Luke kneeled over his nephew. His heart raced in his chest and his breath hitched in his throat. He couldn't lose him. He'd already lost everything else. He couldn't lose Ben too! He didn't hesitate, he placed his hand over his nephews head. It was cool and clammy with streaks of sweat over his brow but that wasn't what Luke noticed. He yanked his hand back before the suffocating Darkness that Ren some how managed to keep control over, most of the time, reached for the Jedi's skin. He recoiled like he'd been burned from the contact.

There was no way that Luke was getting into that mind. It was locked down with a level of skill that he himself hadn't yet reached. He was just as terrified of his nephew as he was proud. Luke didn't know how to feel about the Darkness his nephew chose to harbor but he knew one thing, so far, at least while he was here and while it concerned the girl plastered on top of him, he walked the path of the Light. He made decisions that were best for her and that was not the path of the Dark side.

He rocked back on his heels. He was careful to keep his distance from Kylo Ren when he reached out with his Force to check for the young man's pulse. He released an audible breath of relief when he found the rhythmic beats that confirmed he was indeed alive and then he shut down his power. His nephew's Force was sucking up his. He stepped back. All he could do was blink at his unconscious form. How was it possible that he was able to siphon his energy with out even being aware of it. It dawned on him then, that Rey was still laying on top of him. Was Ren taking Rey's Force energy now? He was already moving for her when a voice cut through the silence around him. He jumped and spun around.

"What the bloody, Maker?"

Luke turned to find the boy named Finn, sitting up with a hand on his head. He was already taking in the scene around him. He kept shaking his head to clear whatever fog was causing the confusion in his brain.

"No time, just help me get her off of him." Luke called over his shoulder to the young man recovering behind him.

Finns training kicked in and he was on his feet in a second. He dizzily stepped to the side of Luke but it didn't slow him down. As a First Order storm trooper, he'd been trained until reaction was second nature to him. His blurry eyes barely made out what he was seeing while he helped the Jedi pull an unconscious female off of an unconscious male. It didn't take him but seconds to realize who the she was. It was Rey, his Rey. He rolled her over and propped her head up in his lap just as he'd done back on the Starkiller. That was the last time he'd seen her but even through his haziness he had no doubt of who she was.

"What happened?" He asked, his eyes flicking back to the dark clad male he'd pulled Rey off of. "Who...?" Through his blurred vision and the angle of his turned head Finn didn't recognize what he could see of the face of the much larger male. He was turned away and his hair covered most of what he could see. Finn's eyes narrowed at the armor though. It looked uncomfortably familiar. There were slight differences that was somewhat throwing his ability to place who it belonged to or why it made his lungs constrict in his chest. It left a very bad feeling in his stomach and suddenly his mind filled in the blanks. The pieces all came together when her realized what was missing from the ensemble.

Finn rocked back on his heels, still clutching Rey by her arms. He pulled her up higher in his lap. He was shaking his head in disbelief. Add a mask and a robed tunic and Finn undoubtedly knew who this was. The monster's face was turned away from his but he still knew, under the shield of that dark hair was the face of Kylo Ren.

He instinctively reached for a blaster that wasn't there. He patted his waist line for the missing weapon before remembering he'd left it on the Falcon. He had no reason to believe anything threatening waited for him on the Island where the most powerful Force user he knew of was currently residing. He held out his open palm to the Jedi behind him.

"I need your lightsaber." He said in a very panicked, very serious voice.

Luke's brows pulled in confusion for only a second before he realized what the young man was asking for.

"We're not going to kill him." He informed the boy.

Finn spun to face him. "Do you know who that is, because I do... trust me when I say we do not want him waking up!" Finn bent his fingers silently urging the Jedi to comply with his request. "Dude, seriously... I'm not playing, you don't even know what this guy's done... what he's capable of..." His awords started loud and stern but as he continued they sounded distant, like he was drifting through his thoughts.

A memory perhaps? Luke thought as he watched the boy start to sweat.

"I'm not going to let him hurt her again. I'm not going to let him hurt anyone again!" He gritted his teeth and eyed Rey's belt for her lightsaber but that to was missing.

Kylo groaned and his lashes fluttered. Finn nearly shot back but with Rey still in his lap, he didn't get far.

"He's not going to hurt her." Luke started but Finn frantically disagreed.

"That's Kylo Ren, Leader of the First bloody Order and my former Commander... trust me when I say I know him better then you." He pulled at Rey's shoulders, dragging himself to his feet with her still in his arms. He'd carry her away from here, drag her to safety if he had to. He'd do whatever it took to keep her away from him.

Luke was quiet when he answered the boy through a sad low breath. "He's my nephew." He admitted.

