A/N: Happy New Year! Hope you guys are having a wonderful day and I hope that this year brings you much happiness!
Rey
"I thought I'd find answers here. I was wrong." Rey said to herself, a lace of anger entwined within her words. "I've never felt so alone."
"You're not alone," a gentle voice reassured her.
Rey inhaled sharply as the storm roared into the night, ushering in a familiar aura into the hut. She knew who it belonged to yet she found herself comforted by its presence. It was Kylo Ren. Her eyes cautiously met his mellow gaze, wary that even the smallest glance would give rise to the yearning desire she kept chained to her heart. But how can you enslave something that's already been set free?
She watched curiously as he approached her, his eyes never leaving her gaze as he took off his robe and covered her with it. Despite its rigid material, Rey felt as if she'd melt under its embrace, the warmth it brought her reminded her of home. Though his chivalrous behaviour took her off-guard, which did little to retract her abiding feelings towards him.
Kylo
As Kylo sat next to her, he could see the pain lingering in her eyes, her tears running down her cheeks like a sorrowful river. He hated seeing her like this. The urge to wipe away her tears burned inside him but he refrained from doing so, convincing himself that his touch would only make things worse.
"Neither are you," Rey consoled.
Kylo shook his head. "It's too late for me."
"It's never too late," Rey said softly, her voice sending a chill of warmth down his spine.
The tranquil sound of the fire cackling resonated through the hut, its serene tune awakening memories of a happier time. Kylo smiled as he remembered them.
"Every year, when I was younger, me and my parents used to go camping. It was my escape from the hardships of the extensive training Luke gave us," Kylo recalled as Rey rested her head on his shoulder. Her act of solace surprised him, giving him the extra confidence he needed to tell this desolate story. "I would wait at the entrance for their ship to arrive and wouldn't hesitate to board it when they landed. We would travel the galaxy looking for new planets to explore, new adventures to experience." The smile on Kylo's lips faded as he came towards the end of the tale. "But eventually, we'd have to come back. In a world of chaos and destruction, something so meaningful as family had no place in it, anyone who was fit was in needed in the fight against the darkness, especially my parents. So soon, they just stopped coming and I - I just stopped waiting." He turned to look at Rey, her eyes full of empathy. "I'm tired of hoping, Rey," her name uttered from his mouth with such ease it surprised both of them.
Rey
If anyone could understand how he felt - it was her. Ever since her parents abandoned her, she had hoped that they'd return, that them leaving was just a misunderstanding. But hope is a cruel weapon, it strikes hard and leaves you to bleed out in a desert of optimistic dreams.
"I felt like that once," Rey confessed. "I was ready to give up. But then I met people like Finn, Han Solo and General Leia. They showed me that there was more to life than waiting endlessly for something to happen. They reminded more that was so much more out there, so many opportunities waiting to be discovered." Slowly, she reached her hand towards his and peeled off the glove that masked the man behind the beast. He shied away, afraid to see her displeasure but instead she clasped her hand tightly around his, as if to reassure him that she was here, she was real and no matter what, she'll never stop trying to save him. "I can help you."
Kylo
Her selfless words struck a chord. He'd never met someone that he'd resonated with on a personal level, let alone inflict such pain and torment onto him that not even Snoke's training could emulate it. Who was this woman?
"Rey I-" Kylo whispered but Rey silenced him, pressing her finger to his lips.
"I know."
Without warning, she leaned in and planted a soft kiss onto his lips, the intimate contact sent a rush of euphoric bliss through his body. She drew back and study his face, a loving smile curled onto her lips as she watched his cheek blush under her scrutiny. He cupped her face and pulled her back towards him, the absence of her lips driving him crazy. Rey ran her hands through his lush black hair as their lips entwined again, the kiss deeper, more passionate. He had only experienced this in dreams but in reality this was better than anything he could have imagined. He never wanted to let go, in this moment he was hers and she was his, nothing could ever tear them apart.
Or so he thought.