It had only been days when she last told Han Solo that she best be getting back home. When she had first uttered it, the idea of 'home' did not conjure up the image of being in the Rebel base with the other Resistance fighters. It was ironic then that Rey would find herself back in Jakku with Han Solo's son now.

Kylo Ren had not come to yet. Rey had flown the both of them on his TIE silencer, unsure of where to head to until they had been struck by massive debris just when she saw a nearby planet. The fall was a long one and the landing was brutal. Perhaps even fatal had it not been sand which they landed on.

The ship suffered massive damages that rendered it no longer functional. With the light going out, Rey was forced to make a campsite at the ruins of his ship for the night. She had set up a small fire, telling herself that he was going to gain back his consciousness anytime already. When that did not happen, she crouched over where she had laid him to check for any blood pulse. It felt odd to take the glove off the very hand that he had held out to her. The curiosity to feel his palm played over her head but Rey shook it off before she could entertain it.

She held his wrist in silence, waiting for a pulse. When she felt it, another hand grabbed her wrist. Rey's eyes shot up to meet his and her survival instincts kicked instantly. "Let go of me."

To her surprise, he did. He sat up, his wary eyes not leaving hers until he deemed it safe to look around at their surroundings.

"Where are we?"

"You're in Jakku."

"How did this happen?"

Rey hesitated. But it did not take long for him to search through the most recent parts of her memory for an explanation. She was quick to block him out just as he had entered.

"Don't do that again."

"You saved me," he uttered. "Why?"

Shaking her head, Rey answered, "I couldn't leave you there to die."

" - That wasn't going to happen," he stubbornly corrected.

"The entire right wing of the ship had been cut off."

"All the same," he said, unimpressed. Having decided to forego the details of her intentions, Kylo watched her intently, eager to ask her a more pressing question. He struggles to stand up while a crouched Rey observes him warily.

When she realises that he was headed to check on the ship to salvage what he could, she cuts in, "I've checked it all already - there's nothing we can do about it. It's wreckage."

Had it been an officer of the First Order who had reported this, a force choke might have come in the way. Kylo Ren was not pleased to hear this. But having established the importance that Rey embodied, there was nothing he could do. With a resolved sigh, he looks over at her, her face immediately reminding him of the grandiose offer he had made, only to be met with an attempt to take the lightsaber from him instead. If he had not felt rejection as profoundly since the night that Luke Skywalker betrayed him, he felt it very much when Rey's first instinct was to arm herself against him.

He didn't have to check to know that his lightsaber was not with him. Not looking in her way, he mutters, "Give me my lightsaber back." He would not utter a plea to her from them on out.

He missed the hesitation that appeared in her eyes. Rey eventually stood up and drew out his weapon from her back as she walked over to him. They were alone and stranded in the middle of nowhere, and if he was going to kill her, he would have to think twice about it. But the light in her convinced her that she could trust him - that she should trust him.

There were a lot of unsaid things that demanded attention, but it was not the right time. "I'm putting a lot of faith in you with this, Ben."

That name, again. A snarl itched on his face as he brought himself to look at her. "You already know why I wouldn't finish you here and now," he reminded. He took the lightsaber forcefully from her and tucked it in his belt.

You're nothing. Nothing … But not to me.

Something about what Kylo Ren said made her heart sink while making her alarms go off. It took an enormous amount of humility from someone of his rank to ask or even beg her. The temptation and desire to be wanted and to feel like she belonged was overwhelming. But images of her friends back with the Resistance conjured up before her eyes and suddenly she saw the other side of this loaded plea once more.

"That vision you saw. I know what I saw too," she said. "I'm sorry, but I won't let myself be the one to turn."

Kylo looks at her, anger and frustration raging in his eyes. "And what makes you think I will?"

"Because you killed Snoke. You saved my life. There's no one restraining you anymore. Who will you answer to now?"

"Myself, of course." It felt like he was spitting out poison. Saying so was liberating in many aspects for Kylo Ren. For a long time, he was finally indefinitely in control now. At least once he gets off this desert and back to the fleet.

He was quick to catch the hint of fear that flashed across Rey's eyes. Deciding to take advantage of this, he takes a step forward towards her, keeping his eyes locked on hers as he scrutinised her. He didn't need to know that she had fearfully blocked her side of the force bond in case he attempts to scavenge her mind again. "You knew it, didn't you?"

"Knew what?"

"Is that why your first instinct was to kill me? Do you really think you can wipe clean the First Order if Snoke was no longer around and I no longer available to assume power?" He was angry now. If she hadn't known any better, there was a hurt from betrayal in his voice.

"No!" She protested. Rey was just realising how her actions have been wrongly interpreted. Despite so, she could not justify herself to him. It was her scavenger and survival instincts that propelled her to arm herself first.

"Enough of the saintly act, you're no Jedi - you're just as flawed and vulnerable as your master."

"I had no intentions of killing you!" She pressed. "You know very well that I believe as strongly as you do in my version of the vision so as to not kill you."

"There's no need for pretension here, scavenger."

"Was I to assume that you would have settled for a simple yes or no answer?"

He had not thought about it, but had she said no to him instead of reaching out for the lightsaber, would he have just let her walk away? Waving it off, Kylo Ren turned his back on her. "It doesn't matter now. You couldn't have made your answer any clearer."