Star Wars, "Temple of Our Hearts" Part 2, rated E (Rey/Kylo Ren)

[paynesgrey]

Story Title: The Temple in Our Minds
Fandom: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Parts: 2/8 
Part 2 Title:  The Temple of Our Hearts
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Mature situations
Characters: Rey, Kylo Ren, General Hux, OMC, Leia
Pairings: Rey/Kylo Ren
Artwork Link: @tumblr by penaltywaltz . Thank you for the beautiful work!

Link(s): AO3

Notes: So...this is technically a sequel but I'm leaving it open because I have more than needs to be added, so looks like it'll be a multi-part story. I did this sequel part for wipbigbang  2018. This is post TLJ.

Story Summary: In one of there Force-bond sessions, Rey invites Kylo Ren to a safe space and reveals that she still has hope for him. With Rey's continued influence through their connection, he reconsiders his future as Supreme Leader as others conspire against him. 

Part Two Summary:  Rey and Kylo Ren meet again, and they learn more about each other. While Kylo Ren is away, Hux plots to overthrow him.



Part One >

When he’d found her again within the Force connection, she was sitting on a large rock meditating. Rey had a serene glow on her face, and he caught the faint tug of a smile at the corner of her lips.

“I am a Jedi, an instrument of peace,” she said like a mantra. He listened to her soft, quiet voice and let it reverberate through his core. Her mantra hit a place inside him that had not seen the Light in a long time.

Around them, the sun was warm and pleasant, reminding Kylo Ren of a mother’s touch. Beyond the large rock where she was sitting, a quaint babbling river twinkled in the sunlight. A cool breeze shifted his hair around his face, and he had to deny himself a contented sigh.

This place was all created in Rey’s mind. She treated it as her haven, and even more surprisingly, she had invited him to meet her to this space whenever he so desired. Her invitation warmed him, making him feel less alone than he had in years.

“You’re back,” she said to him, and she opened her eyes and turned her attention to him. Kylo Ren looked down at her and frowned slightly.

“I needed to see you again,” he said, almost as softly as a whisper, and when they locked eyes, Rey’s serene face fell. He could feel in her expression a sense of longing that mirrored his own. Like him, Rey had found some sort of solace in his company. It was amazing they were even considered enemies, though Kylo Ren knew in his heart that such a thing wasn’t true.

He suspected Rey felt the same way too.

She nodded in understanding, and then she outstretched her hand. “Would you like to join me?”

Kylo Ren looked down at the rock. It was indeed spacious enough for both. He nodded and then sat beside her on the rock, crossing his legs and mimicking her position. He watched her hands shape the mudras and then he watched her close her eyes.

He did the same, and he slipped into peace. He focused on his breathing, tuning out all the anger and darkness in his mind. The last thing he heard was her breathing next to him, and then suddenly her breathing fell in sync with his.

And then, their heartbeats were in step, like a perfect dance. Then, as she began her mantra again, he let his mind follow it like a song, and then he chanted it with her.

He did not know how long he had slipped into this meditative state, but Kylo Ren had to admit that he never felt this at peace when he was teaching under Luke. He’d never felt this in control of his emotions, and he’d never felt such strong warmth from the Light.

When he opened his eyes, her mantra had stopped, and Rey had come out of her trance as well. Then, she surprised him and leaned against him, her head resting on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” she said, but she didn’t move. “I should have asked.”

He reached his hand to caress her jaw, and his fingers stroked her soft skin as long as she would allow. Rey made no motion to stop his touch. She closed her eyes briefly in response to his caress, but then she met his stare, and they locked eyes. He could feel her presence traveling through his very soul. It was amazing what he could feel of her through the Force.

He let her inside. He opened himself up to her as much as he could, just as she had to him.

He felt so content that he didn’t want to leave this space. Each time he had visited her here, he felt more and more connected to her and unwilling to leave her presence. He had to keep up appearances with the First Order, but Rey was not the rival his comrades would believe. He knew that General Hux would be furious to know that Kylo Ren had formed such a bond with the scavenger girl.