That made Finn freeze. "I'm sorry... what, cause it sounded like you just said Kylo Ren's your nephew..."

Luke sighed. "He was... " Luke shook his head. "He may still be... I mean he is. He is my nephew!" He decide after replaying Rey's last words in his head. Luke knew he couldn't give up on his nephew. If Darth Vader could be redeemed so could Kylo Ren. He believed that more now then he was ever able to in the past. He had to believe because if he didn't, then there was nothing left for him in the Force.

"Uncle, you didn't kill me." A deep, groggy voice groaned, halting the dispute in it's tracks. Ren lifted a hand to his temple, pressing his fingers into the sharp pain that was firing on all cylinders behind the soft flesh. He pulled his already shut lids together tightly. Pain pulsed behind his eyes but he chose to ignore it, settling instead on just focusing on the noises around him while he massaged his pounding temple.

"It seems not, but the night's still early." Luke answered, fighting a slight smile at his nephew's surprised words, Luke was relieved he was ok. Ben really was in there, he just knew it.

"Fair enough." Ren casually answered.

Either he didn't care that his enemies surrounded him or he didn't feel threatened. Perhaps he's dazed? Luke couldn't help but analyze everything Ren did now. He would watch him more carefully for signs of Ben.

Sensing his uncle's heavy gaze Kylo's eyebrows rose. "You know, you probably should have." He informed the Jedi. His words were matter of fact, like he wasn't talking about his life or didn't care if he was.

Luke couldn't help but wonder if he valued it so little or if it was a sign that he was feeling guilty. Perhaps he secretly wanted it to end, longed for the punishment he thought he deserved. No not likely, but then, he seemed so pained last night. "Don't you know what I did to him? Don't you know what I did... to my father?" Luke couldn't help but flinch at that memory. The pain in his eyes, in his voice, everything. It was clearly evident that Ren felt the loss of Han. He'd even called him his father. Perhaps he was longing for penance after all.

Finn sat absolutely still. The first and last time he'd heard the voice of Kylo Ren without a decoder masking it was that night on the Starkiller. He still remembered it like it was minutes ago; Ren's eyes bore into his own while he pinned him to a tree. Finn could still see the crimson crossguard lightsaber as it melted into his shoulder. That plasma blade seared through his armor branding his flesh while Ren's hate and rage burned through his eyes to scar his very soul. He could still feel the blade as it dragged like fire up his spine. Finn smelt like rotten, burned meat for weeks.

Kylo cringed. "The traitor must be awake, I can smell his fear." Kylo lifted slightly, readjusting his spine to better accommodate his own weight. He must not have been out long. He was clearly in the same spot he'd fallen in. His face scrunched. He ran the back of his hand across his mouth and chin, wiping up the fluid that was pulling at his skin while he spoke. He lifted his hand onver his face, eyeing the blood he remembered choking on before he collapsed. That was not a good sign.

When Ren's weight shifted Finn nearly stumbled back. Any motion from the male no matter how slight, put him on edge.

"Relax traitor, if I wanted you dead you wouldn't have woken from your little feinting spell." His head turned then, still laying on his back, his eyes focused in and he looked over the boy with a quizzical look on his face. "...You're not wearing a corset under that shirt are you?" He quipped, always ready to take a mocking shot at his enemies.

Finn glared at the murderer in front of him. He thought this was a joke. "Seriously, give me your lightsaber!" He demanded to Luke over his shoulder.

Ren's eyes closed and he casually leveled his face to the sky as though peacefully resting. "Whenever you're ready 2187... whenever you're ready." He taunted languidly.

An alarming realization flashed through Kylo's mind. His jaw locked in instant disapproval. The traitor had something of his... in his hands... again! It strangled all of the humor in him with the speed and fluidity of a quick blade dragging across the soft flesh a throat.

That son of a nerf herder had Rey in his arms again! Kylo grunted, suddenly rolling onto his stomach. His hands flattened to the ground and he pushed himself up, nearly losing his balance when the world shifted beneath his rushed movements. He was dizzy but he could cope. He could handle the vertigo and the new weight his body seemed to have, but he couldn't function knowing he was coddling Rey... again! Touching her, again!

Mine! His alpha raged. His Darkness was hissing in his ears too. Kylo mentally shoo'd his inner demons away. He didn't need them making this worse then it needed to be.

"Give her to me!" He growled, still attempting to steady himself. He was swaying, he could feel it but he didn't care. It wouldn't deter him. His vision was slipping for a different reason, he could see the red coming and he had to lock it down. He had to control it or he was going to lose it, but honestly, this was twice this boy had his girl in his arms.

Finn instinctively stepped back but his grip on Rey only tightened. "Kriff no!" He spit, his face hardening.

Kylo Ren swayed in front of him, his legs spread wide apart to help keep his balance. He was slightly bent forward but he still had the hight to tower over him. He looked massive and even if he didn't, Finn's fear made his Commander... former Commander, Finn reminded himself, look larger then life. He bared his teeth at Finn's defiance. His hair curtained around his face and he rocked trying to keep his balance. Whatever Kylo Ren was fighting against physically, only added to his unhinged appearance. He looked like a wild animal who'd been caught and caged but some one left the door open. His fists opened and closed at his sides. His chest heaved, sweat was already forming along his forehead and blood was smeared down his chin. Finn swallowed hard remembering the last time he'd been this close to the man. Ren was an angry, emotional mess then yet somehow, he looked even more formidable now. He was feral, unstable but still held together better then that night.

Finn himself had been through a shit storm since his last encounter with Kylo Ren. He was stronger now, tougher. The problem was he'd been fighting a war, mostly from the comfort of a cockpit. Ren was a different kind of warrior then he was used to fighting. He had powers. He was formidable even with out the addition of the Force, which Finn himself had only recently figured out he had too. He would lose this fight, especially since he had the feeling Ren wouldn't play with his food before killing it this time.

It doesn't matter, there was no way Luke wouldn't step in if he had to. Leia told him they had been together training for months, Rey was his apprentice, he wouldn't let Kylo Ren have her no matter the blood between them. Finn reassured himself.

"I said give her to me!" Ren bellowed, ignoring the boy's loudly projected thoughts under his rising anger.

Something shot passed Finn, so close he felt the rush of Ren's Force behind it. His heart beat furiously in his chest. His blood pumped so quickly through his veins that he was beginning to feel lightheaded. His brain struggled to keep up with the situation. The glint of metal in Kylo Ren's black clad hand was all Finn needed to process what had flown past him. Ren's lightsaber was in his hand and Finn didn't know why he was hesitating, why he hadn't ignited it yet, but he wasn't complaining either. The muscles in his shoulder and back ached with the memory of that plasma blade searing into his flesh but he kept his resolve. He silently shook his head. Finn had no weapon and no hope of winning this fight unless Luke did something soon. Either way he wouldn't just hand her over. He wouldn't, not to him.

"I'll take her." Luke finally interjected. Finn nearly choked on a breath of air he'd been holding. The whole situation had gone down in seconds that seemed to stretch on forever.

"There is no need to fight over who gets to hold her. She's not a trophy boys." Luke scolded them. Kylo's darkening eyes flicked over to him. His nostrils flared as he sucked in a deep breath through his nose.

Luke leveled his hands in the air it was meant to lesson the tension between them. "Stay calm Ren, we want the same thing. We have an understanding still... don't we?" His blue eyes were soft, he was so careful. He kept his tone level and soothing but not patronizing. There was a reminder and a plea tucked gently into those words. Luke always had a silver tongue. "You know what it would do to her if you..." Luke's eyes traveled over to Finn then back to his unstable nephew. "...But you don't have to..." Luke reminded him.

Ren shifted. His chin tilted and Luke knew his nephew was considering his words. "If she chooses." He repeated the words he'd spoken to him only this morning. He was giving Ren an opportunity to win with out destroying any ground he'd gained with Rey so far. They both knew it. If Ren killed anyone here there was no way Rey would leave with him willingly. It was a very slim chance that she would chose to anyway, but at least if he didn't kill her friends he had a chance. It would be hard enough if he did have to take her but if it was after he slaughtered her friends, well... yeah, hate would be an understatement.

Finn's foot shifted towards the Jedi but his eyes remained glued to Ren whose posture remained threatening. "Think of Rey, both of you!" Luke directed the comment more to Ren but he stepped between both of them. He held out his arms and Finn carefully handed her over. His eyes never left Kylo Ren. He stared at him with a hate that burned uniquely for his former Commander. Before Luke turned to settle Rey into a hut, he warned the boy who stared at his nephew with a hate that he was sure was not misplaced, but was just as dangerous to his future as it was to his current well being.

"Careful of your emotions or the face you see now... will mirror your own. It's through our enemies eyes that we see ourselves best." He told his future apprentice. He knew he would train this boy. Where it felt wrong with Rey, it felt right with him. They would be Master and apprentice before the morning came. He heard the Force whispering in his ears. He had the urge to instruct, to teach and to lead. He hadn't felt that pull in a very long time.

