700 views already!? Oh my god thank-you so much everyone this means the world to me! Enjoy the next chapter!
Sorry they will be spread out for a while as I have my mid-course Exams coming up for school over the next few weeks!
Thank-you for your patience :)
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With her eyes closed and a feeling of uncertainty in her chest, Rey concentrated on the feeling of the ships engine purring beneath her feet. She didn't dare glance out the windscreen of the shuttle, the scenery of hyperspace something she was yet to get used to. She kept herself composed, however. In the presence of Kylo Ren, she had no choice but to be as brave as she could. If she let him see even a splinter of weakness, she knew it wouldn't work well in her favor.
Her figure swayed forward gently, then back as the ship left hyper speed. Not long after, Rey could feel the shuttle descending into an atmosphere. That's when she grew uncomfortable.
She peeled open her eyes, Kylos figure standing in front of her with his hands behind his back. She took a moment to examine him, how his posture was so determine and his expression so stern. She could feel his mind scampering, searching for something as the planets bright orange surface came closer and closer. She didn't know what it was he was looking for, but definitely didn't know what it had to do with Jakku.
Rey recognized the planet immediately, even from this high in the air. Although she had hardly ever seen it from a birds eye view, she knew it anyhow. The sand dunes, ship wrecks and occasional skeletons were unmistakable.
In the distance, she could see the outline of the fallen Star Destroyer that she had been exploring merely months ago. The very star ship that she had relied on so heavily for her survival. Despite its size, it always seemed stripped clean of anything useful. After all, she hadn't been the only starving scavenger in the area.
As she watched the scenery go by, she figured out exactly where they were going. To the outpost she used to call home. She immediately felt her core shake as she saw it approaching on the horizon. Her breath hitched in her throat as her muscles tensed in disbelief. She felt Kylos eyes on her soon after, looking down on her with a watchful glance and a curious expression.
Rey locked eyes with him as she felt the shuttle slow down and begin to approach for landing. Her heart was pounding, her senses swimming with awfully familiar textures. She screwed up her nose in disgust and felt her stomach sink. The shuttle had landed.
She was back on Jakku.
Kylo took a hold of her arm, his blood swimming with anxiety. He looked her up and down before taking a moment to let the ramp slide open. His breathing was uneasy as his grip on her arm grew tighter. As the sand and dust from the surface settled after being kicked up from the landing, he brought her down to the rough surface where they watched the horizon appear.
The scenery was all too familiar, making Rey's stomach churn. She felt the blood drain from her cheeks and her head lighten slightly. All this planet did was remind her of her parents, how she had been waiting so long for them. But they were nothing. She had been waiting here for nothing.
The thought of that made her feel sick.
Kylo tugged on her arm suddenly, causing her to jolt forward gently as they made their way up the sand dune before them. The subtle breeze through the air skimmed his hair, causing his eyes to stand out from the rest of his features. Rey couldn't help but stare. He took note of this, allowing the corner of his lip to curl up into what could eventually form a smile - if he was lucky enough.
As they finished scaling the sand dune, a familiar sight swam into Reys vision. She only became more confused, unsure as to how he knew this place even existed. She managed to pull her arm out of his grip, taking a step back with her hands still in cuffs. She looked at him carefully as she felt her breathing threaten to pick up.
"How do you know about this place? Who told you?" She asked in a shaky but determined tone, looking at him aggressively as though it would help her get an answer out of him. He simply looked away and down at the deserted AT-AT walker that was half buried among the sand.
"You told me." He responded bluntly, walking down the other side of the sand dune towards the deserted machinery.
"What?" She spat, continuing her cycle of being confused. She watched him from atop the dune, unable to figure out what he intended on gaining from bringing her here.
"I saw it, when we touched hands, when we... when we kissed. I saw it in the force." He had stopped now, looking up to her and narrowing his eyes. "This place holds meaning to you, doesn't it?" He hissed, taking a gentle step forward.
Rey took a moment to examine her options. The fact that he knew about this place scared her, but didn't surprise her. She knew he wanted something from this, but was clueless as to what. Was he trying to prove something? Make a point? She looked into his eyes closely, attempting not to get lost in his gaze, but instead to examine it.
