albinomilksnake | STAR WARS: possible spoiler warning

[He knows she's not so weak as to fall victim to any fleeting signs of weakness as Han Solo had, but his expression remains a constant, some low, distant part of him stirred by the idea that she would be so willing to attempt to bolster his defenses as Luke did, once.

As his own mother did, without ever once admitting it.]

Come here.

[It's not a needling demand, nor is it spoken with the expectation that she will: his voice stays quiet, compliant, fingers flexing only briefly as he works to ease where the cuffs bite into his wrists. Adds, only a beat later:] Please.

[She could just as easily move. Some part of Rey feels compelled to do it, but that part doesn't always win out. Years on Jakku have shown that she has remarkable resolve when it comes to keeping her feel firmly glued to the ground.

They remain that way for now, her eyes moving over his face, uncertain about what he wants.

She won't pry to find out, either.]

Why?

[Because he needs to answer for himself. Even with the please, she knows (has heard) him be nice before, and ask for forgiveness, all to do something that he thinks needs doing.

Rey can't forget that moment so easily.]

[He exhales once, sharply. Pained, even. Lifts his hands to bare the shackles as an example of what she already knows, leaning in by the barest inch to set his stare closer to her level, as if it's a sign of sincerity.] I can't hurt you like this.

You already know I can't.

[Again, he pauses. Licks the edge of his lip before marking it with his teeth.] Please.

[Rey thinks of the time that she managed to push back, to pry into his mind and learn of his fear that he would never be as strong as Vader. The difference is that he's already been in her mind, and though she knows the layout of the base, the Resistance is well prepared for any chance that bringing Ren here could mean that they'd have to move.

They already removed the tracker from his belt, after all. That made them aware that there might be something else to look for.

She rises up just the same, because while he could hurt her, the walls in her mind are well-fortified compared to what they had been on that day they first met. She's more prepared for this.

As she draws closer, her eyes move over the scar on his face, and she knows that she did that to him. The fight had been different from all the altercations she had on Jakku. It had been desperate and filled with rage. It's not that Rey hasn't been frustrated or irritated when she's fought before, but on Jakku, there was a system in place. If she fought, it had a purpose, and often, on both sides, it wasn't personal. That fight was, because he might have destroyed Finn's life when he cut him down, and she might have lose her only friend.

Her brows knit together as she stills and meets his eyes expectantly. Her mouth remains closed, as it's time for him to speak and to give her answers.]

[He sees the shift in her attention; he doesn't need to dig his fingertips into her thoughts to understand the reasoning behind it as she traces out the gruesome line of his scar.

But no, bound as he is, he cannot reach for her in any amount. The one single truth of their conversation that's transparent as glass as his eyes shift upwards to fall on her own, punctuated by the soft sound of his own breath and little else in that too-small space.]

You are powerless. [His tongue curls around the sudden vitriol in his voice, features turning sharp in the span of those few, hateful seconds - quick as the moment he turned his blade towards Han Solo's still-beating heart.

She knows nothing of the power the dark side holds. Snoke will crush her resolve once he finds her, tear from her the strength to endure as he'd once fallen, so long ago.] And when I find freedom I will finish ending the lives of the liars, traitors and thieves you love so dearly.

[He will break her weakness to make her whole again, as he was meant to.]

[Rey's expression sours immediately. Her lips twist downward, and she steps away from him. The movement isn't jerky, but purposeful: she doesn't want to step away and make him think that he has power at the same time. But she's not surprised. She's not surprised in the least.]

Do you think it'll make you feel powerful? [she asks.] Because you don't look anymore powerful from where I'm standing. Not after killing your father.

[Compared to her, he's in binds.

Strength isn't necessarily something that she feels she needs to weigh against other people. In that, her anger doesn't fuel her. It doesn't offer her a stronger connection to the Force. Instead, it blinds her, and she's not used to handling it (or not handling it, as the case may be with Kylo Ren). "Anger" isn't a natural state for her, nor will it ever be.

That certainty is where her strength lies. Rey has lived on hope her entire life. She has lived believing that the course of events in her life were all mistakes, and that one day, they would be set right. Where she could be bitter, she isn't.

So, she doesn't rise to his challenge—not to the degree that she could. "Powerless." When she looks at his face, she doesn't see someone who's powerless. She knows that her ability to offer him help makes her stronger in many ways, because even with him, she can believe in hope, though she doesn't know if he's really worth having that weigh upon him.]

STAR WARS: possible spoiler warning

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject