Hux paced angrily back and forth, holding a towel to his bleeding nose. It hurt so badly that dark spots kept cropping up in his field of vision, and he was so angry that everything else was red. He could literally taste blood in his mouth, and it tasted like metal and salt and anger. Kylo would pay for this.
Snoke, however, was strangely silent. He touched the tips of his fingers together thoughtfully, like some sort of evil Sherlock Holmes. His eyes stared thoughtfully toward Kylo's path of exit, and there was no expression on his cold, calculating face. After a bit, his gaze flitted to Hux, who still held the blood-soaked towel to his nose. "What say you, Huxley?" Snoke asked, holding the tips of his fingers to his lips deductively. "What would you do in my situation?"
"I'd take the bastard out," Hux growled. "He broke my freaking nose!"
Snoke nodded. "Yes, he did. And, more importantly than your pathetic nose, he severed his ties to us. Our young Kylo Ren is more taken with this Rey Kenobi than I had previously calculated. With no loyalty to us, who is to say he will not inform the proper authorities of our dealings? This brings danger. My friend, you must learn not to use so much emotion in making your decisions. They will be the end of you."
"I don't give a shit!" Hux cried. "He broke my nose over a girl!" The young redhead was in intense emotional pain as well as physical. His mind kept replaying memories he had shared with Kylo, such as playing in Kylo's backyard in elementary school, building forts that they would have sleep-overs in during their middle school years, and joking about the idiots they went to school with as they entered high school. All of that, seemingly, had gone out the window as soon as Rey entered the picture. Kylo didn't love her. He was infatuated! Hux saw straight through his ex-friend like an x-ray machine, or so he thought. How could Hux know what Kylo was thinking?
Snoke sighed and rolled his eyes. "Be that as it may, Huxley, you must push your feelings aside, both emotional and physical, and think logically. Why must Kylo die?"
"He'll expose us," Hux growled. "If we get exposed, we go to prison."
"Correct," Snoke replied. He stood up and walked to a safe in the far corner of the room. Turning the dial, he opened the door of the safe and pulled out a gun. It was a handgun, and it looked very deadly. He handed this gun to Hux, who took it with a bloody hand. "Can I trust you to kill both Kylo Ren and this Kenobi girl?" he asked, crossing his arms in disgust as Hux's nose dripped blood all over his carpet.
"I'll kill all of them, the old man included. He may know something, though I doubt it. It's best to tie up loose ends."
Snoke nodded. "Very good. If you are successful, Huxley, you shall become my apprentice and when I am gone, my empire will be yours to control. You will be a rich man."
Hux slid the gun into the waistband of his jeans. "Thank you, master."
"No, my apprentice. Thank you," Snoke replied, grinning evilly.
***
Kylo arrived back at the bookstore to find Rey seated on one of the beanbags, nose buried in a science-fiction novel. He plopped down next to her and smiled. His violent altercation with Snoke and
Hux had left his blood boiling and his heart racing. However, all of this fell away as he took in Rey's fresh, beautiful face. When she noticed him, she looked up from her book and smiled, her brown, doe's eyes sparkling with delight before flitting anxiously back to the words in front of her.
She was perfect. Far too perfect for someone like him. He couldn't believe that she was his. Her thick, dark eyelashes blinked as she studied the pages of her book, eyes dancing from word to word in search of a new, great adventure. He could watch her read all day.
She was a masterpiece; the curves and planes of her face were finer than the finest work of art, more priceless than the Mona Lisa. A strand of hair fell across her forehead, which she pursed her lips at and blew away. The lips relaxed back into perfect rose petals, and they looked warm and inviting. Kylo remembered how soft they were, and how sweet they tasted. He remembered the smell of her skin and the feel of her hands on his arms, rough and callused, yet gentle and kind. She was far more perfect than he could ever hope to be. He loved every inch of her, from lean, strong legs to the top of her silky head. He didn't quite know how to put her beauty into words.
She caught him staring and looked up again, her eyes catching his gaze. "What?" she asked, biting her lip timidly.
He grinned and lay back across his beanbag. "Nothing. You'd laugh if I told you."
"No I wouldn't," she replied defiantly, putting the book down and crossing her arms. She crossed her legs as well and pouted. She looked so cute Kylo couldn't help but laugh again. "What?!" she cried, smiling widely. "What's so funny, Ben?"
"You," he replied. "You're too freaking cute sometimes. It drives me absolutely nuts."
"Peanuts or cashews?" she asked. "I'm allergic to peanuts. If my cuteness drives you peanuts, I don't think this is going to work out."
His grin widened. "Neither. I was thinking of something more along the lines of a hazelnut."
"Perfect," she replied. "You really think I'm cute?"
He rolled his eyes. "Of course, Rey. You're freaking beautiful. Was there ever any doubt?" A new idea occurred to him. "You know, now you have to take me to meet your foster parents. They should know we're a thing."
Rey's face darkened. "I, um, don't know if that'll be possible," she said quietly, turning away, all traces of happiness gone.
"Rey?" Kylo asked. "What's wrong?" He walked on his knees to her side and placed his hands on her shoulders. "What aren't you telling me?"
She shook her head. "My foster parents, Ben. They don't exist," she whispered.
He couldn't believe his ears. What did she mean, her foster parents didn't exist? She was still a minor. Who took care of her? "What?" he asked.
"I'm a liberated teen," she replied. "Legally, I've proven that I'm mature enough not to need a parent or guardian. I don't like to tell people because they'd look at me differently. I mean, I make my own living and go to high school on the side. I've been living off the money my dad left me when he died, but there's not near enough to pay for college. I'm barely scraping by as it is. My house is a pile of shit on the inside because it's old and falling apart, and I really don't have anyone on my life to help give me guidance when I need help. That's why I gravitated towards your dad. He loved me and accepted me, even before I had you to lean on. I'm just so tired of living alone, Ben!" Tears dripped from her eyes.
Kylo wrapped his arms around her waist, kissed her cheek, and lay down with her across the beanbag. "It's okay, Rey. You don't have to be alone anymore," he promised. "I swear I'll take care of you if it's the last thing I do. You mean too much to me to just be tossed aside like you don't matter. You matter to me, Rey. I promise."
She took a deep breath to calm her tears. It was lucky the store was deserted and James was in the back. Kylo knew Rey wouldn't want anyone to see her like this. "Let's go home, Rey," he offered. "You need some rest. You don't have to go back to that house ever again. My dad and I will take care of you. You'll be okay." He pulled her to her feet and snaked his arm around her waist gently. She let him lead her out of the store and help her to the passenger side of his car. However, as he felt around his pockets, he noticed that his car keys were gone. They must have fallen out of his pocket somewhere in the store. "Just a second," he promised her, jogging back into the bookstore.
He found the keys next to his beanbag and proceeded to scoop them up and jog back out to his car. However, he noticed with confusion that Rey was missing from the front seat of his car. In fact, the door was open. Something didn't smell right. Creeping around to the inside of the cab, Kylo noticed a scrap of paper in the seat, two large drops of blood blotting the surface.
We have your girl and your father. You must choose, Kylo Ren. One or the other. There is no in between. No bargains. No way out. I'll tell you where they are once I've had my fun with them. The girl has such soft skin; I'm going to enjoy tearing it open. I wonder if she'll scream for you, Kylo, given that you seem to love each other so much. I only hope you can love her after I mutilate her face. I'll make your father watch. He loves her like a daughter, you know. It's a shame he never loved me like a son. If he had, maybe we wouldn't be in this situation. If only you'd chosen me over her, both of them would live through this. As it is, you broke our friendship, and then you broke my nose. Have fun fishing, Kylo.
~Hux
Kylo crumpled up the piece of paper in rage and fear. Absolute fear that he was never going to see Rey again, and rage over what Hux threatened to do to the only two people he cared about anymore. Pulling out his cell phone, Kylo dialed the number of the only person who could help him.
"Uncle Chewie?" he asked as soon as the person on the other side picked up.
"Ben! What can I do for you?"
"You've got to help me, Uncle Chewie," he pleaded. "My dad and my girlfriend have been kidnapped, and their lives are in serious danger." His eyes were moist. "How soon can you make the drive from D.C.? I figured since you work for the CIA, you could help me out on this one."
Chewie grunted. "I'll be there as soon as I can. In the meantime, call 911. Forensics needs to take all the evidence they can of the crime scene. Just hang tight, Ben. I'll do the best I can. Do you remember where Han keeps his gun?"
"Yeah."
"Then get it and keep it on you. They might get bored and go after you next. You need a way to defend yourself. Got it? Stay strong, Ben. I'm on my way." Then, the line clicked and went dead.
The next call Kylo made was 911.
***
Rey's head hurt. She opened her eyes slowly, struggling to remember where she was. Blood oozed slowly from a gash in her temple, where someone who had been sitting in the back seat of Kylo's car had struck her. The room spun like a merry-go-round as she blinked rapidly, trying to keep from throwing up.
She was in some sort of warehouse. Her arms were lashed behind her back, around a pole. She sat on a cold, concrete floor. Tied to the pole directly in front of her was Han Solo. Unlike her, however, he was still unconscious and looked awful. His lip was cut and bleeding, and his entire face was a mass of red and blue lacerations and bruises, no doubt from a very, very harsh beating. Also unlike her, he obviously hadn't gone down without a fight.
