My Love, My Bonded

Chapter Six

His eyes met hers with a fierce intensity, one that caused Rey to feel the same sickness she felt with him. The one where her stomach flipped in circles and she became both nervous and confident. She took a large gulp, not daring to break eye contact. Neither one knew whose turn it was to speak so they both didn't utter a single word.

Kylo was the one to look away first, his eyes instinctively going to her lips. They were full and bright pink, slightly separated as small breaths escaped between them. He trailed her features, admiring and memorizing them in his head. Her cheeks were lightly blushed and the freckles that dotted her skin stood out as the sun blazed down on them. Her hair was placed into three buns, similar to the ones she had when they first met. Baby hairs peaked out from her hairline and it took a lot of restraint in Kylo for him not to gently push them back behind her ear. He feared that was more intimate than what Rey would be comfortable with. Instead, he straightened out and looked at her hazel eyes again.

She swallowed and opened her mouth, deciding to utter some words to break the silence. "Why didn't you contact me?"

"There wasn't much time," he responded.

She narrowed her eyes, the same anger seeping in from before. "Seriously? 'There wasn't much time'? That's your response?" Rey backed away from him and let out a rough sigh, staring at the ground before resuming their eye contact. She bit her lip and crossed her arms. "It's been days!"

Kylo opened his mouth to speak but she continued, not letting him get a word in.

"And you put up a block so I couldn't contact you! What's that about? I thought you were in trouble! But it looks like you're completely fine, just ignoring me!" She hissed. She stormed away from him, too angry to look him in the eye. Rey sat down on the same log as before and let out a long, dramatic sigh.

"Why do you care that I was gone?" He suddenly asked. Her eyes flew up to him, her anger melting away in her shock. Her mouth formed a couple of shapes before she stuttered out a response.

"I didn't. I don't." She forced herself to say, turning away from him.

Kylo frowned at her words. He knew she was lying to him but chose to ignore it. Slowly, he crept towards her and situated himself on the log, slightly scared that he wouldn't actually be able to sit on it but thankful when it held him up.

He let the air linger for a moment or two before speaking. "I did not think you would want to know I was busy."

Rey turned her head to look at him. Her eyes were full of tears but she didn't let any slip. She was still trying to understand why she was so upset with him. Before she saw him, it was just annoyance but the second she caught a glance of him, a wave of worry overcame her. Her tears threatened to let Kylo know of this concern but she kept them back. She was determined to at least try to mask her emotions.

"Why would I not want to know?" Rey said quietly. She barely made a sound.

"Because we're enemies." He whispered.

"Some enemies we are." She joked through some tears that she pushed away quickly with her fingers.

Kylo couldn't resist himself and he gently probed her mind. This time, her walls of defense were cracking and she was in no position to rebuild them. He slide in as he was desperate to find out why her anger was so high at this point.

In the center of her emotions, he found her darkest fear.

Abandonment.

In that moment, Kylo wanted to kick himself. While he was trying to do what he thought was best for her, he inadvertently hurt her in the process.