Author's Note: Shit's about to go down, folks! Please let me know what you think!

Chapter Twenty-Three

Panic was rising within Kylo Ren. There was no mistaking what he'd seen, felt, heard… and they were all in danger.

He couldn't have resisted Rey if he'd tried. Lust and desire had taken rein of him and for the first time in his life, he truly let himself feel it. His want for Rey had been undeniable since the moment they'd met – even when he didn't understand fully what that want entailed. The rush in his veins at her strength and vitality. The ache in his chest at her tears. The coiling heat in his stomach when she spoke with those lips or touched him with those hands. How adamantly he had tried to suffocate his own senses, over and over, to deny that which made him carnally a man. He never could have guessed that he'd have her. All of her. Made her his. She so willingly gave of herself and Kylo gladly took it all. The taste of her on his tongue and the feel of her surrounding him were branded upon him now, and if he were killed the next day, he would die a happy man. As happy as he'd ever been, at least.

From what he saw, he may very well be killed in a day's time…

Rey was tired. Spent. But she would not willingly succumb to sleep. In the wake of their climax, she'd clung to his waist, digging her nails into his flesh if he so much as moved. His weight upon her was a safeguard; one that anchored her to the warm Ahch-To ground. Being connected, flesh to flesh and buried deep, was like a charged conduit that ignited their bond even more valiantly than Kylo thought possible. Each blink of his heavy eyelids brought fleeting images, and he saw flashes of himself over the days from her eyes: his surprisingly handsome, unmarred face revealed from behind a sinister mask; his dark hair dotted with feathery snow; his body wet and glistening from the rain; his bare skin wrapped with gauze; his mouth canting over hers; all of him, hovering above her and kissing her flesh. She saw him as he was, and she fought against sleep to continue seeing. Kylo idly wondered as Rey's eyelashes fluttered open and closed if she saw through his eyes. If she saw how glorious she was and the untamed passion that he felt. What he couldn't yet put into words...

Rey's eyes wide and questioning, Kylo could hear the rambling in her thoughts. What they'd done bewildered and excited her, but also guilted her. Kylo clearly saw the guilt in her eyes for wanting something she shouldn't so badly. Right alongside that guilt, though, was the resolution that she did, in fact, want it. Want him. And in the flush of her cheeks, the swell of her lips, and the unrelenting grip of her thighs around his, Rey betrayed no doubt that she intended to keep what she wanted.

That is exactly why, for all of her planning and her shifting faith, Rey didn't know what would come next. She didn't know how to move forward and what it would mean. What she did seem to know, however, was that the world would start moving again as soon as they parted, and she wasn't ready for it. And so, Kylo kissed her eyelids closed and kneaded his stroking fingers into her flesh, lulling her to a calm. Only when her limbs ceased their quivering did he finally, regrettably, remove himself.

Nonetheless, Rey was a divine sight with her naked body against his and surrounded by the beauty of nature. Long, auburn strands of her hair draped along her shoulder, tickling his arm that cradled her. She'd taken to wearing her hair down ever since he'd pulled it from their loops, wet from the rain. His chest ached at the thought that she would change for him. The woman could cry like a Wookiee for all he cared; Kylo would still desperately lose himself in her.

Alas. The world had to start moving, and so did Kylo.

To his dismay, Rey responded to the loss of his heat and his weight. She whined and squinted warily – disapprovingly – through her eyelashes. He could see how tired she was, and she needed the rest. The day weighed so heavily on them all. Kylo wasn't ready to make everything more difficult; not just yet.

Dressing as quickly and quietly as he could, Kylo gathered Rey's clothes and thought twice before jostling her about. Instead opting for his cloak, he draped it along her naked body, immediately mourning the sight of her perfection. It was still a marvel to him that he had been her obvious first – there was no denying the sensation or the pain. Selfishly, he was grateful for it but also relieved… relieved that she had not been defiled by anything on Jakku or anywhere else. He wouldn't have been able to live with it if she had. He'd have torn apart the galaxy in search of the heathen and he would not have stopped the darkness, then.

Sliding an arm beneath her shoulders and her legs respectively, Kylo lifted her into his arms and began the trek away from the temple. She didn't protest. Kylo imagined that any day before then, she would have – demanding in her brazen, obstinate that her legs worked as fine as his. There was no more flinching away; no more indecision about his presence and his touch. Now, there was only what bound them. The thought of returning to the time before – when they were nothing more than adversaries and something as simple as sleep was to be evaded at all costs – seemed so far away.

Kylo hadn't expected to feel such vulnerability again…

"Where are we going," Rey muttered, barely winning against the veil of sleep. She burrowed into him, smiling with the sway of his gait.

