Rey followed close behind Kylo Ren who made no attempt so slow his long strides as the two moved for his personal shuttle. She hadn't argued about leaving with him, nor would she. This place was thick with suffocating darkness and she had a positive feeling that experience came from being to close to the First Order's Supreme Leader. Personally she couldn't get away far enough fast enough even if that meant willingly boarding a ship with Kylo Ren to do it!

Rey was forced into taking two steps to match the stride of his one and his cape bellowed behind him and as he went. For a fraction of a second, Rey imagined slamming her foot down on the end of the long cloak. She could just see his smug form jerking forward from the force of the sudden halt. There was a slight sprinkle of satisfaction in the idea and she nearly smiled at the thought. At his pace they reached the hanger in no time and the sound of many boots stomping on the floor in unison yanked Rey right out of her brief yet satisfying day dream.

Several stormtroopers formed two lines paralleling each other to form an isle for them to pass through. Their arms raised up and hands planted firmly on their weapons as their Commander passed through their ranks. The two Knights that had been charged with guarding Rey earlier in the day now stood on either side of their Master's shuttle port awaiting his orders or dismissal. Rey hesitated before passing through the channel of stormtroopers and somehow Ren had sensed this or anticipated the reaction because he paused mid way, turned to her and held out his left arm, urging her past with the swoosh of his cape as though he were her gentlemanly escort.

Rey scowled defiantly. The last thing she needed was him babying her, especially in front of his troops and knights. She tilted her chin up and pushed past him nudging his chest purposely with her shoulder as she went. His helmet followed the back of her head as she passed and beneath his mask he was flaring his nostrils. She had to be so difficult. So stubborn. It was a trait he found sexy as hell, in private; but one that he couldn't allow on his Master's ship and certainly not in front of his Knights —troopers be damned.

Kylo's right hand latched onto her arm as she passed and before Rey could finish snapping around he'd stepped behind her, his chest pressed into her upper shoulders and his left hand grabbed at her free elbow. He silently guided her up the ramp, his feet throwing her balance off as he continued with larger strides then her step could handle with him pressed against her. Once on the main deck he gave her a slight push forward. The hatch behind them slid shut and she turned to face his fading silhouette as the yellow haze of light behind him disappeared into the glow of the dim flood lights of their new surroundings.

The two stood squared against one another in silence. The exhaust ports released and Rey jumped at the sound. Kylo's head clicked left and his muscles spasmed under his armor but he didn't linger long before brushing past her in annoyance.

Rey all but scurried out of his path while he strode by. There was something dangerous in the way he moved. Something unsettling in how rigid his posture went. He said nothing as he made his way to the cockpit of the vessel. He just left her standing where she was and it took a while before she relaxed enough to move from that spot. She should have known better then to stand in the loading dock, especially on such a small vessel. It was around the size of the falcon and she'd seen this model twice before; once on Takadona while it made a landing, it had certainly caught her attention then, and then  crashed on the island he'd followed her to. She wondered how many of these vessels were at his disposal and the random thought nearly distracted her enough to get her plastered to a wall, or the floor.

Rey had been silly enough to think he'd come back to collect her, or to bully her around some more. It hadn't dawned on her that he'd be solo piloting the ship and when the shuttle lifted from the docking bay and lurched forward, she'd lost her balance and nearly eaten a wall. Her fists clenched. That milk moofer hadn't even the decency to warn her before taking off. She straightened her shoulders and marched down the isle where she assumed she'd find the cockpit and sure enough, there was the masked menace himself at the controls. He didn't acknowledge her when she stomped up to the pilot's cabin. She stood between the seats as he flicked one button then another, adjusting this and monitoring that.

Her jaw set in frustration but still neither one really acknowledged the other. There were a few more adjustments and a tweak or two before his voice finally poured through his vocoder. "You may want to take a seat, princess." She could hear how smug he was even through the distortion of his masked helmet and she wanted to tag him so hard that Kriffing helmet spun; unfortunately it was in that same moment that she realized Ren was preparing to go into lightspeed and just as he turned that metal bucket in her direction, his hand frozen over the go switch. The second Rey caught on she launched her ass into the co-pilots chair and strapped herself in. Her mouth opened and she was positive his thumb flicked down just to keep her quiet. She nearly bit her tongue as the ship launched forward.

The stars around her bled into thousands of long streaks of light and she fell into stunned silence. Not because of the speed which they moved, but because it had been so long since she'd taken the time to appreciate such a sight. The last time she'd even really seen the stars from space was on the way to the island and her mind was elsewhere at the time... thinking back on it, it was just after she'd lost Han. She'd just learned that the Force was real and so was Luke Skywalker and she'd been on a mission to retrieve him while learning about this thing that was so much bigger then herself, so terrifying that she had no understanding of or control over it. All this time and the Force and her purpose within it still eluded her.

Overwhelmed by her thoughts, Rey sunk down in her chair with a sigh. She still knew close to nothing about what was happing with her and so far she was no better off then she had been when she left to find Luke. With out him around to reinforce her mind and power she'd never be able to control what flowed through her. There was a private moment of weakness where Rey couldn't help but look over at the man to her left. He'd offered to teach her once and now the assumption was he'd be training her.

Her stomach rolled with her nerves as her insecurities bubbled to the surface. What would he think once he opened their connection again only to discover that she's weak in her power, frail under the Force that flowed through her with out the support of Luke's mind? He'd realize that all of the trouble he'd gone to was for nothing. He'd toss her aside the same as Luke did, although she expected he'd use what he could of her instability first. Control her through the Force that she couldn't control herself.

Kylo expertly flicked a few more switches and checked a chart or two before disengaging the lightspeed. The brilliant streaks of lights around them melted away into pinpoints of varying sizes and colors and the shuttle smoothly glided through space before he programmed their destination into the auto pilot. He unlatched the belts and buckles that kept him from splatting into the window like a bug and rose from his chair. The sound of clinking buckles must have startled Rey from some pretty deep thoughts because she didn't even notice they'd slowed until he was pushing himself up to his feet. He gave her a once over before deciding she was more of a threat to him personally then to his shuttles controls, and he knew damn well that her little scavenger mind could think up plenty of ways to disable his brand new toy, but currently she seemed more fixated on him then plans of sabotage and frankly; he couldn't sit still with her so close.

The silence was killing him. His Force was reaching for hers, pulling him with a demanding need and he hadn't the energy or restraint to control it any longer but he didn't dare open their bond all at once for fear of the consequences and confusion it may cause, so he retreated. Just as silently as they'd been with each other since they left Phasma's quarters and just as silent as they'd been on this trip so far, Kylo slinked out of the cockpit. He couldn't even chance another glance in her general direction before evacuating like the place was on fire. The less experienced part of him had hoped she'd stay put just long enough for him to get a handle on himself, but the part that knew better wasn't the least bit surprised when she half ripped the safety straps free from her torso and stomped after him.

He'd made it to the transport bay before he'd yanked his helmet free of his head. He gulped in air faster then he could swallow down and almost chocked before he switched to taking deep breaths through his nose. Already their connection was taking a toll on his nerves. He could feel her trickling through to his end like a leaky faucet of instability. He expected more rage from her then he got. Instead he was flooded with hurt and confusion, most of which he understood but not all. There was something else hiding beneath the blanket of those emotions. Somewhere just behind the veil she hid what bothered her most and unless he invaded her thoughts he wasn't getting that out of her freely.

Rey was afraid of him again and it cut him somewhere on a deep, primal level to feel that from her. When she caught up to him he was hunched over, still trying to catch his breath and deal with the onslaught of her overwhelming emotions coupled with the effort he put into handling the feed either was receiving through their bond while he attempted to slowly release the control he had over it. Her hand landed on his shoulder and she aggressively pull at him, spinning him with a mixture of unexpected strength and the Force, which he was betting had been an unconscious impulse. It was his fault. He'd taught her how to tie her emotions into the Force both by example and while instructing her about how to better sync with her Cyber crystal; a crystal housed in a lightsaber which a certain traitor was currently still in possession of. That really peeved him, but in this moment, he had more pressing matters to attend to.

His body spun, not so much from her pulling on him, but from his own inability to refrain from allowing the distance to close between them. His hands came up and before either of them knew what he was doing he found them on either side of her arms, his fingers wrapping possessively around her biceps as he leaned over her. Startled by the sudden invasion of her space Rey instinctively back peddled. The second his hands grabbed her their connection spilled over. Kylo hadn't the will or control left to hold back any longer and he nearly collapsed on her before her back found a wall to stabilize herself against. Her brain had no time to catch up before it was flooded with Kylo.

Wave after wave of every emotion under the red hot Jakku sun passed over her already tired mind and she sunk back against the hard wall for support. Her hands landed on his forearms and the two used one another to ground themselves. Kylo bent over Rey, his hot forehead pressed into hers as she flattened herself to the unrelenting steel at her back and for several heartbeats the two could do no more then just breath against one another. Their heads spun and their Force filled the space of the shuttle until everything around them hummed with a new energy. There was a thickness in the air that seemed to have every molecule in their bodies buzzing along with it.

Kylo's fingers pressed into Rey's arms as he gripped her like a life line and Rey responded in kind, squeezing his forearms as though if she let go even for a second, she'd drift off into space. Where their skin was pressed together sizzled with visible sparks like tiny eruptions of lightning set free from the heavens and the heat rushing between their bodies was intoxicating. Kylo slowly turned his head and his eyes peeled open.

He had a clear view of the most enticing sight he'd ever seen. Rey's skin was slicked with sweat. Her mouth was open and her eyes were screwed shut as she desperately sucked in strangled bouts of air. He focused in on every audible breath her trembling mouth took in and his knees weakened with where his brain took the visuals coupled with the sounds of her ragged breaths.

Adrenaline and arousal spiked through his blood, thinning the already heated liquid in his veins. His pulse slammed through his temples like loud angry waves beating at the cavern of his mind and Rey didn't miss one crest as their connection flooded between them, dragging her along the path of his thoughts. His chin tilted and his mouth aligned just above hers, his breath filling the space between them and a silent war between their short gasps erupted. The two puffing forces pushed off of one another, colliding in a mass of moisture and heat before rolling off of each others already flushed faces.

She'd seen what she looked like between their line, the image was practically branded into his mind. She was panting below his gaze, all but pinned to the wall at her back while he loomed breathlessly over her. Liquid fire pooled low in her belly and was already spreading fast and then his thumbs started to run up and down her arms. Her skin tightened, prickling over with goosebumps which only heightened the sensations his kneading fingers were already sending through her. Maker knows she should have pushed him away but her head tipped up to meet the warmth of his breath and something low and dangerous sounded from deep within his chest. The sensation rumbled between them and the pair were so connected that she mimicked the noise causing Kylo to groan in response.

He leaned closer flattening against her until the impressive length of his erection was flush against her naval and she quaked. The second his body pressed into hers a fevered rush spread from her core out. The heat was intense and it ate her alive. She unconsciously pressed her knees together, the foreign tingle between her thighs to much for her to comprehend while his broad body suffocated the length of hers. She leaned back, somehow finding the wall at her rear to be more forgiving then the solid form of the massive man at her front.

He followed the motion and took his advance one step further planting his right foot alongside her left instep, forcing her to adjust her balance and widen her stance around his boot. Her legs slid apart and his knee bent before she caught what he was doing. It dipped between her spread thighs and his height left her no wiggle room to escape the curve of his kneecap from pressing into her apex and he nearly forced her to her toes to keep from straddling his knee. Crimson rushed through her veins, heating her cheeks in a deep blush that only made Kylo want her more. Her innocence was as endearing as her temper and he found it just as appealing.

He rocked his knee forward using the slightest amount of friction to send her spiraling and her back arched. Her thighs locked around his leg and he bit the length of his bottom lip to keep from covering her mouth with his. Her eyes flew up to his and she sucked in a sharp breath as though alarmed by something unexpected. Her pupils were blown impossibly large and Kylo was sure his must have matched by now. He pressed against her center again and her knees buckled. Suddenly only the pressure of his body against hers and the hands clamped over her arms kept her from sliding down the cool wall at her back.