Rey would always be more to him than just a rebel girl, or even as the last Jedi. He couldn’t form the words to how important Rey was to him, or what he could call her. He only knew one thing for absolute certainty - Rey was his equal, and they were bonded.

It was a bond that he would fight tooth and nail never to break.

He cleared his throat, and the intrusive noise broke their stares. Rey blushed slightly and looked away, her gaze sweeping over the beautiful scenery in this secret world.

“The ancient Jedi texts,” he began. “You said you have been reading them?” He hoped to steer the conversation elsewhere than the nature of their bond. The more that they delved deeper into how they felt, he wondered if he would drown in her. His mother always did say that he felt everything too intensely, and his passion was a changing star, smoldering with restrained pressure.

“Yes, I have been reading them when I have time. Mostly I train,” she said, but then he felt her pause. She was holding something back, yet if she did not speak to him in words, he would get the thoughts from her mind.

“You’ve been seeing Luke Skywalker’s ghost,” he said, and she made no motion or noise of affirmation. He already knew that he was right.

“He comes to me with another long-dead Jedi, Master Yoda. Master Yoda infuriates him more than I do,” Rey said. She laughed slightly. “Imagine being angry as a ghost when you’ve moved on into the Force.”

Kylo Ren barely cracked a smile, but he understood the levity. Luke was a bitter old fool, and he’d heard tales that Yoda was a great master, and he truly embodied the Jedi code.

“What else is he teaching you?” Kylo Ren immediately asked, and Rey gave him a suspicious side-eyed glance.

“I’m not sure you’d benefit from knowing. The subjects are probably ones you know, or even too remedial for you,” she said. “However, with the texts, I can summarize one thing to you.” He watched her hug her knees. “I’m not sure I’m cut out to be a Jedi. I try, I honestly do, but some of their codas are hard for me to accept.”

“Such as?” Kylo Ren asked, curious to her hesitation.

She turned to him, and he could tell that she wanted to tell him more than she could. Something held her back, but he suspected she knew that he’d get it from her mind eventually.

“From the visions I’ve had of you and me, in our future there is no place for a rule that disallows a Jedi from forming attachments,” she said. “The idea of not being attached to you in this bond seems blasphemous to my feelings, and yet the Jedi has no passion, yet serenity and they love all others as they are to be loved.”

She paused and he stared at her, his silence urging her on. She came closer to him, and her voice quieted when she said. “Since my vision, I have known love, of my friends and all life, but I have also known the strongest of attachments - toward you, Ben, and I know that it is definitely not fully Light.”

“And it is not fully Dark,” he added for her, and she nodded.

“It is the Balance,” she said. “Our bond, Ben, it is the Balance that I feel so strongly, and I know in my heart that it is right despite what that code says. And if that is the case, then words in an ancient book -- how much do they hold weight anymore? What am I a Jedi in comparison to the Jedi of old?”

Kylo Ren watched her expression turn conflicted and he sympathized with her desperation - the feeling to want an understanding for oneself, and the isolation one feels when they see and know so much more than anyone else. The power that both corrupts one person and uplifts them.

Finally, he soothed her tension when he put a hand over hers as she clutched her knees. She relaxed, watching him as he regarded her.

“Do not take everything in those books seriously, Rey,” he said, and when he said her name, he could see a flicker of a reaction over her face. “The Jedi Order themselves are dead and long gone. You and I are the last of the strongest Force-users. We can make a new order in what we know is right and natural according to the Force. The Jedi, in their way, were zealots and because of rules just like that one, they are not around to condemn their followers for such things anymore.”

He watched as she is visibly relaxed and then turned away from his hard stare. He watched a light smile tug at her lips. “I suppose you’re right. Though, not everything from the Jedi texts is that offensive. There are some good things.”

“Of course,” he said. “Tell me, what else have you learned?”

Then she shot him a mischievous smile.

