Star Wars: Episode IX - The New Order

A Gift

Kylo's P.O.V.

I lay on my bed as I stare at the ceiling above me. And next to me is the woman I should hate the most. She gave me the diamond herself. I didn't force her.

I can't fall asleep. I can't stop thinking about that diamond and what she said. I get up from my bed carefully, trying not to wake her up. I go over to the table and pick up the diamond. I look at the diamond and then at her. She looks so calm and peaceful. I wish I could be that peaceful. I look back at the diamond. She gave me this as a gift. I know I'm supposed to be nice to her and maybe it's best if she thinks that I am. Since she gave me this diamond I must repay her. I walk out the door. I need to make her something special.

I go to an old room on the ship where it is now mostly used for storage. I go to the back of the room, behind all the equipment for machines and other things. There's a box with a blue crystal that I'm surprised I haven't gotten rid of yet. I open the box and grab the crystal. I hold it in my hands. I close my eyes and focus. The crystal breaks into many pieces. I choose the biggest one and attach it to a small medal chain I found in the storage room. I forgot one little thing. I add it to the crystal and I'm done. This should be able to make her believe that I'm on her side. But what she doesn't know won't hurt her.

A couple of hours later I'm outside my room. I open the door and see Rey almost taking a towel around her body off. She looks at me shocked. "Oh!" She immediately wraps the towel around her tighter. I look away awkwardly. She walks back into the bathroom, leaving me alone in awkward silence. Did I really just see her like that? She comes out a minute later with her clothes on. Her cheeks are red with embarrassment. "Sorry." I say quietly looking down at the ground.

"No, I'm sorry. This is your room. You shouldn't have to walk in on me getting dressed."

"It's okay. You're still way better than other things I've seen."

She looks down at the ground and slightly smiles. "Uh, thanks. Anyways, I saw that the diamond is gone. You took it after all. I'm glad you did."

She looks back at me and we lock eyes. I get this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. I break the silence. "You gave me a diamond, I wanted to give you something back." I pull out the gift that I made for her. Not anything big but meaningful.

"A necklace?" She asks as she walks over to get a closer look at it.

"Yes."

"What's this?" She asks as she points to the center piece of the necklace. "It's a blue crystal or part of one. It was my old kyber crystal. Not my red one but the one before I turned. The one I had when I was Ben."

She looks away from the necklace and stares into my eyes. "There is no was. You still are, Ben."

I stay quiet not knowing how to answer.

"Put it on me?" She asks.

I nod and she turns around. I lift my arms above her and put the necklace around her neck. She moves her hair out of the way since it's all down. I connect the two ends and she lets her hair down. She turns back towards me. "Thank you." I smile slightly. I try to resist the temptation of liking her but it's hard when she's like this. I'm trying not to feel. It's not working. But I know this is all an act. She just wants me to turn back so she could get the credit.

"Your mom gave up on you."

She gets my attention immediately. "What?"

"She gave up on you because of what happened with Luke. I know you don't hate your mom. She was the only person who cared for you."

"And how do you know that?"

She takes a step closer. "I can feel it."

I take a step closer. "She wasn't the only person who cared." She smiles slightly but doesn't say anything. Then somebody knocks on the door. "Come in." I say as I still stare at her. A droid comes in with food. "Oh thank goodness, I'm starving." She says as she walks to the table. She sits down and starts eating. No matter what I do, I can't seem to be cruel or mean around her no matter how hard I try. I'm reminded of when she rejected me. That anger. That sadness. We were so close. I clench my jaw. The lights flicker. "Kylo, are you okay?" She asks me with food in her mouth. I didn't realize but I've been staring at the ground and my hands are in a fist. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I relax my whole body and turn towards her. "Yes."

"Then come eat." She says in a concerning way. I sit down next to her and she smiles again. God, that smile.

After a couple of minutes, she finishes her food and wipes her face with her napkin. She sighs and turns her whole body towards me. "Ben."

I almost spit out my drink at the sound of her voice saying my name again. I put the drink down and collect myself. "Yeah?"

"I'm not gonna ignore what just happened. You were frozen and you looked angry and you made the lights flicker. I'm not oblivious. What made you like that?"

"You."

"What? But I thought- "

"I thought of the time where you rejected me."

She leans away from me, concerned. "You're still not considering me to..."

"No. I know the answer."

"Then you know why I said no. My friends, they were going to die. I couldn't just leave the only people who ever cared about me.

"Well I care about you, too." I say a little too loudly.

She looks at me a little more gently. "You do?"

I look away from her. "Yes." I whisper. What have I gotten myself into.