Ren smirked. He was careful when he pushed a probing hand into Finn's mind. He would teach 2187 to deny him, he didn't need to hurt the boy to terrify him. "He likes the way his anger makes him feel. He likes having a name to hate... a face to blame. He doubts himself... especially now. Especially with her so close... " Ren taunted the former trooper whose eyes were widening to saucers with honest recognition.

He knew the second Kylo Ren was in his head. He felt a heavy pressure pushing against his skull. It didn't hurt, not like he knew it could but it was suffocating. Something pushed into his thoughts, it riffled through the surface of his fears. It was humiliating and horrifying to hear them through the mouth of his enemy. None of it was a lie and that hurt more then anything physical Ren could have done to him, but the Dark sider knew that. That was clearly his intention. Finn's complexion reddened. Screw him!

Luke turned to Ren with a simple observation from the view of one Master to another. "As I said... a mirror... and sometimes... even more clearly then that." He was very sullen and serious when he spoke. It wasn't meant to be a poke or to anger his nephew, it was simply the truth of the matter since that was the game he wanted to play.

Finn's brows rose and he fought the urge to smirk. He wasn't stupid enough to trigger Ren's wrath or his attention now that it wasn't on him. He cautiously followed after Luke Skywalker. There was something about the Jedi that made him feel more then safe, he felt... studious around the man. He knew he could learn from him. Maybe he could teach him to be a Jedi like he was with Rey? Maybe they could train together?

Kylo's head turned to his uncle. He swallowed hard. His eyes were intense but not angry. Luke was right and there was no point in denying anything. He wasn't a child, he was a man and a man had to be capable of handling the truth even if he didn't like it. "At least I own it." He mused.

Luke raised a brow remembering that there was one other issue that needed to be resolved. He turned to his soon to be apprentice, "Can I trust you to look after Poe?" Finn's resolve strengthened and his features pulled at the brow accompanying a solid nod that let Luke know he was in good hands. Feeling confident in the boy's abilities he looked beyond him to the already antsy form of his nephew. He clearly needed something to do. "Perhaps you could give him a hand?"

Kylo all but laughed. "Are you serious?" He rolled his brown and gold eyes at his uncle's audacity. "You get him! I'm not his caretaker." Ren snipped. He was not carrying and tucking a grown ass man into bed, especially when that man was the Resistance's best fighter pilot. "If I get him up, it's not going to be with a gentle nudge. Besides..." An awful grin spread across his mouth, wickedly contorting his already haunting features. "I don't think he'd appreciate me in his head anymore then I've already been." He said maliciously, not really giving a damn either way.

He moved closer to his stationary uncle, waiting for him to proceed with Rey to her dwellings. He wouldn't call that little hut his uncle was keeping her in a room and the flat mat on the ground inside certainly wasn't going under the same category as a bed either. "Actually, on second thought, I'll do it." He smiled at tormenting the pilot without Rey's disapproving looks. If she were conscious she would have been firing honing missiles of warning and redirection, popping all of his dubious dreams of fun while he imagined all of the things he could slip into the pilot's head to replace the secrets he would steal while he was in there.

Why would Ren need to be in his head? Finn's eyes narrowed on Ren while he pondered the question. That nerve burner did that thing... that knock out mind trick thing! "What the hell man... what'd you do to Poe?"

When Kylo responded with a silent who gives a shit shrug, Finn's attention shot back to Luke.

"What did he do to him?"

"He's not hurt, just unconscious." Luke responded casually.

Finn let out an exasperated breath. He went through an array of emotions. Outrage, anger, fear, hate, and finally the odd guy out, curiosity. He'd been staring at his comrade when he suddenly realized that he may be capable of that kind of ability some day. He turned back to Luke but he was already gone. The Jedi Master had disappeared with Rey into one of the huts before Finn could sate his curiosity. His excitement took over and he turned to Ren. His curious nature pipped up before he caught himself.

"Did you do that..." He raised a hand in front of Kylo's face and made a sucking sound with his mouth before he finished. "...Lights out thing?" He'd seen Ren do it a few times before and now he wondered at it.

Kylo's head tilted at the former bucket head. He almost found humor in the boy's change since he'd deserted the First Order. They were trained to follow orders with out questions yet this boy's head was clearly spinning. Still, once a bucket head... always a bucket head.

Finn regained his composure under the blank eyes that stared back at him. He squatted by his friends side, shaking his head, worry and pity weighed heavy in his body language. "Poor guy's gonna have some serious mental issues with all of the mind trauma he's endured since he met you..." He reached down and covered Poe's forehead with his hand. He was clammy but overall he appeared to just be sleeping.

