Betrayal: A Reylo FanFic

Jealousy

Rey opened her eyes easily. She felt refreshed and ready to wake. Her head still throbbed a little, but it wasn't nearly as overwhelming as it had been before.

"Are you alone?"

She recognized Ben's voice immediately and carefully raised her head to ascertain the answer. As soon as she did, she found Poe at her side. Even as he smiled and spoke to her, Rey put her hand to her mouth, hopefully signaling Ben that she was not alone and could not talk to him without raising suspicion.

"Awake at last!" Poe said happily but softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better," she acknowledged, her eyes sweeping the room until she found Ben at the foot of her bed. "How long have I been out?"

Poe turned to check the chronometer. "Nearly three hours."

Rey's eyes widened and she looked at Ben.

"Have you been here that whole time?"

Both Poe and Ben answered in the affirmative, but it was Ben's answer that interested her. That was far longer than their connection had ever lasted before, and surely that indicated it wouldn't last much longer.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" she muttered, still speaking to both of them though now their answers differed.

"I didn't mind."

"You asked me to stay."

Rey lowered her eyes and that beeping that alerted the med droid to her increased heart rate piped up as her face reddened. Alarmed that the two men who observed her might both attribute the cause for her rapid pulse to be himself, she slipped off the table quickly, cutting off the monitor's access to her physiology and therefore shutting it off entirely. She cleared her throat and focused on adjusting her clothing, unable to look at either of them — one because she knew he wasn't the cause of her fluttering heart, and the other because she knew he was. But that didn't stop either of them from swiftly advancing on her, both ready to catch her should her female delicacy require their manly intervention. She grit her teeth together in annoyance at the thought.

"I'm fine," she insisted in response to both men's unspoken anxieties. "I've taken up enough of everyone's time. Am I good to go?" she demanded of the med droid that had been activated by her heart rate alarm.

She stood still, allowing the droid to test and observe her physical soundness so it could give her leave to depart.

"Have you any pain?" its mechanical voice inquired.

Her eyes darted swiftly between Ben and Poe. "A little."

"Identify these shapes."

She focused on the images the droid projected onto the nearest flat surface — right through Ben, interestingly enough — and passed the test of her visual acuity quickly and easily.

"What is the sum of four and eight?"

"Twelve."

"You have passed all necessary physical and mental assessments within the required time. Have a good day."

Rey took one last quick look around and spotted her staff perched in a corner. Retrieving it quickly, she called to Poe over her shoulder.

"Thanks for your help!"

"Rey, wait! Maybe you shouldn't be alone."

She sighed, glancing briefly at Ben, who continued to watch her intently. If only Poe knew the truth, that she definitely wasn't alone...

"It's Poe Dameron, isn't it?"

Rey clenched her teeth, her breath stumbling in her throat as she noted the hostility behind Ben's question.

"I'm fine, really," she insisted to Poe. "You heard the droid..."

"If he touches you again, I will eviscerate him."

She gasped at Ben's viciousness, and quickly turned it into a cough, unfortunately fueling Poe's reservations about her running off from the med bay so quickly.

"Those things aren't infallible, you know," Poe countered.

"Tell him," Ben taunted her, his voice suddenly very near her left ear. "Tell him you're mine."

Her stomach flipped and her heart thudded in her chest, satisfaction, fear, and rage suddenly boiling within her in equal measure.

"I'm not!" she shouted in annoyance and frustration, flinging her left elbow back to shove Ben away from her as she focused on salvaging what she could of this broken and jilted conversation with Poe. "I'm not staying here a moment longer. I'm fine and I've lost so much time today already. I'll see you later."

And with that, she spun and left him standing there in the med bay with only his confused expression and the med droid. Ben, unfortunately, was not nearly so cooperative. She walked as swiftly as she was able without breaking into an outright run, and she kept her face angled low, hoping to avoid anyone who might be inclined to engage her in a little chat. She was so tired of the dual existence this damnable Force bond thrust upon her, the effort of keeping track of who sees or hears what, of who she's responding to and how when she speaks. Her sole focus now was to reach the Falcon, where she could give Ben Solo the piece of her mind that he deserved. Either that, or just to to reach the end of this marathon connection they had going on. In the meantime, though, she was forced to endure his near constant bombardment without comment.

"You don't presume to deny it, do you?" he'd begun as soon as she'd turned away from Poe. "I've been thinking about this a lot, and I think Snoke lied when he said he created this connection between us. He had nothing to do with it, otherwise why would it still be here after he's dead? It was always you and me, nothing else. We are meant for each other, and I know you know that. Your response to me confirms it. You may hate me, you may think I'm a monster, but you also can't stand to be without me. Go on, Rey! Deny it!"

Having reached her limit, Rey turned and screamed wordlessly in Ben's face, willing him to witness the extent of her fury. She glared at him, her angry breaths heaving through her chest, but, after a brief moment in which he recovered from the surprise of her wordless assault, he met her gaze defiantly. Then, recognizing her inability to form coherent words, he kissed her. For a moment, she lost herself in the contact, her world spinning out of control as Ben became the sole focus of her entire being. With a grunt of rage, she regained her senses, shoved him back, and struck him hard across his jaw. Then she turned and ran, fleeing in terror from what she'd just felt, stopping only to gasp for air when at last she felt their Force connection close.