Infatuated, Kylo pressed a kiss to her forehead. He didn't want to answer her, but knew better than to lie. "I am taking you to the Millennium Falcon. We can sleep there tonight."

To Kylo's relief, and most likely indebted to her near-unconsciousness, Rey seemed to accept his answer. And though he'd rather not have, he reached out to Skywalker, instructing him to meet them there. Thankfully, Kylo arrived first and tucked Rey away in the crew quarter's bunks. The Jedi and the Wookiee met him outside.

There was no time for niceties, not that Kylo would have made the time, anyway. "You will board this ship and you will take it to your Resistance," he commanded. "Today."

Luke raised an arm to calm Chewbacca as he uttered a string of expletive-laden retorts. "Tell me what the hurry is, and I might do as you ask."

Despite his uncle's reasonable reply, Kylo sneered in frustration. "There is no time for long-winded explanations. We've had enough of those. Just do as I ask for Rey's sake."

"What is for my sake?"

Kylo's eyes fell shut in exasperation. Of course, Rey couldn't simply stay asleep. How much easier it would have been to simply force her to sleep, but then, those times were better left in the past. The world kept moving, after all, and Rey would not be one to miss it after having already missed so much for so long.

Kylo had hoped to bypass this entire unnecessary confrontation that was now inevitable. It was clear to him how it would go, but there was no sense in lying. Not when Rey could easily find the truth.

She was a vision descending the ramp, hastily dressed, new saber strapped to her shoulder, and hair all in disarray. "Is… is this about what happened? What I did?"

It pained him to tell her yes and to see the guilt wash over her, her loveliness clouded by self-deprecation. She didn't even know what danger imposed and she was already blaming herself. "When I was… incapacitated. I was unable to resist." he searched for the words, beseeching her forgiveness with his eyes. He felt her in his thoughts, tugging along the tie that bound them in search of the answers. She found them: how he was vulnerable and powerless; how they found him, unhindered; how close they already were.

"What could you not resist?" Luke demanded impatiently, though he surely knew the answer already.

"They've found us," murmured Rey, her eyes wide and unmoving. She could not look away. "The Knights of Ren."

It was obvious to them all: when Snoke had failed in seeking them out, he'd enlisted Kylo's own apprentices to find their master. Breaking away from Rey's torturous stare, Kylo faced Luke. "It is time for you to leave."

"Us," Rey interjected, clambering the rest of the way down the ramp and inserting herself between the men. Fisting her hand in the front of Kylo's jacket, she tugged as if to shake sense into him. "It is time for us to leave."

"How much time do we have?" Luke ignored Rey's interruption.

Kylo looked pensive as he gauged it. "They had a few minutes to scour my mind… so I'd say little to none."

"And I cannot convince you to join us? They couldn't possibly follow."

"If I am with you, then they will. I am sure of it."

With all of her might, Rey shoved Kylo in the chest, forcing him to stumble back and away. Her expression contorted into a mixture of fear, frustration, and anger. She no longer seemed to care for the logistics of it all, let alone being left out of the planning. Instead, she fixated on him, throwing a quick "try me" glance in Luke's direction.

"You will not take from me what you have taken, then send me on my way," she spat, nose-to-nose with him. Attempting to grip her shoulders, to calm her, was to no avail. She merely shook off his touch. "I know what I said about the Resistance. I know… But we can go anywhere."

Kylo shook his head, beating back the agony in his gut. "There's nowhere else to go, Rey."

Rey smacked the heel of her fist against his chest in an attempt to counter the angry tears stinging her eyes. "I thought we'd figured this out? I thought you agreed that we are stronger together?"

Catching her third or fourth punch mid-swing, Kylo pulled her gruffly to his chest, holding her there as she resisted. Threading his fingers into her hair, he ducked his head so that his lips met her ear and whispered so only she could hear. "You are strong, Rey. You don't need me for that."

"I do need you. I'll stay and fight with you." As if to punctuate her point, Rey gripped her saber still slung over her shoulder, white-knuckled. "You said I would need this when it was my time to fight. That time has come."

"Don't let your fear and your anger in this moment cloud your judgment," he murmured, shushing her. "Don't let it change you. They need you, Rey. Everyone who loves you, needs you…" Clenching his eyes shut, he bit back the emotion. Searched for the calm resolve to make an impossible demand. How do you tell someone who has fought her entire life to stop fighting? "I need you to do this for me. I need you to go."

He felt her break in his arms, the tension in her body falling away. The others – the only family she'd ever truly known – were her weakness. Even without them, Rey knew Kylo would not allow for her to stay, even if that meant physically strapping her into the pilot's seat and setting it on autopilot. "I don't think I can do this."

Behind them, Luke approached, his expression crestfallen but confident. "You're the only one who can do this, Rey. The prophecy is true. This is your purpose."