Kylo Ren watched the boy carefully. He was trained to kill with out hesitation. He was trained to follow orders and to comply no matter the command. Ren watched the boy who defected from the world that had brain washed and beaten into him it's ways until he was molded to fit a specific model. The storm trooper program was meant to strip you of your feelings of caring and compassion. It was meant to bleach the color from their world and to bland the taste of freedom to the point where the trooper craves nothing but what the First Order gives them. They sustain themselves on only what their superiors see fit and yet this one, this code, this single number on a roster of thousands... stood apart from the rest.

Ren would have been impressed, he would have been in awe or wonder at such a uniqueness. He would have been humbled even... if he were normal, but Kylo Ren was not normal. He too went through his own form of deconstruction and rebuilding. He was shattered and ground down past the dust of his bones to be remolded into something that was supposed to be greater then what he once was. Instead of seeing the positive in the boys unique case, a case that had never happened since the start of the program, especially since the birthing clones were introduced, instead of seeing any of that, Kylo Ren saw a defect. Nothing more and nothing less. He wanted to dive into his head and find out what had set off the glitch that broke him.

What had implanted the virus that had short circuited the space between the commands he was given to respond to and the waves in between that sent him into action? His motherboard had been overridden by something greater then the training program and brainwashing the First Order provided and Ren wanted to tear him apart and piece him back together until he fit back into that mold.

How was it that this number was able to easily separate himself from everything he'd come to believe was normal? Something made to seem infallible and all powerful that he was left with no reason to question it. How was it that afterwards he was able to seamlessly blend into the people around him like he'd always belonged? Did he sleep as soundlessly as he ebbed and flowed with everything else? He'd waded through the blood of the innocent just as Ren had. He'd had it coating his hands more literally then Ren had. Ren was sure to have shed more in the big picture though. It was his orders the boy had to follow after all. Still, 2187 looked like he'd always been here, like he'd always been one of them.

Kylo felt an emotion he'd only felt once before since he was a child and it was brought on by this boy twice. Ren had felt it the first time he'd seen the traitor grab Rey's hand. The two were running from him in the woods on the Starkiller before they fought. Ren had pushed against her with his Force and this boy had been there to steady her. His scavenger was strong and independent, she'd only let him grab her hand for the short moment because she needed the help steadying herself but there it was. Envy.

Now, Kylo Ren was envious because FN-2187 had the luxury of being anonymous. He wasn't the poster boy for the Dark side. He got to commit the crime and then play the victim. Kylo Ren would never have the luck of that hand. He'd been chosen and groomed from birth. He got the lead in the play with out even trying out for the part. His name and face, so to speak, were on the playbill, posters, and adds. Hell every time he ignited his blade he may as well have been signing signatures.

2187 had the luxury of following orders with out the burden of having to give them. He had nothing more to prove then to carry those orders out and in war, both sides had those soldiers. They weren't held accountable. It was the leaders who would lose their heads in the end; and he had another advantage.. Kylo turned to the dark entrance of the hut Rey was being settled into. ...She'd never seen him kill.

Ren clenched his jaw tightly. His already pounding head would have groaned in protest if it had another mouth to complain with but not a sound would escape the lips he had control of. Not over something as inconsequential as pain. Pain was fleeting, it was nothing to him.

"I'm sorry, would you like some alone time with your flyboy?" Ren said, finally breaking the awkward tender moment the trooper was inwardly having over the status of his ally.

Finn nearly jumped, almost forgetting the Dark clad warlord was there. He was so silent, it was unnerving. Sometimes he wondered if with all of that Dark power he'd sold his soul for, Ren even had the need to breath anymore.

"Well excuse me for worrying about someone other then myself." He retorted. This dudes always so snarky! He thought at least as loud as if he'd spoken it aloud.

Ren couldn't help but chuckle at the boy and his brazen thoughts. "He'll be fine." He rolled his eyes at the traitor that he still envied, but at least he was away from Rey now. He surprised himself when he responded at all, it was absolutely unnecessary. It wasn't to comfort the boy, but he supposed he did feel a twinge of guilt. Probably all of the Light that Rey had left in him. He needed to meditate until he was right in the head again. He needed to tuck that Light back away where it belonged, where it could do less harm. He watched Finn's curious face turn in his direction. He was clearly wondering why Ren had responded to him too. Kylo rolled his eyes disdainfully. "Don't overthink it traitor." He spit the title out just to let the boy know where they still stood.

Ren demanded Poe's consciousness and He woke with a sharp breath that sounded painful. Kylo smiled, satisfied with the reaction. He could have been more careful, like he had been with Rey in the interrogation room but he preferred to jar him awake, he really didn't like this pilot. Poe jumped up, remembering that someone needed him... Rey, she was in trouble. He reacted for his blaster but it wasn't there. Then he remembered he'd lost it before when Ren had... His eyes narrowed on the Dark sider casually standing a few feet away from him.

