Author's Note: BEHOLD! The triple threat! Three updates back to back to back - just for my loyal readers! Thanks for bearing with me the last few days! I worked really hard on getting these chapters complete. Away we go!
*picture used does not belong to me*
An alarm went off in his head.
His hands raised and gently gripped onto her wrists and peeled her hands off his face as he leaned back. He stood up from the medical chair and pushed past her, ignoring the look of shock on her face. He strode towards the door.
"Lessons are dismissed for the remainder of the day." He said as he ran a hand through his hair. The door sensors activated and slid open, preparing for his exit.
"Ye... Yes Master Ren." She stuttered. A cloud of embarrassment and shame hung over her. She quickly exited through the open door past him, unable to look at him.
When he was sure she was far enough away, he sighed and pressed his forehead against the cool metal of the wall of the medical ward.
GODS! She had been about to kiss him! And what had he done? He had pushed her away.
His hand coiled into a fist and he banged it against the wall, causing a dent. How could Snoke do this to him? Was this apprenticeship Kylo's own personal trial? A test of his training? Pairing him with Rey despite his growing affections for her?
He knew Snoke saw everything. When Kylo first brought Rey to him and he had searched her mind, he knew he had to have seen where she came from and how they had met. Snoke also knew Rey was fond of him, bringing up this fact not once, but twice now. And yet he had still made her his apprentice.
Snoke had also humiliated Kylo today by announcing aloud his thoughts on her appearance. It was hard not to notice how pretty she was. The fine clothes that had been provided to her accentuated her good looks. She had begun to gain womanly curves to her once delicate frame. The tan from her days in the sun slowly fading, prominently revealing the dusting of freckles she had across her nose and cheeks. Still, he saw her as the beautiful slave from Jakku dressed in sun-bleached linens.
His anger boiled higher as he now became frustrated with himself for rejecting her. This was the first time someone outside his family had shown affection towards him. And even then, affection from his family had been lacking. Why else would they have sent him away to train with his Uncle? He knew his parents were afraid of his power, afraid of the various similarities he shared with his Grandfather. Rey on the other hand, showed little fear over his power.
He angrily grunted, his stitches pinching as his face contorted into a yell. He unhooked his saber from his belt and lashed out on the medical cart and tray, slicing through the metal in a fury. To hell with the Jedi and their code. He was falling for her and he ruined what could possibly have been his only chance with her. All for the sake Snoke and his training.
ooooo
Phasma silently cursed Kylo Ren.
Rey had arrived at her suite that afternoon. The brunette, a blubbering mess, had flung herself across the pink sheets of Phasma's bed. Phasma sighed and went to the kitchen and plucked two cartons of frosty treat from the ice box. She grabbed spoons from a drawer before walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed.
"What happened?" Phasma asked calmly. Rey sat up and sniffed, rubbing her wrists across her tear stained eyes.
"What's this?" She asked as Phasma extended a carton and spoon to her.
"It helps heal a broken heart." She said. Rey frowned.
"I don't have a broken heart." She said, snatching the carton out of Phasma's hand and removing the lid. She dug the spoon in the frosty treat and began shoveling it down.
"Mmmhmm." Phasma said, not believing her. "Tell me what happened." She repeated.
"I'm such a fool." Rey mumbled around the food in her mouth. "I can't believe I tried to kiss him."
Phasma was only partially shocked at this revelation. She opened her own carton of frosty treat and stuck in a spoon.
"Emotions were running high. You injured him. You felt bad." Phasma told her.
"But he did it for ME, Phasma!" Rey said. Suddenly she gripped at her head. "OW!" She shouted.
"Have you never had frosty treat before? You can't eat it that fast." Phasma told her as Rey rubbed at her temples.
"Now, what do you mean he did it for you?"
"In the throne room. He faltered on purpose so I could have the upper hand. He was afraid of what Snoke might do to me had I failed in combat."
Phasma pursed her lips.
"A simple 'thank you' would have sufficed in my opinion." Phasma said. Rey moaned and flung herself back on the pillows.
"How can I continue my lessons now? He never wants to see me again!" She wailed.
"I'm sure he didn't say that. Did he say that?"
"He just said lessons were dismissed for today."
"Nothing else?"
"No!" Rey began to cry again, shoveling down more frosty treat.
"You will just have to go to your lessons tomorrow and act as if nothing is wrong." Phasma told her.
"Easy for you to say. You don't have to spend all day with him." Rey pouted.
"No, but I have known him longer than you. He doesn't do well with confrontations."
"I know that." Rey snapped, stabbing the frosty treat with her spoon.
"You know, you two are quite alike." Phasma said. "You are both very stubborn."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Rey asked Phasma sarcastically.
"A little." Phasma admitted. Rey frowned again.
"Just what made you try to kiss him?"
"I don't know." Rey said, swirling around the spoon in her carton. Phasma gave her a pointed look.
"I suppose your fondness of his looks plays into all this?"
"I don't know." Rey repeated, blushing. "He's nice to me."
"He is your Master." Phasma pointed out. "He has to be."
"My other Master wasn't nice to me like he is."
Phasma frowned.
"An apprenticeship is different Rey."
"But before... On Jakku. Before I was even his apprentice...." Rey trailed off. Her thoughts took her to back to Ergel's. How kind his eyes had been their first night in the backroom when he first took off his mask for her. Those deep brown, sad and longing eyes.
"I thought we had a connection then." She admitted. Phasma sighed and shook her head.
"I told you hand holding was dangerous territory." She lightly scolded. Rey handed Phasma her half empty carton of frosty treat and Phasma went back into the kitchen, cleaning up as she went.
"Just be cautious. If Snoke finds out, he shall be none too happy."
Rey frowned at this. She forgot about Snoke!