“I think it’s better if I showed you,” she said, and she stood up from her spot and headed to a clearing. Kylo Ren watched her movements and behind her, the scenery changed. The once serene landscape changed to a barren wasteland under a hot sun, Jakku he guessed, and she stood in attention with her staff. He saw that something had changed with her weapon, especially since the lightsaber she had used with him against Snoke’s guards and then against him before her rejection had been destroyed.

Rey held a new lightsaber, and he silently appreciated the design. “Your lightsaber…” he began. He watched as she twirled it with expert balance and skill. She’d certainly had time to make use of it in her training. He appreciated the new design, which matched her well, and he could no longer feel any attachment to his grandfather or uncle in the weapon. She grinned at him, and he knew she felt it too -- the lightsaber wholly defined her without any remnants from anyone else.

Rey held her staff lightsaber and gave it a once-over before meeting his eyes. “The focusing crystal was completely shattered on Luke’s lightsaber. I could not repair it, no matter how much I tried. With some of Leia’s connections, I was able to piece together some of my components and reconfigure my staff into a lightsaber pike.” She twirled it again and then held it parallel to the ground. Both ends lit up with a smoky greyish light. She was much more in control of this weapon, and as she held it, he noticed more confidence. The design was suited for her, and he was anxious to meet her in combat to test the weapon out.

He did not think he would wait long. She grinned at him.

“I gather you did not bring me here to give me a dull story about how you made your lightsaber,” he intoned, and she laughed at him.

“Surely not,” she said, and she took some steps back from him and positioned herself in a familiar stance. He could not prevent the smirk tugging at his lips.

“Shall we?” she asked, stretching further into her stance. The precursor to their sparring sent a shiver of glee throughout his body.

“Skipping shii-cho and right into makashi?” he asked with a raised eyebrow, and noticing her footwork, one foot in front of the other in a line.

“I didn’t want to insult you on bringing you back to the basics, plus I’ve been practicing and I’m eager to show off a bit,” she said with a smirk, and he watched her give him a small shrug as she held her lightsaber pike. The grey beam of it was gorgeous and it buzzed with unpredictable energy. As his lightsaber would release energy from the sides of his weapon, trying to contain the volatile nature of the beam that synchronized with his persona, Rey’s lightsaber also defined her well. She seemed unassuming and untrained to anyone else, but Kylo Ren knew that Rey held vast amounts of power. He knew better than anyone she was not to be underestimated.

They parried and sparred, their lightsabers meeting for the first time like a volatile romance yet seemed as though they two were familiar rivals. Neither one of them held back, giving their all to every move and every strike. She had pushed him back several times, taking him out of his comfort zone. He had tried tricks on her, and she had deflected. She had tried entering his mind a few times, and he fended her off, but it did require some effort.

She had improved in her battle skills, and he was eager to see more of her training.

Rey was strong, and the more he smelled her scent around him or listened to her quickening heartbeat in his mind, the more he wanted her by his side again and he would not give up no matter what ideologies she had that kept them apart.

They pulled away for a break, preparing for another bout of sparring through more forms of Jedi fighting, whether as a single stance or a hybrid of all four of them. She noticed the break he fell into, and they both caught their breaths, their gazes still locked as the dust and sand settled under their feet.

He saw the blush of color in her cheeks when he’d removed his shirt from the exertion. Even in this Force-connection world, their physical activity was still real, and Kylo Ren was eager to take a shower after this. Bringing him to Jakku in their connection was still too hot for his taste, and he swore he could taste sand in his teeth.

She disarmed him a couple of times, and he disarmed her a handful, yet the closer those moves were to him, the more he felt her excitement. He’d look into her eyes, and she’d lock her gaze, searching out his feelings as she caught her breath.

On their last bout, they had disarmed each other at the same time, their lightsabers snapping against each other, going dark, and then tumbling into the sand. She had fallen onto him, and he had clumsily caught on a pocket of loose sand, crashing with her. Instinctively, his arms went around her as she fell into his chest, and they both made an OOF sound once they hit the sand. Kylo Ren remembered how much he hated how sand stuck to his skin.

He’d forgotten all about the sand the moment he felt Rey’s hot breath on his chest. She was looking at where she had fallen, eyes widening as her breath did not seem to even. Her heart seemed to hammer against him, Cautiously, she looked up and met his eyes. He pulled her closer to him and she did not resist. One of his hands slid away from holding her against him and traced the sweat and sand on her chin. Tentatively, he leaned forward and licked the drop of sand off her chin, pulling away from her heated gaze.

He wanted to ask her again if she’d join him. He needed her by his side. To be apart from her made no logical sense in his mind. Her power and loneliness were a mirror to his. She enticed him on levels that no one had, and despite all the darkness and nightmares that had plagued his life, for once Rey had soothed them all. His future seemed a lot stronger and more secure with her beside him.

Rey remained still, only looking at him to see what move he would make next. Slowly, he saw her shaking hand reach up and brush the sand out of his hair.

The moment she touched him so gently, temptation railroaded him, and he couldn’t deny his urges any longer. He pressed near and captured her lips in a hungry, desperate kiss. She wasn’t startled or surprised, and she melted against him like his decision was meant to be, another snag on the string of their entwined fates.

The kiss was deep, long and he made no motion to let her go. He was hungry for her taste, her scent, and her warmth. She obliged him, her body instinctively arching to him. The friction that warmed between him made him dizzy with desire.

He pulled away in a wet smack from her lips and rubbed his nose against hers, rocking as he fought his urges. “If I kiss you again, I will not stop myself.” It was a beautiful threat, and he could feel her shudder against him.

“Then don’t,” she whispered against his skin. When she nibbled on the side of his mouth and pulled at his bottom lip he felt like bursting. He grasped her tightly and then twisted them, shifting her back into the sand.

He covered her body as she began to peel away her clothes, and he helped her along with the Force. Suddenly, their background shifted again, and they were back into a serene setting. The sand was gone, and the only heat he felt was between them. They lay in the grass, and underneath him, he watched Rey smile as she pulled off her shirt. He worked on his pants, easily sliding them off as he shifted over her.

“How is this happening?” He had to stop himself and remember that they were still meeting through a Force connection in her mind. “I can feel you as if you were here with me.”

“It’s like a dream, isn’t it? We’re not really here. But it’s happening. It’s all in the Force,” she said. She pulled him down and gave him a stern look. “Don’t try to understand it. Just do.”

Her command sent a shiver down his spine, and he ravaged her mouth again, his hands busy over her soft skin and delicate parts. She was right. He let his pressing thoughts fade away and continued to make love to her. He made her moan for him, and he began to understand why she didn’t think she’d be a Jedi - not really, not when she had opened herself to the dark side so eagerly - to him, and how he too failed his uncle and his stupid Jedi coda again.

But maybe he was more like his grandfather after all and that he knew what passion was, to love this deeply. Unlike his grandfather, however, he wouldn’t let this love destroy him. No, this was the love that would save the galaxy - it would burn away all the deadwood, the sickness of the past, and the weaknesses of those still deluding themselves with power. He and Rey would make things right. No suffering, no endless bickering, and wars. Only unity. Only freedom.

Kylo Ren looked down at Rey as he broke away from their kiss, he stared at her pebbled nipples and watched as her strong legs wrapped around him. When he entered her fully, he felt a power so deep explode inside him, it was more than he’d ever encountered when using the Force. He moved swift and full, and she called his name repeatedly. “Ben.”

 

*

 

General Hux would not wait around anymore for Supreme Leader Kylo Ren to act. He had locked himself in his throne room and would not let anyone, including Hux, disturb him.

He even hated calling him the Supreme Leader, but now that his true Master Snoke was dead, Kylo Ren was the de facto leader to take his place. Of course, Hux had to agree with the new role. His life depended on it, but that did not mean he had to like it or accept it.