"Where is she?" He almost mumbled. His voice sounded much stronger in his head.

"Your mother? Probably in the brothel she birthed you in." He knew he shouldn't have taken the shot, but he was annoyed at how much restraint he'd already had to maintain for these enemies of the First Order. Resistance scum! They wanted to pollute Rey with their idealistic and ineffective ways and hell if they weren't succeeding. If they had their way she'd been flying against him right now, probably in the Falcon just to pore salt in that wound. Not that he cared about the Falcon, he didn't...

"Where's Rey?" Poe was to out of it to catch the snide remark that Ren had thrown at him. He was still frantic about finding Rey. That annoyed Kylo. Poe tried to stand but gravity was to much for his weak limbs and he barely pulled himself free from the ksuction of his weight to the ground before he sealed the two again. Finn's hands fell over his shoulders, planting him further to the ground.

"Hey, hey... chill out man. It's me, Finn. Remember, best buddy, fellow freedom fighter, Resistance... any of this ringing a bell?" Finn tried to clear his friend's foggy brain. He tried to steady his worried mind like everything was ok, like everything was normal and he had nothing to worry over.

Poe remembered though. He remembered Rey in pain and Kylo Ren looming over her, hurting her. "Where is she?" He found Ren's eyes with his own. "What did you do to her?" He demanded with much more volume to his voice this time.

"She's fine, she's with Luke. She's just resting..." I think. Finn scrunched his face realizing he wasn't exactly sure what was wrong with her. When Luke hadn't been overly concerned his own worry had melted away. It was a very strange realization. For some reason he felt like Luke's response to the situation was all he needed to know it was ok. Even now with a man who tried to kill him a few feet away, he wasn't worried. He was still nervous and he'd be stupid not to be frightened of the Commander, he was renowned for his off the handle mood swings followed by bouts of rage and destruction, but he felt like he didn't need to worry unless Luke did.

Ren held out his hand and his mask filled his palm before FN-2187's thoughts concluded. "Careful boy, That's the kind of thinking that got me into this position." He held up his mask while he spoke.

Ren's flat voice cut through Finn's thoughts. It unnerved him to know that Ren could hear what he was thinking. It seemed the more he accepted that he had the Force in him, the more dangerous his mind became to himself.

"I can't hear your thoughts in the way you think I can. Your projecting them out, quite obnoxiously actually." Ren's free hand found it's way back to his temple and he started massaging it all over again. Ren had to stop himself from conversing, somehow everything he said seemed to come off as reassuring and weak. He was way to much Rey right now and not enough Kylo Ren.

"Or..." He added a little malicious intent to spice up the soul food he'd apparently been serving the traitor he was for some reason, unintentionally comforting. "...I'm picking through your head again." Ren lied through a smirk. The boy's horrified expression satisfied his urge to feel more comfortable in his own skin. If he couldn't kill them yet, then he may as well have some fun with them. They expected him to be the bad guy anyway, why not enjoy the role he'd been given.

He didn't like having feelings that were anything less then revulsion for the boy or the Pilot but hell if he didn't appreciate how concerned they were for Rey. It was good that she had so many people looking out for her even if all she needed was Ren. He didn't know how his Master would react to her yet and that bothered him deep down. He knew Snoke would appreciate her power but the Light she harbored would sit like lemons mixed with pickle juice in his Masters mouth. He would see it as the poison it was. Rey may need more then just himself in her corner if his Master thought to harm her. They may be pathetic but at least Ren knew that their loyalties were unconditionally to her.

The more time he spent with Rey, the more he understood why people fell over themselves to try to protect her. She was special, unique. She gave everything and asked for nothing in return. She was born to lead. His alpha recognized the pride that filled him with, and his chest swelled over it. Rey could have entire galaxies swooning over her, eating out of the palm of her pretty little hands and he could give her that. He could make that a reality for her if she'd only let him. She deserved nothing less.

"That nosey mind reading thing you do, did you learn that from Luke?" 2187's voice disturbed the perfect fantasy that Kylo's imagination was beginning to build around him. "Do you think he'll teach me how to do that... or the hand thing?" Finn suddenly blurted out, again forgetting who he was casually asking.

Kylo figured 2187 must have been mulling those questions over in his head for some time now, considering who he was willing to ask for the answers. He would be easily intrigued by the Dark side, Kylo could tell. His curiosity was dangerous when he was overwhelmed and right now he was obviously overwhelmed. He could read anxiety and fear all over the boys posture and face. The only thing more prominent was that neon curiosity.