Using her concussed brain, Rey began to piece two and two together. Han was here. So was she. Coincidentally, they were the two people Kylo Ren cared about most in the entire world. This meant it wasn't some random psychopath that had kidnapped her. It was Hux. It had to be.
She strained against the bonds around her wrists. They were steel cables, breakable only by a bolt cutter, and they were very, very tight. So tight, in fact, that Rey could barely feel the tips of her fingers. A tear of fear rolled down her cheek, which she hastily wiped away with her shoulder. If Hux came back, it was imperative that she remain strong. If she let him know how very afraid she was, it would be all over. "Han," she whispered urgently. "Han, if you're there, I need you to wake up."
His eyes fluttered, and a drop of blood dripped from his nose. "Rey?" he asked with swollen lips. "Zat you, kid?"
She nodded furiously. "Yeah, Han. It's me. I think Hux has us."
Han nodded painfully, holding her gaze with pained, bloodshot eyes. However, there was more than a physical pain on his face. His eyes were also in agony because his heart was in agony. "Yeah. I used to let that kid play in my back yard with my son. He didn't have a father. I felt bad for him."
"Han, none of this is your fault. If anything, it's Kylo's. He shouldn't have gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd anyway."
"You called him Kylo," Han slurred through his injured mouth. He really was in bad shape. "You've been calling him Ben."
Rey nodded, wiping away another tear with her shoulder. "Because he's changed. Kylo Ren was evil. Ben is good. Surely you knew that. That's why you never called him what he wanted to be called. The good man that has always been your son and has loved you more than life itself is named Ben Solo. He always has been."
Han nodded, dropping his head tiredly. "We've got to get out of here, Rey."
Rey nodded. "Yes. We do. Unfortunately, I don't see how we can."
At that moment, footsteps began to echo through the warehouse. Rey fell silent, anticipating the person whose feet made the noises. "Well, well, well," said a calm, velvety voice that Rey recognized all too well, from the months he'd sat near her in biology. "You're awake. Both of you are awake. I was going to start my interrogation on you whether you liked it or not, but now I know I can get some information from you." Rough, long-fingered hands grabbed her wrists and yanked her upward. Rey was jerked to her feet, and the bonds around her wrist were hooked above her head so that she was forced to stand.
Hux entered her field of vision then, toting a huge, ugly-looking knife. The blade was at least a foot long and so sharp the light reflected off it coldly. It was nearly the same kind of light that burned in Hux's eyes. He stared at her with unspeakable rage, his green eyes appraising every inch of her. Taking a step forward, Hux took the hem of her shirt in one hand and used the other to cut up the side of the fabric with the knife. He ripped the shirt away from her body, throwing it to the ground and leaving Rey utterly exposed, her upper half only covered by her bra. "There," he growled. "That's better. Now I see why Kylo likes you. You've got very nice form. But as for me, I don't like you much. You're too low for a high praise, too brown for a fair praise, and too little for a great praise."
"Shakespeare," Rey replied. "You're comparing me to Hero from Much Ado About Nothing. And you're comparing Ben to Claudio. You think he rushed into things with me without seeing me for what you think I truly am."
"HIS NAME'S NOT BEN!" Hux shouted furiously. Stepping forward violently, he ran the blade of his knife across Rey's cheek. It was so sharp it nicked the skin of her chin, as shallow as a paper cut. "His name is Kylo Ren. He hasn't been Ben Solo for a long time now. He was my best friend until you came and ruined everything," he growled. His lips suddenly met hers, and Rey struggled against him and how he violated her mouth, but it was no use. Her arms were useless. He tasted like blood and death. It made her want to vomit.
When he pulled back, Hux spit the saliva in his mouth onto Rey's shoulder, causing her to feel the urge to vomit again. She retched, but the only thing that came up was a little bit of water. How long had she been held here? Her throat burned, and she was thirsty. Hux only smiled. "At least you taste good. Like chocolate," he whispered nastily. "Pity you don't think the same about me. We could have been very good together. I hear I'm good in bed."
Rey retched again, and more acidic water came up her esophagus. She remembered from biology that pepsin, one of the key enzymes in the stomach, only worked at a pH of about 2. One of the few things more acidic than stomach juice was battery acid, with a pH of 1. It felt like fire in her esophagus, and she desperately wished for water. Her own watery vomit dripped from her chin and down her bare stomach disgustingly, since she had no way to wipe it off. Two tears fell from her eyes against her will, and she looked down at Han. He was crying, too. Seeing her in pain was torture for him as well. She didn't even want to think about what Ben would feel if he could see what his old friend was doing to her.
