Captive: A Mini Reylo Fic

Here Comes Finn to Save the Day

Ben stood as she entered, and he knew just from the slope of her shoulders and the bent of her head that this was it, even before he saw what she carried in her hand. She lifted her eyes to his, and they were so red and raw with the evidence of her misery that he felt his heart cleave in two. He wanted to reach for her, to comfort her, but there was no comfort. They had already made their farewells, and it was best to leave it at that. With a slight nod and downcast eyes, she made it clear she accepted his logic, even though he hadn't said a word.

Following her gaze to the hardware in her hands, Ben felt his stomach plunge. He'd hoped, though without much actual hope, that he truly would simply be executed once he was back within First Order territory. But, if that were the case, then the bindings that had clearly been supplied by the enemy would have been sufficient. The collar, however... While its Force nullifying effect was marginally more effective than the bindings, its primary effect was of humiliation, subjugation, degradation. It meant he was indeed to be made to suffer before dying, and most publicly too.

Briefly, he considered forbidding Rey from watching any First Order holos in the future, but he reconsidered. Not only would he have no way to bind her to such a vow, but to bring it up now would only upset her. She looked at both the items in her hands with equal foreboding, which indicated to him that she didn't understand the subtle message conveyed by the collar. To warn her against the future would only alert her to the horrid reality of his fate. She would find out soon enough, and he could only pray she would choose not to know what happened to him.

She lingered in silence before him, her fingers gripping the hardware in her hands so tight that her knuckles whitened. And, though he attempted to pitch it low and soothing, her body nevertheless jerked at the jarring sound of his voice.

"You don't have to be here, Rey."

She met his gaze then, a single tear escaping the rigid control she attempted to exert over them.

"Yes, I do," she insisted, her voice raw. "I'm not letting anyone else put these on you."

He nodded, understanding she meant someone else might be more ruthless with him, whereas she would be gentle. He accepted she felt she needed this, but, secretly, he wished she was far from here. He didn't want her remembering him shackled and collared like a beast. But he knew it was beyond his say now.

With a solitary intent, as though she could only handle focusing on one task at a time, she turned aside and carefully, deliberately set the bindings down on an adjacent table. Then, with a deep breath, she stepped hesitantly toward him. Wordless, he reached up to sweep the length of his hair aside as she fit the collar around his neck. He repressed a shudder through his body as he felt the latch connect and seal, the sickening feeling of the nullifying field encasing him and causing him to tremble uncontrollably for a moment. By the time he'd adapted, he found Rey pressed against him, holding him tight in her arms, her cheek pressed against the collar and sharing the effects of its field with him. He slid his hands around her back and held her close, closing his eyes against the pain of no longer being able to feel her presence through the Force. In the past hours, it had become a constant source of comfort in the near constant turmoil of his mind, and he silently, privately mourned its loss. Closing his eyes and bending his head forward as much as the collar would allow, he pressed his face against her hair and inhaled her scent, treasuring this last opportunity.

Ben noticed as she backed away from him with obvious reluctance that she did not meet his gaze. They had agreed at their last parting that it was to be their farewell, attendant with all the tears and misery they cared to express. This, however, was to be staid, stoic. She had already violated that vow in embracing him, but any more, he knew, would simply be too much to bear, for either of them. So he didn't attempt to catch her eye as she retrieved the binders and stepped behind him. His wrists meeting at his back, he felt her cold, slender fingers trembling against his skin as she affixed the bindings, and Ben was suddenly assailed by a memory.