"No and no." Kylo clipped. The questions the boy was curious about pulled at Ren's Darkness. A half smile tugged at his lips. He leaned forward and eyed the young man with a confidence that made Finn cautiously recoil. "But I can..." He hinted darkly.

There was a knowing in his eyes that peeked Finn's curiosity but then he remembered who was tempting him. He swallowed down his eagerness to learn just in time for Luke Skywalker to emerge from the darkness of the hut. Having the Light sider present cut the tension that was suddenly pulling the oxygen from Finn's lungs.

"That's enough!" Luke shot Ren a hard glare. "You can stay here one more night. Rey will likely have an answer for you in the morning. Until then, no fighting. Consider this a brief truce, all of you!" Luke's tone suddenly brought Ren back to his childhood.

There had been an incident between himself and another boy that resulted in a fight. The other boy had started it and Ben had sorely lost. He wasn't a fighter then, he had the anger but not the rage and even if he did, he lacked all of the control he would have needed to wield it. Ren would have fought through the bruised ribs and dislocated jaw but not Ben, he was weak. Luke had chewed him out just for participating. The simple act of defending himself and his family had been against his training. Luke had asked him what had prompted the tussle and Ben had told him what the other boy had said regarding his mother and the Hutt's who had briefly had her in their possession before he was born. Luke's face blanked as Ben told him in the exact words what the other boy had unabashedly hinted at happening between the Jabba and his mother, Luke's own sister. It was the other boy's attempt at defiling his mother's reputation and explaining Ben's origins.

Instead of Luke expressing any offense he handed out his scolding and preached about how anger and retaliation was not the Jedi way. Somehow because Luke admittedly expected more from his nephew, he saw it fair to place a harsher punishment on him then the miscreant who started the fight in the first place. How was the young male supposed to ignore the slander against his mother or the insinuation of why his father had left them in the aftermath? More importantly, how could his uncle, her brother, allow that slander against her honor to go undefended? It was the first time Ben decided that the Jedi and their ways were fallible but it wouldn't be until much later in time that he'd learn just how imperfect they really were.

Poe was finally standing, he must have gotten up while Ren was reminiscing of a past better off forgotten. "What do you mean one more night?" The pilot asked.

Oh did the Darkness poke it's head out for this one. The flyboy literally just fell in a steamy pile of Bantha dung and Kylo couldn't wait to shove his face in it! He didn't even need words to egg him on now. He turned and marched towards Rey's hut.

"Where in the Force do you think you're going?" Poe called after him.

Kylo froze, giving his back to the man to ponder over for a brief moment that probably dragged out much longer for him. A sly grin stretched from ear to ear, enjoying the feeling of his impending victory for only a couple of heart beats before he set his face in stone again. He opened his mouth to say something but Luke cut him off with the same tone he'd used moments before, like he were some unruly teenager who needed a guiding chaperone to ensure he played fair. Pfff. the Dark side doesn't play fair...

"Ren..." Luke stretched out the title that became Kylo's last name. It was a warning he hoped his nephew would take because he knew he recognized it for what it was.

Kylo Ren turned with a response already in his head and it moved smoothly to his tongue. It rolled off of the organ with as much fluid grace as water cascading down the rain shield of a cockpit. He eyed Luke, purposefully ignoring the pilot to add to the effect he knew he was going to elicit from this innocent, not so innocent little play on words.

"You didn't have a problem with us sleeping together last night." He shrugged like it was as simple as that. "Is it because you have an audience now? Do the rules change when you have someone to look good in front of Jedi?" He scrutinized his uncle but only for show and he knew Luke picked up on it instantly.

FN-2187's jaw dropped. He just stared at the entrance to Rey's hut. Maker only knows what he was thinking. Poe's anger however, took immediate effect. The seeds had rooted before they even hit the soil and his outrage was in full bloom. His eyes flickered from Ren to Luke then back again.

"I'm gonna kriffing kill him!" He lunged forward but to Ren's surprise Finn had jumped between them. He held his friend back for fear of... Ren dipped into his mind for a quick peak, his life, good. The trooper had good survival instincts. He was smart enough to see that Luke's presence only had so much sway on the outcome of a battle between the three of them.

"Poe calm down, he's twisting the situation." Luke started. Poe slowed his struggle just enough to hear the Jedi's words but he didn't let up in his attempt to push past 2187.

"Oh? So I'm twisting the fact that she spent all night in my arms, plastered against my bare chest... She didn't wake up with her fingers tangled in my hair and her bottom in my lap, wriggling against..."

"What the Force! Get the hell out of my way Finn!" Poe was turning his anger on his friend and it was unbelievably satisfying. Ren hadn't planned on taking his taunt this far, but the reaction was just to enjoyable.

