The Sands of Jakku

To be Free

**WARNING, SMUT IN THIS CHAPTER**

Kylo's examination proved to be useless. The doctor didn't tell him any more than he already knew. He was dehydrated, slightly malnourished, and had suffered trauma due to strangulation. He needed time to heal, to regain his strength.

Time he didn't have.

He didn't plan on staying here long. He needed to return to the palace and finish what he started. He needed to rid Jakku of Supreme Advisor Snoke before it was too late. He had been a poison to this land for far too long and Kylo was tired of it.

If he stalled for much longer, the Resistance would beat him to the palace. They wouldn't know what to expect. Snoke was stronger than any of them knew. He had been performing strange rituals as of late, rituals for which he required Kylo to be present. He couldn't remember much beyond shapes and the flickering of candles and red smoke.

However, he did know that the rituals made him weak. Afterwards he felt drained, emotionally and physically. He was overcome by an exhaustion he had never felt before. And it made Snoke stronger, more capable of sorcery, and much more dangerous.

Rey slipped back into the room when the doctor left.

"There's a bathing pool over there," Rey said, pointing to the far corner of the room. "First one I've ever seen like it."

Kylo slid off the bed, the flimsy gown barely covering him. Rey blushed and turned away, staring at anything but his bare thighs.

"Thank you," he said softly, heading into the room that housed the bathing pool.

Rey stood in silence, still staring at the wall lest Kylo return and she find her last shred of resolve sliced away by her overwhelming need to touch him.

*

He returned clean and less clothed than before. He had removed the gown in favor of slinging a soft cloth across his hips. Rey could hardly breathe when she saw him, his chest and waist bare, his thighs barely covered by the cloth.

He was gorgeous . His wet black hair stuck to his face, his muscles worked as he reached up and dried it off with another, smaller cloth he brought with him. Several drops of water cascaded over his chest and stomach, stopping to be absorbed by the cloth when they reached his groin.

Rey swallowed hard.

"I-I should see if I can get you some cl-clothes," Rey stuttered, standing up from the chair she had settled in when he left to bathe. He chuckled and looked over at her.

"Who said I needed clothes?" he asked, his voice smooth and even. Rey felt the blood rush to her cheeks; she felt dizzy from the sudden heat in her face.

Kylo simply smiled innocently at her. Approaching her quickly, he closed the distance between them.

"I did," Rey said, making her way towards the door, face still flushed a deep burgundy.

Kylo was close enough now that he could reach out and grab her. His hand found her elbow in an instant, dragging her back over to him.

"You don't have to go," he told her, "I can cover up if you want me to." He watched her face, his eyes pleading. He didn't want to be alone here; he didn't want to be without her for another instant.

He wanted to remember her like this before he went back to the palace to face Snoke,something he should have done before he ever tried to seek her out. But he was a coward; he wanted peace before he faced the inevitability of death. And he wanted to find his peace in her.