Her fingers gripped into the pleats of his armor as she continued to squeeze his forearms and her head fell to the cover of his chest in an attempt to hide her embarrassment from his perceptive eyes. Fire spread through her veins. An unforgiving heat grew between her thighs. Arousal tugged low in her belly and the fire spread through her core with every slight brush of his knee. Every little movement pulled her further from her sanity. Moisture was gathering at the center of where his knee ground into her and something she'd never felt before was pulling her under; begging her to move against him. Pleading that she encourage the indescribable sensation he was giving her until the building pressure broke the damn she was holding inside.

She buried her face in his tunic absolutely mortified at the prospect of grinding against him until this new desire was satisfied. His hands massaged the tense muscles of her biceps until he had them loose enough to roll her shoulders, the motion teasingly tugging against the tight fabric of her new attire. Her breasts swelled as a rush of arousal pumped through her veins to flood the more sensitive places of her body.

She was drowning in everything he was. Overwhelmed by his stature; Gods she felt so small while he towered over her. Overwhelmed by his touch; He was gentle yet completely in control and even while he was physically supporting her weight he seemed more to be grasping her out of the sheer need of having her in his hands rather then the aspect of actually holding her up. And she was overwhelmed by his mind; he was projecting so much onto her at once as a torrent of emotions passed between them. Her end to his, his to hers it was all so much she couldn't tell who was feeling what. There was passion and uncertainty, desire and admiration, lust and insecurity... guilt.

"It's alright sweetheart. Relax." He crooned. "Let me take care of you." His hands slid down the length of her arms. "Just breath."

The last words from his mouth brought her back to the temple. Luke had said the same thing while supporting her through an intense vision. Her mind reeled with the guilt that she recognized as her own and she withdrew as though waking from a startling dream, her lips trembling and her breathing strained. Kylo intended to bring her hands to his neck. He'd hope to calm the nerves he'd felt spiking through her. His hands moved further down to her wrists and he pulled loosely on them. He hadn't expected her to recoil. She was shy, unpracticed in what he was doing but she'd been receptive up till this point. She hadn't fought him now however, her wrists were twisting free of his gentle fingers and she liberated herself from his seeking hands.

A picture flashed through his mind and he knew she'd been the source of the image. She was alone and scared. Left in a dark room, her hands chained and shackled together. The last thing Rey remembered before that was being with him. It was a place she'd just started to truly feel safe, until the moment he struck Luke down. There was a deep hurt, the image of his hand then blackness followed by more hurt, fear, uncertainty, more fear and even the biter taste of hate. Meeting Rey's thoughts head on, a shell shocked Kylo pulled back from her body but only just slightly. His hands found her arms again and his face tilted back to meet her honey and moss colored eyes. They were blown wide with reciprocated desire but he could already see the shift in them. Her irises where igniting with unspent rage and her Force gathered offensively around her.

There was a crippling hurt striking like a hammer over red hot betrayal and Kylo was the anvil. It was enough to put space between them but his hands still didn't let her go. He refused to completely break away from her just yet. Surely he could explain. She'd have to understand...

"Rey," He started, his voice deeper then she'd ever heard it before. Her heart fluttered but the image of his crimson crossguard saber pushing through their former Master, his own uncle, destroyed anything that voice would have otherwise achieved.

Her hands released his forearms and in one smooth motion she reached between them and shoved off of his chest. As expected he didn't go far and her anger only grew at the lack of satisfaction returned by the effort she put in. She shoved again, grunting in frustration as his hands casually moved from her arms to flatten along the wall on either side of her, successfully caging her slight form between his massive body and the panel of metal behind her. Her face reddened and she knew she was making no progress but still she shoved against him, her teeth catching her lip in a bruising bite as she pushed against him.

"You killed him!" She angrily accused. "I don't know what transpired between you and Han, but Luke... How could you?" She balled her fist and struck out at his chest like an angry child. His stance widened and his hands pressed more firmly into the steel wall at her back.

"Rey," He repeated only to set her off and she flailed against him angrily.

"No, don't you dare! You don't get to talk your way out of this!" And she pushed against him again, knowing already that if he got the chance he could somehow how talk her out of her anger. His head lowered as though he'd try to settle against hers once more but she turned her cheek in refusal. "Don't touch me!" She stammered through quick breaths as she fought against the urge to cry.

How could she allow this kind of intimacy between them after everything he's done? Guilt wracked at her, shame clawed just beneath the surface of her skin.

Luke knew what he was doing when he engaged Ren, he even attacked him while his back was turned; By all accounts he had every right to strike him down and Rey hated giving Kylo even that much credit but the facts still stood. Still,

"You didn't have to..." She angrily reasoned against her own thoughts as though it were his defense she was fighting against.

Kylo's head lowered slightly and she leaned back into the wall to avoid him.

"No!" She insisted. "You were stronger then him and you know it. You didn't have to-."

"You know why I had to." He interjected softly, his voice low and careful.

Rey shoved against him again, this time catching him by surprise, she was able to tip him back slightly. "You're a coward!" With her words she hit him where she knew it would hurt. It was viscous but so was she when she was angry.

His head pulled back, straightening to his full hight. His features hardened and hurt flashed through his eyes. Offense flickered through his features and he grimaced as though she'd struck him across the face.

Rey was in pain but she didn't miss the anger and hurt that flared through him either. Still she shook her head, her hurt and guilt outweighing everything else between them. "If you were so terrified of your Master, You could have come back with us. Joined us!" She kept pushing. Kept reasoning beyond the impulse to comfort him, protect him from what he was feeling as was her first instinct.

"I wasn't scared for me, Scavenger. You know why I did what I did." He insisted but she refused to follow his reasoning.

"I didn't ask for that! Don't put this on me!" She pulled herself from the wall and raised her chin in defiance. "You had a choice and you made it. You killed him for your Master!" She raged. Her feet lifting as she pulled herself up to her tippy toes to press challengingly against his chest with her own in rebellion of their hight difference.

Kylo's chin dipped so his face could parallel hers. "A small price to pay for your safety and you're right, I made my choice, but so did you!" He conceded before he turned the tables. "Lets be real," His brown orbs locked on to her wavering eyes. "This isn't just about what happened between Luke and I. It's about your guilt!" He snapped, his hands pressing further into the metal behind her as he bent over her, blocking off her attempt to bring herself to his level.

Her hands shook at her sides and her eyes swelled with tears she absolutely refused to let fall.

"It's about how you'd already decided to leave with me." Again he leaned closer and while she wanted to retreat she wasn't done yet. She wasn't going to be intimidated no matter how much he towered over her. "Don't think I couldn't feel it Rey." Kylo's voice lowered in severity. "I felt your desire for me then and I feel it surging through you now."

Her eyes widened at the accusation but she certainly didn't deny it. "Then why...?" She begged, desperately needing to hear something she could understand, something she could hold onto through all of the confusion that surrounded the last day and a half. Rey dropped her body back down on the flats of her feet. Her voice trembled with constricted emotion that desperately needed release. "Why kill him knowing I'd have come with you willingly?" Her eyes were glossy and she stared up at him through half hooded lids, the weight of unshed tears pulling them down as she fought to hold them back.

Kylo's shoulders lifted with pent up tension. His arms flexed on either side of her and his right hand pulled into a tight fist. Too close to balance herself with out leaning into him or trapping herself along the wall again her hands rose once more to his chest.

"It was too late." His brown eyes fell to the hands that flattened and pressed against his chest. It was her clever attempt to put space between them with out putting her back against the wall again. "Like you said, I had a choice and I made it." He reluctantly bit out through a tight set jaw.

Her head shook from side to side, her eyes squeezed shut and she pretended not to notice the tears that finally broke free from the ducts of her eyes. Her fingers dug into the folds of his armor as she scrunched the thick fabric in her grip she fought the urge to pull him closer, instead she pushed him back and he gave her two free steps before planting his feet. Her palms spread open to lift from his chest and her fingers gripped at the flat planes as if reluctant to let go.

"I can't do this with you..." Her head lowered in defeat and she took a half step back, forcing herself back into the wall to put more space between them. "I can't... I can't trust you."

Kylo fought against the thick bile that was forming in his throat. In a way this was going better then he anticipated, after all she wasn't trying to kill him... yet.

Still, it never went the way he hoped it would with her and this instance was no different. His eyes traveled back up to her face and he took in one soft feature at a time.

"I've never lied to you, never tried to hurt you." He voiced weakly, his balled hand dragged down the wall to stop just above her right shoulder and he fought the urge to open it knowing if he did it would be to touch her.

"You've killed your father, your uncle... what am I in the face of them? Just some Force sensitive scavenger." She answered for him. Her eyes opened but she refrained from looking up at him. Instead her focus shifted to the ground to the right of his still arched body.

His hand moved and his gloved finger hooked beneath her chin. He tilted her head up and when she attempted to pull away his hand corrected her position. "I would never hurt you, Rey." The certainty she found glowing in his eyes was unmistakable and she wanted to believe him but she was lost beneath what he'd already shown her he was capable of.

His father had offered him forgiveness. He'd practically begged him to come home and Kylo chose to kill him instead. Luke had crossed blades with him, challenged him, but that's not why he killed him. He executed his uncle because his Master had ordered it and eventually she was sure the same order would be given in reference to her. The moment his Master felt she was no longer useful she would meet the same fate as the two before her and probably countless before them.

Kylo growled in frustration, she was projecting her thoughts as loud as if she were speaking directly to him. His hand released her face and his fist clamped shut to pound into the wall to the left of her head causing Rey to jump in alarm. A quick spike of fear shot through their bond but her rage chased the emotion away just as quickly. Somehow even with the knowledge that he'd killed two members of his family she still felt he wouldn't purposely hurt her. At least not until his Master ordered it. It was a ridiculous notion; to think a man capable of dispatching his blood relatives would show her any kind of leniency.

"I won't apologize for doing what is required or expected of me, Rey. I warned you on the island... you should have just come with me when I offered you the choice..." His mouth moved with his thought process and he'd had no time to filter those thoughts before they rolled from his mouth. In hindsight he'd wished he'd have kept his mouth shut. It would have been easier if she'd chosen to leave with him sooner, but it wouldn't have changed the outcome for Luke, not where his Master was concerned.

"Don't you dare blame his death on me!" She slammed her palms against his chest again, this time sending a slight push of the Force out with the hit.

Kylo jerked back. His face shot down to her hands then back up to her surprised eyes. They were wide circles and she stared at her open palms in shock for just a moment before her fists balled and those same bright eyes hardened in determination. She raised her hands to strike him again and his Force rose around him to create a shield far more potent then he required. Her fists slammed into the invisible shield and their Force shimmered between them.

"This isn't the best place for a lesson, sweetheart." Kylo warned darkly, his eyes sparkling with the release of his Force essence around them.

Rey felt the threat of his power but she didn't heed the warning. Instead she chose to pull at his Force, drawing him in to increase her own potency. She wasn't good at verbally working things out and her temper had peeked when he'd insinuated that Luke may be alive if she'd simply surrendered to him sooner. She was aching for a fight. Rey had felt suffocated since the temple and now her energy was alive and freely flowing throughout. Her emotions fed on the power around her and her Force yearned to couple with his making it hard to control what was bursting from her through every place it could. It was so easy to feed her power with her anger. So satisfying to give substance to the rage she felt and it was indescribable to finally be able release that negative energy.

"Careful scavenger, Your treading dangerous ground." He pressed forward and the weight of his Force swelling around him sent her retreating back towards the wall once more.

His deep brown eyes captured her attention and held it as captive as she was. She sucked in a deep breath and her face tilted up to meet his heated gaze with one of her own.

"You're one to preach." She retorted.

*Finally some one on one time and holy smokes did they need it. Is it hot in here or is it just me?*

~⭐️, comment and please feel free to discuss! Love you Reylo's! Eight days to go!~

-DarkGuardian-