting sidetracked. Now, when I found you, I took you and fled the building. And that's when I saw it."

"Saw what?" she asked.

"A giant warship." He shut his eyes, picturing it in his head. "It was in tatters, but somehow still spaceworthy. A long time ago there was a Dark Lord of the Sith, Nihilus, who used a similar craft. It was all but destroyed in the Mandalorian Wars, but he made it operational. He essentially kept his ship afloat with the Force. If Pallas was behind this, then he might be using the same trick. And that would mean he's become more powerful than I guessed."

"But we don't know if it was him?"

He shook his head. "No, at least not for sure." He looked at her pointedly. "I was taking this on good faith, but I have to ask. Did the Resistance have anything to do with this?"

"No!" she yelped instantly. "At least, not that I'm aware of. There was a lot of opposition to the idea of the ceasefire, but...I don't think anyone would do anything like this. I don't even know where they would find a ship like that."

"Could be mercenaries." His tone was skeptical. "Some zealot could have learned the location of our meeting and hired them."

"No—no they wouldn't," she said, but didn't sound like she entirely believed it. "We don't have that kind of money."

"Could have been an indebted service."

She shook her head with resolution. "No, Ben. I won't rule anything out, but we need to look first to Pallas. And, how are you certain this wasn't some power play by the old First Order elites?"

"I've considered it," he said. "But in the end, Hux is too vain for such an attack. If he wanted me to die, he'd want it to be very public. Probably at his hand. A shadowy warship trying to blow up a tiny secret meeting doesn't quite fit that narrative. Besides, there'd be too many questions."

"If you say so," she said with a shrug.

"Look, Rey," he said. "I know as little as you right now. I have my men moving the planets to figure out who attacked us. But we need to work together." He swallowed. "I need your help."

He expected some form of friction, but she just looked drained. "I know, Ben. How are we going to do this? I need to get back to the Resistance so I—"

"No!" he interjected hotly. Bewilderment wove itself into her face. "No, Rey, you need to recover. You're in no shape to be traveling anywhere."

She bristled. "I'm perfectly fine! I could walk out of here right now!"

She made a move to sit up but froze midway with a groan. She sank back into the bed, eyes squeezed shut.

He smirked. "For sure looks like it."

She cursed at him weakly, and he laughed low. Without thought, he walked over and reached down to help her readjust. She stilled, but she didn't stop him. He lifted her gently and moved the blanket back over her, avoiding her inquisitive gaze. When he pulled his hands away, his fingertips burned with electricity.

"Thank you," she breathed, and he stiffly nodded, straightening back up.

"Rey," he started, suddenly unsure of himself. "I need you to stay here until you recover. And you need to know you are not my prisoner. You're my guest."

Her eyes flitted to the wall. He took a long breath and went on. "But I—I need you to listen to me while you're here. I need you to hear me out, give my vision your ear. When you're well, I won't keep you. You can fly away back to the Resistance." He bit down the hurt that statement welled up in him. "But while we figure out who ambushed us, I'd like us...to talk."

She gave him a long, suspicious look. "You mean it? You won't hold me, force me into a chair again?"

He shook his head with vigor. "No, Rey, I promise you that."

She didn't immediately object, and his heart soared.

"Fine," she said after a long moment. Then her eyes slit. "But don't try anything, Kylo."

He deflated a bit as she returned to calling him that, but kept his voice even.

"Deal."

He tensed as he felt her presence wash over him in the Force as he left the medbay. Warm and enthralling, like the first dip into a bubbling hot spring. When she stepped forth from the shadows, she smiled luxuriously.

"Hello, Kylo."

"Rhea," he said, more stiffly than he intended.

"I hear she's alive," she said, sidling slowly up to him.

"Yes," he said flatly. "The girl is fine. She'll be of great use to us in finding who attacked us and reining in the Resistance." He tried his best to sound nonchalant. They could not know he cared. It would supplant him.

She cocked her head. "And that's all, Master?"

"She's a tool, Rhea," he bit out. "She'll fit whatever function we have for her."

She seemed satisfied with that answer. She was standing nearly half an arm from him now, and he could make out the striking dappling along her lekku. The soft patterns were like those of a jungle cat. He nearly jerked when she laid a nimble hand on his chest.

"You've been so overstrung lately, my lord," she purred in a voice like cashmere. "Why are you so troubled?"

She was pure allure. Her voice alone, the dulcet tones like the gentle lapping of waves, nearly unbound him. All of his doubts beckoned at the back of his head, wanting to be free. His mouth fell slightly ajar.

"You can always talk to me, Master," she whispered. Her silvery eyes glowed. "Take comfort in me."

He lifted the hand to his face, and the air faltered in his lungs. He sighed as she pulled his head to her and gently pressed her lips to his.

They were impossibly soft, and she tasted like honey and lilac. For a moment, he returned the kiss, moving his mouth passionately against hers. Her fingers twisted in his hair, and he put a hand to the small of her back. He pulled her flush to him, and she moaned into his mouth.

And then it struck him.

He felt nothing. No sparks, no intimacy. And suddenly the wrongness of it all came crashing down.

What would she think if she saw them?

He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back, maybe a little too roughly. Confusion and hurt immediately took up residence on her exquisite features.

"Kylo, w—"

"No, Rhea. I can't do this. We can't do this. We cannot jeopardize the mission." It was a good enough excuse, he figured.

She reached for him but he moved out of the way. "But, Kylo, what we had..."

"The past is the past, Rhea. The future is now. Everything is different. You know this. We have a new purpose, and that means old things have to die."

Realization dawned in her eyes like the last piece of the puzzle falling into place. "It's her, isn't it?" she said accusatively, her voice laced with malice.

"No, Rhea," he lied. "It's us. All of us. We have to focus now more than ever. We have to be at the top of our game. That means no distractions."

"But—" she started.

"No," he said with finality. "I—I have to go."

And with that he turned from her and went in search of a drink.