Snoke already knew she found Kylo handsome. And earlier, he even mentioned how Kylo thought she looked nice today prior to their battle. He hadn't seemed angry at all about their perceptions of each other. He had seen almost amused by them. Had this been Snoke's intention all along? To pit them together? After all, he had infiltrated her mind and said he was pleased with what he had seen... And if Kylo thought her lovely, why had he pushed her away earlier?
Rey shook her head and pressed her hands to her head again, this time not over the numbing sensation from too much frosty treat. It was all too much to process. He was her Master and she needed to accept that was all she would ever be to him. Though deep down, she knew she wished otherwise.
ooooo
The next morning, Kylo was surprised to feel Rey's presence on the other side of his door. He had expected her to have headed to breakfast solo, considering the events from the following day.
He straightened his jacket and smoothed his hair before activating his door. She stood with her head down, hands clasped in front of her.
"Good morning." She mumbled.
"Good morning." He replied back.
The walk to the elevator was silent and awkward.
"How is your wound?" Rey quietly asked him as they rode in the elevator.
"It itches." He admitted, rubbing at the tape that sealed his wounds. He wondered briefly if she was going to bring up what happened in the medical ward, but she remained silent the rest of the way to the dining hall.
Kylo was given several curious looks as they entered the dining hall. The soldiers and officers whispered amongst themselves about what had happened, no doubt heavily spread around the ship by Hux. And speak of the devil, he filed into line behind Kylo and Rey.
"What a sight for sore eyes." Hux commented to Kylo. "Did you enjoy your little tantrum in the medical ward?"
Rey glanced up at Kylo, his jaw clenched.
"Phasma was none too happy about the incident report this morning." Hux continued as he filled his plate with a variety of fruits. Kylo continued to be silent.
"And I suppose you received my summons for a meeting?" Hux asked.
"Yes." Kylo said through gritted teeth.
"Good. I suppose I will see both of you after breakfast." He said, walking away with a swagger of authority.
"You have a meeting today?" Rey asked Kylo as they sat down at their usual table.
"Yes." Kylo said, stabbing into his breakfast angrily. Rey frowned before digging into her own meal.
They entered the command bridge following breakfast, Hux standing with his hands folded behind his back, overseeing the bustling officers and ComLink operators who were tapping away furiously at their computers.
"Excellent." Hux said as they arrived. He turned and faced a large holo screen displayed with a vast map of planets and stars.
"As you can see, we have pinpointed Skywalker's location to be either here, here, or here." Hux said, pointing to a selection of planets highlighted in orange on the map.
"The coordinates you provided have been difficult to chart. Perhaps if we had the droid -" He said this shooting Rey a look. "- We could have easily deciphered his location. But this is the closest we have been to calculating his whereabouts."
He reached into his pocket and waved a piece of parchment at Kylo. Kylo had delicately drawn out the map on a piece of paper after he had extracted the information from her memories.
"Your map." He said with a flourish. He whipped around and held the paper up to the holo screen.
"As you can see here, the most likely planet-"
"It's backwards." Rey spoke up.
Kylo and Hux snapped their heads at her.
"EXCUSE ME?" Hux asked loudly, clearly offended. The incessant tapping of the ComLink operators ceased at his outburst.
"The map. It's backwards." Rey said. She stepped forward, snatching the paper out of his hands - eliciting a high pitched gasp of insult from Hux.
She flipped the paper around and held it up to the holo screen.
"The planet should be here." She said, pointing out a distant cluster on the opposite side of the map that Hux had previously referred to.
"WELL!" Hux huffed. He glared out at the command bridge officers.
"How DARE you imbeciles neglect to chart this map properly!" He barked at them. "The MAP was BACKWARDS this whole time!"
The ComLink operators hurriedly resumed their tapping at their keyboards, inputting this new information into the computer.
"Pulling up the coordinates now, General." Said one of the head operators.
They all looked on as a planet was pulled up on the screen.
"Ahch-To." Kylo muttered. He lightly shook his head. "I should have known."
"What's Ahch-To?" Rey asked.
"It's said to be the home of the first Jedi temple." Kylo said as he turned around, his cape billowing around him.
"Prepare the transports!" Hux yelled as Kylo stormed from the room, Rey trailing as usual.
"No lessons again today?" She asked him.
"No." He said angrily.
Kylo, Rey, and Hux boarded Kylo's command shuttle posthaste, a series of Stormtroopers accompanying them.
"You better hope the Resistance hasn't gotten to him first." Hux said angrily to Kylo as they buckled themselves in.
Within minutes the shuttle had departed and entered light speed towards the far reaches of the Outer Rim. Rey's body jerked back in her seat as the shuttle slowed, entering the atmosphere of a great blue and a green planet.
The waters went as far as the eye could see and Rey gazed with wonder out the window. She saw Kylo turn his head to look behind him at her as she leaned forward with anticipation. She felt a great pull to this place. A sense of familiarity.
A series of rocky islands appeared on the horizon. They were a wondrous blend of gray and green, rising high above the sea floor.
"There." Kylo said, pointing out the largest of the islands. Hux grinned as they approached.
Kylo had already unbuckled himself before the shuttle had even landed. Rey hurried and undid her safety straps, following him as the shuttle doors opened and a ramp extended for them.
He briefly looked around the island, as if he was searching for something. He then took off, taking long strides up a path of rocky steps.
Rey slowly followed behind, taking in the landscape. She bent down, a hand grazing against the tall green grass that lined the path. She smiled at its organic texture. Soft coos of wildlife echoed across the island. Kylo was gaining distance on her and she lightly jogged up the path to catch up.
Kylo had reached an outcropping that overlooked the vast waters of Ahch-To. He took one of his gloves out and placed a hand on a nearby rock. Rey came up behind him and Kylo turned to look at her.
"He's fled."