"He pulled her from the ocean... she'd nearly drowned. She was hyperventilating. It was... " Luke tried to explain but no one was listening.

Poe broke free of Finn's hold and charged Ren. He ran straight into a Force wall and Ren threw his head back in laughter as the man stumbled back. He'd stunned himself against the impact. He was shaking his head and pulling himself back up when Ren felt the heat of her hand through his armor. He'd been to caught up in his childish games to notice that she'd woken or that she was standing behind him now. He could feel the hum of their Force where she touched his back. It guided him to her, demanded that he turn to face the pull of her Force with the surrender of his own. He spun to face her and he instantly regretted it.

Her wild hazel eyes were narrowed in disgust. She looked exhausted but that's not what held his attention. Her face was a mixture of emotions that told him she'd heard his "innocent" taunt. She was angry which he could deal with but she was also hurt and he felt like an ass. A stupid nerf herding ass!

He opened his mouth to say something, he didn't know what yet and he didn't get time to figure it out before her open palm crashed against the side of his face. His head didn't turn. He took the hit with blazing eyes that met the smolder of her own. His mouth closed and he just stood there. If she'd been anyone else... but she wasn't. And maker he was still an idiot. Her nostrils flared as she stared at him then her eyes looked around at the men beyond him, traveling from one to the next as though taking them all in and weighing them in her mind. She addressed them all with one word that couldn't have been more spot on.

"Children!" She exclaimed before she turned on her heels, leaving them all to themselves. Kylo blinked as he watched her slight, yet somehow frightfully powerful stature disappear into the darkness of the hut once more.

He completely deserved that. How dare he insinuate something she would never allow to happen. He was being petty and immature. He wanted to blame the pilot. His very existence challenged Ren on a very primal level but he knew better then to try to lie to himself. What good would that do? He'd gotten caught in a grossly exaggerated insinuation by the one person he didn't want finding out about it. His hand was in the proverbial cookie jar and she'd smashed the lid down before he could steal even one little morsel. The strike across his face wouldn't leave more then a red print for a short while, it would probably be gone in minutes but the look on her face... damn.

Such a kriffing nerf herder! He internally scolded himself.

"Well, I'm thinking it might be time for dinner now."

Kylo heard Luke's voice somewhere in the background of his thoughts but right now he didn't care to focus on it enough to translate the sounds he made into actual words. He turned still ignoring everything else around him. He moved to the chair that faced the entrance of her hut. It was across from the fire place, it just so happened to be the same chair he'd held her in last night. The vast differences between last night and tonight were extreme to say the least. He sighed and flopped down, causing the rest off the air to exit his mouth in a deep huff. He hated knowing exactly what this looked like, but it didn't change exactly what it was; His tail was between his legs and rightfully so. He was in the dog house. He'd slipped on the same shit that he'd mentally laid out to smear Poe's face into and Kylo Ren had undoubtedly just landed in it.
Kriff!

         😍Before I do my normal blah, blah, blah, at the end of the chapter I just wanted to give a shout out to a few of the readers who always ⭐️ and or comment because I love it so much! Korvescence_9, Star_Wars_Trashcan, Resistance_scum, fantasizewithme_0719, and of course ssjmsjm who I have such fun chatting with, Thank you guys for your amazing and fun comments! I can't tell you how much fun it is to find them glowing on my screen after I upload. They always make me smile and I appreciate you more then you know! If there is a scene or a one shot or something you'd like to see incorporated into the story hit me up and I'll see about writing it on the side or getting it in the story, you will be mentioned if I use your suggestion or write a side piece one shot! Also if you guys haven't checked out each others works yet, I strongly recommend it because your all unique and talented and it has been so much fun learning from you guys so thank you for sharing your imagination and inspiration with us! 😍

*The video above is made by a YouTuber named: Hexmem. It's as serious as it is fun and so cleverly edited that I had to share it with you guys cuz I know you'll love it. you're welcome! Lol

         ~Hey guys, this was a fun yet tough chapter, another one that took sometime to get out because I wanted this to be real between the characters. I had a much more amusing verbal exchange between the guys but it felt to Light and uncharacteristic of these characters this early on. Considering what they've all been through I felt like the light teasing I had laid out wasn't how they would really react after you know, being tortured (poor Poe) or nearly handicapped/killed (poor Finn) etc, etc, etc. So I opted for this instead and it kind of just clicked! It felt natural. Anyway I really hope you like it. As for me... on to the next chapter!~

      *As always, please comment and ⭐️! Thank you my freaky darlings!*
          -DarkGuardian-