Rid Of Him For Good (A Reylo Story)

Chapter Six

CHAPTER 6

For a while, Poe and Ren sat in silence, the only sound the crackling of the fire between them. Ren's gaze was fixed intently on his boots, his expression determined. Poe took the opportunity to study him more closely, without fear of being caught.

He noticed that Ren's physique, though still tall and muscular, seemed less imposing than before. His shoulders, once hunched and bear-like, now sat squared and relaxed. Poe remembered the way Kylo Ren used to stand, like a coiled sand viper on Tatooine, ready to strike at any moment. But now, Ren's hands rested palm-up on his lap, a stark contrast to the clenched fists he once sported.

"You still want me dead," Ren said suddenly, his voice low and even.

It wasn't a question.

Poe was reminded vividly of the conversation he had just had with Leia not four hours ago, and huffed indignantly. It was like being scolded twice.

"You sound like your mother." He snapped back in response.

Ren considered him, and then he chuckled. It was a deep, barking laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. "I'll take that as a compliment." He said.

Poe looked him up and down. "I don't understand you." He said.

Ren raised his eyebrows. "How so?"

"I-'' Poe paused. "I don't understand why you would do what you did." He finally said. "You were the leader of the biggest galactic order to exist since the Empire. You had the entire galaxy at your fingertips, and you just...gave it up? You do know that if you hadn't joined Rey, you could've easily wiped out entire systems with all of those ships he built on Exegol. Why would someone like you...turn that down?"

Ren sat pensively for a long moment, his gaze fixed on some distant point. Poe had begun to think that maybe he had somehow frozen in place when he finally spoke in a slow, careful tone. "Snoke first started contacting me when I was nine years old," he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. "Did Finn tell you that?"

Poe shook his head. "No, Finn hasn't told me much about what he saw in your head." He admitted, his eyes filled with curiosity. "He says that it's not his place to tell me."

"That's kind of him." Said Ren with a glint of thankfulness in his eyes. "Snoke has been an integral part of my existence for as long as I can remember. Since I started my Jedi training." Ren stared determinately at the dying coals in the fire, and Poe got the impression that Ren was avoiding his eye. "I didn't realize just how deep he had gotten into my soul. He was poisoning me for years in ways that I didn't even know possible."

Poe's curiosity got the better of him. "What did he do?" he asked, his voice soft and gentle.

Ren's eyes squeezed shut, his face contorting in anguish. "He took away my sympathy," he whispered.

"He..he took away your sympathy?" Repeated Poe slowly. It didn't make sense to him. "In a metaphorical way? Or-"

"No." Replied Ren before Poe could finish. "It took him years, but around the time I turned nineteen, he had figured out a way to suppress my more..human emotions. Y'know, block out my more logical reasoning, fuel my angry thoughts, heighten my anxiety."

Ren's words trailed off abruptly, and Poe noticed that he was fidgeting with his fingers, a nervous habit that reminded him of Leia's anxious gestures. Poe's eyes narrowed, his mind racing with the implications of Ren's words. He was beginning to understand the extent of Snoke's manipulation, and it chilled him to the bone.

"I just thought...that I was too lost to the dark to even have the ability to feel anymore," Ren said, his voice laced with pain. "But after the battle of Starkiller, after..." His hand moved subconsciously to cover his heart, and Poe knew he must be thinking about his father.