"What do you want?" She asked suddenly, not moving from her place atop the dune, maintaining the high ground in case the situation became aggressive. He took note of her stubbornness to move, so instead moved himself a step or so closer, extending his hand.
"I want you to show me." He said gently, cooing his words up to her in a way he hoped would swing her attention onto him and not the reason they were here. "Show me where you came from."
Rey thought for a moment, still confused. She didn't see the harm in doing so, but knew she couldn't be anything less than cautious. She finally took a step down, then another, then another until she made it down to Kylo. She reached up her hand to take his, slowly and gently, allowing her fingertips to feel every inch of his fingers as they slid down to his palm.
Kylo unlocked the cuffs, his eyes never leaving hers. He threw the cuffs to the side, allowing them to sink away into the sand and be forgotten. Hand in hand, he led her inside the fallen Walker, careful not to hit his head on the way in. He focused on the feeling of her soft but worn hand in his coarse and leathery one, his head spinning with adrenaline as his craving for her touch threatened to be fulfilled.
Whilst Kylo was distracted internally, Rey felt herself shudder to the core. This was one of the last places she'd wanted to visit since she joined the rebellion, so it wasn't exactly flattering to her to be back here already. She took a good look around, examining all the marks that she had etched into the wall for all those years. For all those days that she had waited.
Waited for nothing.
"I want you to tell me something..." Kylo purred into Reys ear, suddenly behind her with a stern and unforgiving expression on his lips. An expression she thankfully couldn't see. She felt shivers run down her spine and her breath hitched in her throat promptly.
"T-tell you what?" She stammered, caught off guard and suddenly flustered by his closeness.
"Why you waited here.." He took a moment to physically turn himself around to view the thousands of etchings in the walls. "... For so long." He finished, walking around so that he was in front of her, but with his back to her.
"I was waiting for my parents." She responded blandly, knowing that he knew that. What was he playing at?
"But why? You knew they weren't coming back." He spat, turning to face her suddenly. She took in a sharp breath, furrowing her eyebrows gently.
"I held hope. I had nothing else to do." She said carefully, looking up at him with saddened eyes.
"Hope? Is that what you call desperation?" He snarled, taking an empowering step towards her, causing her to be more on edge than she already was.
"What? No. I was-"
"You think I can't see it? The desperation for you to fit in, to have someone who cares about you?" He took another step forward, causing her to frown and tears to swell into her eyes.
"Ben, stop-"
"Do you really think that someone with worth would really stay in a place like this?" Kylo snapped, looking deeply into her eyes. His voice was deep and unchanged. Unchanged from when she had first met him as an emotionless sith.
"Do you think you're fooling anyone? That people think you're worth something? You come from nothing, Rey. Look around you. What is this? NOTHING!" He yelled suddenly, causing her to jump backwards.
"Ben, stop it. You know none if that is true!" She hissed hurriedly, not wanting to let him continue to torment her. The thing that bothered her the most?
He was getting to her.
"If it isn't true, then why are you so upset? If you meant something to someone, then why didn't they come and get you?"
"I have friends! They care about me!" Rey argued, tears sliding down her cheeks as anger boiled within her.
"Friends? If they really were your friends, then why did they give you up to me and leave without a second thought? Why?"
Rey felt the tears endlessly sliding down her cheeks. Her breathing was thick and heavy, anger swelling and boiling within her. It began to manipulate her thoughts. She began to search for a way out.
"Does it look like anyone's even come to see if you're still here? They haven't, have they? Everything is exactly as you left them. No one cares, Rey. You-"
The anger boiling within her simmered down to hardly anything.
"-Are-"
Replacing the anger, was hatred. Violence.
"-Nothing!"
Rey let a scream rip out of her. It all happened within a matter of seconds. Before she could think twice, she splayed out her hand, forcing her light-saber into her hand off Kylos belt. She ignited it faster than she had caught it, before swinging it down on Kylo Ren.
When she snapped back to reality, she was faced with something she never would have imagined. She light-saber was pressed down against Kylos with all of her strength. He was smirking, wider and wider with every passing moment. That's when it hit her. He wanted this to happen.
She had proven to him that she wasn't as pure as she thought she was. Not only did the light side reside inside Kylo, but the dark side resided inside her as well.