For all his power and training, Kylo Ren was still a simpering, emotional fool. Hux had suspected that since the girl had supposedly killed Snoke that he was still hung up on her, and Hux wasn’t deluded in believing a scavenger girl had enough power and cunning to kill someone as glorious as Supreme Leader Snoke.

Now, something was afoul with Kylo Ren’s intentions.

“He’s a traitor,” Hux thought aloud, and he would more than prove it. The more time Kylo Ren took “meditating and training” in his Throne Room without distractions, the more opportunities Hux would have in proving to the First Order that General Hux was the true leader, not Kylo Ren.

He’d strengthen his alliances, and he’d find ways to build up the strength of the First Order without Kylo Ren’s knowledge. Soon, he’d find a way to outmaneuver this despot Supreme Leader and become the leader himself.

Then, he’d be rid of him, and then without delay, they would obliterate the remnants of the Resistance. And once Hux found Rey, he’d make sure Kylo Ren was alive to witness her final punishment. Then he’d join the girl in whatever Force afterlife their kind had shared.

The Jedi and Force users like Kylo Ren deserved to be in a graveyard with the rest of them, but Hux couldn’t do it alone. He knew he didn’t have the kind of power that Kylo Ren had, but Hux liked to think that he was cleverer than this new despot Supreme Leader. He also felt that the late Supreme Leader Snoke had entrusted Hux over Kylo Ren with many things, and to this day Hux was sure he knew more about Snoke than Kylo Ren ever could imagine.

An incoming communication from the bridge alerted his presence. He stared out into the vastness of space for a moment before answering, admiring how soon this entire galaxy would be all his.

“General Hux, sir, there’s an incoming message for you on a secure channel,” said the voice on the other line.

“Acknowledged,” he said. “Put it through here to my office and scramble all channels.”

“Yes, sir,” said the soldier.

After a stark buzz of static, another voice came onto the other line. “General Armitage Huxsss….” hissed the voice, which mangled the common language due to his species. Hux didn’t mind. The Trandoshans were old allies of the Empire, and Hux admired their ruthlessness. This Trandoshan was a Force user, and one of Snoke’s secret weapons.

“Darth Aa’Ricsss, it is a pleasure to speak with you again,” General Hux said cordially, and he could still hear Aa’Ricsss breathing heavily on the communication line.

“You may call me Aicsss, General Hux. When you have gained my respect, you can address me as the Supreme Leader once did,” he told him sternly.

“I understand completely, Lord Aicsss,” Hux said, dialing back his charm and trying to appear more civil with this contact. Aicsss was his Ace weapon, and he wasn’t going to ruin his chances by insulting him. The most he knew from this contact was that Snoke thought highly of Aicsss but did not think he had the temperament to become a Supreme Leader.

Snoke had used him for ruthless and treacherous duties and missions, and for the most part, he had been content with his mercenary role when Snoke was alive. Though Hux knew that Aicsss wasn’t content with being Snoke’s underling and main thug indefinitely, and he was sure when Snoke’s death was known, Aicss would be more available to new opportunities. Hux had noticed that Aicsss had delusions of grandeur in reports of Snoke’s disciple, and of course, he thought of him immediately when Kylo Ren took over.

“What is this disturbance about?” he snapped at him, seeming unfriendlier as the seconds rolled by. “Your communique stated you had business with me? What business do you think I would have with you, human?”

“I will make this worth your while, I assure you Lord Aicsss. You and I have a common distaste for the current new Supreme Leader,” Hux said, and he heard Aicsss scoff immediately.

“The boy who Snoke proclaimed would be great, is merely just another whiny disappointing human child,” the smuggler said. “His very name makes me sick.”

“I share the sentiment. I was hoping that if we pool our talents and resources, we can unseat this unsavory despot and make you the new Supreme Leader. You are, of course, more aligned with Snoke’s original plans for the galaxy, and you are far more powerful than Kylo Ren in matters of the Force,” Hux said, even though some of those statements were exaggerations and platitudes. Hux had no intention of making this undesirable goon the new Supreme Leader but that was his selling point.