His eyes fixed on his nephew, Luke reached to his belt and unclipped his lightsaber. He held its hilt aloft, disengaged, and pressed it firmly into Kylo's free hand. "Can you do this?"

The worry was evident in Luke's voice, and it bolstered Kylo's determination. Once upon a time, a very long time ago, he had wanted to make his uncle proud. It seemed that now, there was a chance to do just that. The weight of his grandfather's saber in his hand, Kylo felt empowered. "I am their master. I trained them, and I can defeat them."

There was nothing left to discuss. Chewbacca and the droids readied the ship in expert quickness: it was obviously something Chewie had grown used to doing. Assuring Rey that they mustn't wait, Luke gave Kylo a single, thankful nod before boarding the ship for himself.

Rey stared at the water's edge, fixated on the glow of the largest, sun-like star as it descended toward the horizon. She took Kylo's breath away, bathed in the light. It was then, in that quiet moment where their mutual brokenness was held together by their string alone, that Kylo could finally put words to the indescribable. Yes, he admired her strength as she bested him in battle, took pride in her abilities, and burned hotly for her in the wickedest of ways. But it was more than that that heated the blood in his veins. It was everything. She was everything. Her mere existence in the galaxy baffled him: the missing piece that she was. The light to his dark. But she could be nothing – and ostensibly was – and she'd still be more than Kylo ever deserved. He wanted to tell her how grateful he was to her… how indebted he felt. That she was what fit when nothing else did in the no longer perpetually empty space. That she made him feel something he'd never felt before, yet could somehow recognize – because he'd wanted and waited for it, so ardently, his entire life.

"I love you, Rey."

Like he'd said, everyone who loves her, needed her. Even Kylo Ren. Whether he'd live to see the sun rise, and whether she realized it or not, Rey had saved him.

Her lips were on his so suddenly, her tongue beseeching and her heart hammering through her skin. Kylo graciously drank in the way her breath hitched and her mouth moved. He savored the press of her against him, the pulsepoint of her neck beneath his fingers and the tickle of her hair against his cheek. Her thoughts flowed freely along the thin red string… I won't say it back. I won't say goodbye. This won't be the last time. It won't.

Parting for air, she pressed her forehead against his but couldn't meet his eyes. Just as quickly as she'd claimed him, he was released, and she was heading to the Falcon. Leaving him. Returning to the Resistance. It was where she belonged, among heroes and friends.

"Rey," he croaked out just as she boarded the ramp. She swiped at her cheeks out of view before turning to look, demanding herself be strong. For her, for him, for them both. She was an effigy of strength and beauty, waiting with a futile hope for him to tell her to stay. But the words of his mother rang in his ears, about sacrificing for the ones you love. Kylo cleared his throat. "When you find my mother… Tell her that I am sorry."

Despite her resilience, a single tear managed its way down Rey's cheek. She nodded and disappeared inside, the hatch closing with a deep hiss behind her.

They were gone in an instant, piercing the atmosphere and undoubtedly jumping to hyper drive as soon as they were clear. There on the beach with the last rays of sunlight clinging to life above the horizon, Kylo opened his mind to the Knights, beckoning them there. It would only be a matter of time.

Author's Note: Nobody puts Baby in a corner! Also, I've been waiting this whole story to use the essential "I brought them into this world, I can take them out of it!" line! :D

Special thanks to soupyup, CMA, Jena, ReadAllTheFeels, sylverkeller, ashmandalc, YaminoTenshi202, KylosLady, and niteowl29 on AO3 and the following from FFdotnet:

Sara Alvarado Porter – you have to let me know what you thought of TLJ! Thank you for your kind comments – I'm always incredibly relieved and excited to hear readers think that the characterization is done well. It's what I strive for!

shiitakehero – thank you!

midnight shadow of darkness – thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed the scene with Luke and Kylo! I wanted there to be a meaningful moment between them, even if it isn't a full resolution. Because like you said (and you're so right), I don't think it can be neatly wrapped up in a bow. Something tells me that nothing in Kylo's life can be like that (and maybe not in Luke's, either, if we're being honest. I mean… can anyone's in the SW universe? LOL!). I'm personally hoping that Force Ghost Luke haunts the shit out of Kylo next movie. :D

acetwolf94 – thank you! Can do! :)

greekmomma25 – Ask and you shall receive! :D Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

Rita593 – I certainly applaud you for reading in one sitting (and am incredibly humbled that you did)! Thank you SO much for your comments about the characterization. Getting it right was beyond important to me. It definitely did take a lot of careful planning to make this story work/flow, so I sincerely appreciate your comments! Thank you for reading and I hope to hear more of what you think about the forthcoming chapters!