Hux laughed evilly. "Come on, Kenobi," he spat, emphasizing her last name. "Put up a fight. I know you can."
"Go to hell," she growled. A glob of spit flew from her mouth. It was mixed with vomit and stomach acid, and when it hit Hux directly in the eye, the acid in it caused him to howl in pain. He flailed wildly and slashed open a deep cut across her ribcage. Rey howled in pain as dark spots appeared in her vision. The pain was so bad she almost passed out. This wasn't like the movies, where the pretty girl got sliced up a bit and only let out a pretty, feminine grunt. This was hell.
Blood dripped from her wound. She could feel the hot, stocky liquid dripping down her stomach like some sort of morbid, crimson fountain. She cried out again, and more tears fell down her cheeks.
"Serves you right, bitch," Hux growled. "You're going to learn really quickly that if you make me mad, you're going to regret it. That hurt." His eye was red and bloodshot from the stomach acid still left in her saliva, and he was having trouble keeping it open. As well he should. Stomach acid was more acidic than lemon juice. It probably burned like shampoo.
She glared daggers at him, struggling to remain conscious in spite of her killer headache and the pain in her side. It was an effort that was proving difficult. The room was spinning so badly she wondered for a minute how she was still on her feet, until she remembered that she was hanging by her hands. Hands she could no longer feel because the circulation to them had been cut off.
Hux, however, rounded on her again. "Listen, bitch. You and I are going to have some fun before Kylo inevitably finds you. Then, I give him a choice. Either you or his old man. One lives and one dies. Either way, only one of you can walk out of here alive. We'll see who he chooses. He girl he loves or his father."
"You're a psychopath," Rey panted. She could feel the blood from the gash across her ribcage beginning to coagulate on her skin. It was disgusting.
Hux walked closer to her, holding his knife to her throat, his mouth inches from hers. She remembered the way those lips had tasted, and fresh vomit pushed up from her stomach. Hux managed to get out of the way in time, but the vomit dribbled down Rey's chin again, burning the skin of her neck and chest.
When she was finished, Hux smiled evilly and placed his blade under her neck again. He was taller than she was, and very dominating. It made her feel very, very small. "Maybe I am a psychopath," he laughed. "But then again, maybe I'm just tired of trying to be the good guy. In any case, your blood will bring me a happiness I haven't felt in a long, long time. We'll continue this later, Kenobi." He walked behind her and unhooked her hands from the high hook. Rey collapsed to the floor, her hands still tied behind the pole. "Get some rest," he instructed her. "Tomorrow, we start again, and you'll tell me everything you know about Snoke's business. You'll also tell me who you spoke that information to. Don't think for even one second that I'll go easy on you because you're a girl. That little scratch on your side will seem like nothing after I get what I want out of you. In the meantime, say your goodbyes to each other. One of you will die. Best you tell each other goodbye before Kylo chooses." With that, Hux ran a hand through his long, unkempt, ginger hair and left the room.
"Smart move, kid," Han whispered. "I never would have thought of using my own vomit as a weapon."
Rey was too weak to move. Tears fell thick and fast from her eyes. "Han, we both know I'm going to be the one to die. All of this is because of me. Either I'm the only one to make it out alive or Hux kills both of us because Ben chooses you." Her dirty, brown hair hung in her face, but she had no way to brush it away.
Han shook his head, his voice cracking. "Don't say that, kid. Neither of us is going to die. You have to stay positive, Rey, or no one will survive this, including Ben. Do you love my son?"
Rey nodded. "More than I've ever loved anyone in my entire life." Oh, how she wanted to sleep!
"If you love him, that's incentive enough. Find strength in him, and I swear to you we'll get out of this mess yet. Be strong for me, Rey. Be strong for Ben. Promise? For Ben?"
"For Ben," she murmured. But then, the pain in her side was bad. "I'm going to pass out, Han," she said fearfully.
Han nodded. "That's okay. Get some sleep, kiddo. You'll need it for tomorrow. And Rey?"
"Yeah?" she slurred tiredly.
"I'd be proud to call you my daughter-in-law," Han replied. "For what it's worth."
Then, just a little bit satisfied by Han's words, Rey finally let the blackness take her, and she passed out.
A/N: AAHHH!!!! I love writing psychopathic Hux. This chapter was inspired by the song "My Demons" by Starset. I have included it for your listening pleasure, as well as some Reylo fanart that kind of reminds me of high school Rey and Kylo. Enjoy, my beautiful Reylo lovelies!!!!