“Ha! You would make me Supreme Leader when Snoke did not want me to be his successor? What do you gain from all of this, Armitage Hux?” Aicsss asked him.

“A better leader for one thing, and the end of Kylo Ren and his Knights away from the First Order. Without their dead weight, we have not been able to thrive,” Hux answered. “I believe that with your knowledge and power, the First Order will be invincible and a force to reckon with.”

“Hrmmm,” Aicss said, and Hux felt relief and hearing a more satisfied tone from the mercenary. “I see worth in your words. Without Supreme Leader Snoke, I am sure you feel a hole in your rulership indeed, Huxsss.”

“Kylo Ren has no business taking the mantle from such a Leader,” Hux said, feeling his temper rising at the thought of him. “I would indeed make it worth your while if you could usurp this useless despot immediately and take leadership of the First Order. We would make the First Order unstoppable.”

“So, you say, human,” Aicsss said, and Hux felt a sliver of anxiety knowing this creature would be hard to predict. He was certain Aicsss had his own ideas about the position, and Hux would be more than prepared to watch his back. Hux only intended to use Aicsss as a weapon to take on Kylo Ren. “You are clever enough to enlist my skills. I have fought with Kylo Ren before and have bested him in some instances. No doubt his skills have diminished over time?”

“Kylo Ren is powerful, but it’s his mind that is lacking. You see, Kylo Ren has formed an unhealthy attachment to a woman,” Hux told him, and he heard laughter through the communication line.

“Ah like his grandfather! These human males and their weaknesses for love! How droll!” he hissed at him.

“Yes, and you see, you have more than a chance to defeat him,” Hux added. “He has a wounded heart, and as you know, such a thing is a failure for a Force User. He killed his father, an action that still haunts him, and now this girl has swayed his heart to go against the First Order’s ideals.”

“General Huxsss, I will be delighted to take on your challenge,” Aicsss said. “I will defeat Kylo Ren with much swiftness, and then the mantle of Supreme Leader will be mine.”

“It is inevitable,” Hux said with a grin. “I will have a ship bring you to our main Starfighter immediately.”

Aicsss snickered again. “I will be waiting, and I look forward to crushing this human worm who calls himself Supreme Leader.”

When the communication broke, General Hux’s mood lightened, and he felt more confident than ever. He had to move a few more pieces, make some allowances for Aicsss, and secure backup plans in case Aicsss truly tried to take over the First Order above him. Of course, he wouldn’t allow that to happen.

Soon, once all the pawns were on the board, Hux would crush them all and claim victory - and the Supreme Leadership, for himself.

 

*

 

When Kylo Ren awoke, he was back in his throne room. He was clutching his robe to his naked skin, and instantly he was missing Rey’s touch. After their lovemaking, he supposed the Force connection broke because they both had fallen asleep.

He knew that was the limitation of the Force connection. Their bond was only so strong with each other, and clearly, they needed rest. Now, knowing her and feeling her, Kylo Ren wanted more than ever to have her by his side, physically and beyond the confines of the Force connection.

He couldn’t do that now; however, he had other duties within the Force Order, and he had to keep General Hux and his army in line. He knew that the good General loathed him and would try everything he could to protest Kylo’s role as Supreme Leader. He could only choke and fling about the General so many times. All in all, the General did keep Snoke’s original plan of taking over the galaxy in the First Order’s name.

After being with Rey, the idea of it left a bad taste in his mouth. She made him rethink his role in all of this, and if the First Order was something he believed in anymore. The Resistance was at best, so minor now after the Battle of Crait, it had the power of a swarm of gnats. Is it worth going after them again? Is it worth Rey’s condemnation when he went after her friends?

Frankly, Kylo Ren was tired of this endless cycle of Light versus Dark. Snoke had made promises to him, and in his abuse, he had promised him so much power within the dark side. Now Snoke was dead, his father was dead, and his uncle died trying to protect his mother and her people. Hux and his army had an iron grip over the galaxy already and going after a small rag-tag group of rebels seemed pitiful - like an exercise in futile revenge.

Despite it all, Rey still had hope in him. She had refused him before when he asked her to rule the galaxy at his side. Maybe that was the wrong question.

She had opened herself up to him, beyond her mind, but with her heart too, and effortlessly, he had opened to her as well. She confessed her passion to him, and he felt the same. The scavenger girl, in all her power and skill, had nestled inside his heart. She was changing his mind on things, and when his thoughts went to a dark place, he only thought of her part in it. What were her thoughts? Would she abandon him again if he went so far into the darkness without her?

Surely, the galaxy could be a better place underneath their leadership? Maybe not as rulers, but as something else?

“We’d at least be together,” he said to himself in the darkness of his throne room, and he was already feeling the pain of her absence. Loneliness was seeping into his bones again, and he could feel Snoke’s voice echoing in his head, telling him to forget the girl.

Only he couldn’t. He didn’t want to be her enemy anymore. He only wanted her.

 

*

 

Rey was tired, and when she woke up in her bedding on the caves of the Resistance’s new hiding place, she felt cold - missing Ben’s warmth.

She was slightly horrified with herself. She had made love to Ben, even welcomed it, and she could feel the change churning within him. Ben wanted to be good, and she had known it all along. Though she couldn’t celebrate yet. She had to continue to bring her to her space, chipping away at his darkness if she could be his Light. Perhaps then she’d ultimately convince him to leave the First Order and train with her. They could do so much better with their powers.

And then Leia would get to see her son again.

Rey had to admit, the Resistance was still small and wounded. They were gathering allies, supplies, and connections to build themselves up again, but she was sure it would take years for them to have a fighting chance against the looming First Order.

She still shared their hope, and she worked daily when she wasn’t training to help them any way she could. Yet sometimes the efforts to help them seemed stale. They were running in place at times. They had a disappointing communique sometimes, and morale was definitely down.

General Organa still had hope though. She still had people from her younger days that she could ask to help them if they could only get them to their hiding place in secret of course.

Rey still felt sweaty from her encounter with Kylo Ren, so she made her way down the cliff of caverns to the mossy bog at the foot of the hill. The planet they found was on the outskirts of the galaxy, another old Resistance hiding place that had been abandoned since the days of the Empire. She wondered if the First Order would bother looking for them here, though she doubted it. The planet itself seemed to smell of pungent algae and decay even from space.

The cave she found was large enough for meditation and some training. She normally had to visualize her training grounds, just to get her mind away from the dank, depressing planet. Not a half click away, she could see the clustering dwellings of their encampment. Smoke from some of the fires melded with the greenish haze in the air, and within a concentration of fog and green miasma she knew was the rusted-out shelter that was their new base of operations.

After her bath, she felt slightly better, but still sticky from the humidity, so she dressed in fresh garments and made her way to the camp. Her stomach growled, and she hoped that Rose and Finn had prepared something for dinner.

She’d have to tell them that her training had gone well, but she still wasn’t ready to tell them about meeting Kylo Ren. She’d only told Leia, who already had guessed it. Rey had to convince her that she was seeing him because she still believed she could redeem him. Leia was mostly silent on Rey’s reasoning, but she could tell in the woman’s eyes that she suspected something more.

What am I supposed to say, that I’ve fallen in love with him? Rey thought.

She supposed that Leia already knew, and Rey wondered if it was even worth it to say in words.

She stopped walking and turned back to her cave, and she remembered what paradise she’d created there, and what had happened between them. Once wasn’t enough, she surmised.

She had to see him again, and then the next time she’d see him face to face. She’d touch him for real, and there would be no Force bond to create a new place, and no loneliness waiting for her when her fantasy world went dark.

Rey knew she’d see him again, and that next time, she’d convince him to join her - maybe not with the Resistance, but with her. If he didn’t believe in the Resistance or his mom, maybe she’d give him something - someone - else to believe in.



Part Three