Chapter 43.

She made sure to give him some space.

From a mile away, she could still feel the tension in the air as if he were right in front of her.

Both Rey and Kylo were equally confused, equally frustrated.

Sighing, Rey kicked away a rock as she slowly made her way back to the hut, throwing her head back as she peered up at the sky.

'Stars... What will I do?' she asked, a silent plea flowing from her.

Rey felt her head begin to throb with so many questions on her mind. She was beginning to be impatient, far too eager to know the outcome of Kylo's choice about joining her or not. In Rey's mind, she felt their bond growing, and unable to deny it, her feelings grew for him too.

Mindlessly, her fingertips brushed at her lips as she remembered the way he had kissed her.

'The way a man kisses a woman...'

Her cheeks began to warm, her stomach doing flips at the memory of his body pressed up against hers, his hot breath against her ear...her neck...

Rey felt a small tremor soar through her.

How was this man able to cause this reaction from her? She just did not know. Everyone in the galaxy feared him... This man was their nightmare... the Prince of darkness... The Supreme Leader...

Yet...

Yet... She has witnessed another side to him... A side that has shown her care, and safety. She felt protected and capable when she was with him. Even through his aggression, he was reliable, and that stood out to Rey in more ways than she could count.

Shivering, Rey looked around the woods, glancing from tree to tree. It was strange to her, this weather here. One day it was as hot as Jakku, the next it was windy and cloudy, or even storming. Today though, it was starting to get cold, the chill in the air made everything appear grey.

Her brows furrowed as she focused on the sky.

'White clouds...Grey sky...'

With that, Rey made her back to the hut.

( X )

He was irritated.

Giving too much information to the enemy... to the scavenger...

Kylo could hear the remarks that Snoke would make, the disappointment and disgust in the pits of his eyes.

He rolled his eyes, throwing the memory away.

Snoke was no longer his concern.

The only thing that mattered was getting the throne back, as soon as he killed that damned Hux.

The name alone made him sneer.

The throne was rightfully his. Hux would never be able to maintain it, nor be a rightful leader, the pure thought of it nearly made Kylo laugh.

Yet, here he was...In Arrowmada... With Rey... As Hux overtook his rule.

Running a rough hand through his hair, Kylo sat in the large chair that sat in the middle of the lounge area, full view of his books and desk, debating if he should start a fire now or later.

His thoughts swiftly drifted to the image of Rey, her skin glowing from the reflection of the fire.

Kylo moved to rest his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward, trying his best not to curse the stars out loud.

It seemed no matter what he thought about, no matter what he did, his thoughts always came back to her.

'My weakness.' he had admitted.

Clenching his jaw, he nearly spat at the memory, feeling weak. There was no defiance in the fact, she was weakening him beyond measure. From the time he had killed his master, and when he offered his hand to Rey, to propose they rule together, side by side... And now, for the third time, saving her, his enemy.

This time, he really did curse the stars aloud.

If he truly believed her to be an enemy, he would not have saved her skin several times...He would not have called her his everything...Or his weakness...And he would not have kissed her as he did...Dreamt of her as he did...

The woman was becoming the death of him.

Sitting up, Kylo leaned back against the chair, his head thrown back as he stared up at the ceiling of the hut, just as the front door opened.

Rey shot through, stopping mid-way in the lounge to glance at him. Kylo did not move from his seat, only watching her every move with his eyes as they followed her. Their eyes met, no emotion appearing on either of their faces as they studied one another for a moment before she moved to his desk.

His eyes opened a little more as he watched her, curious as to what she was doing.

Kylo picked his head up from the chair, staring at Rey as she moved his desk over, sliding it against the wooded floor. He grew instantly annoyed as he saw scratching along the wall that was hidden by his desk, an obvious marking point for her.

Silent, intrigued, and annoyed, Kylo watched her still as she sat on the ground in front of the wall, taking out a small dagger from the wrappings on her arm and scratched a tally onto the wall.

Right then, he realized the rest of the markings were tallies, some of them were inside of a square or triangle.

With his frustration at a new high, Kylo crossed his arms.

"Why not use paper?" he asked in a bored and aggravated tone.

Rey stopped mid scratch, turning her head to the side, as she considered what he said. Her face revealed she hadn't even thought of using paper.

After a moment, she resumed her marking, this time etching a circle around the tally.

Running his hand over his face, Kylo unclenched his jaw. "What is this? What does it mean?"

Rey finished her marking, dusting her hands off as she slid the dagger back into her wrappings and turned herself to face him, still sitting on the floor.

"Tallies, for every day that we've been here. So far, fifteen days. The squares are for sunny days, the triangles for rainy, and now the circle... I think that white, cold dirt might fall."

Kylo stared at her.

Under his gaze, Rey began to blush from embarrassment as Kylo quickly picked up on it. He didn't need to push into her mind to see she was already thinking of their first battle on Starkiller Base.

Against his will, Kylo couldn't help by admire the innocent description she gave before he answered.

"Snow. It's called snow."

Her eyes seemed to brighten before she looked away, tucking the information deep into her mind.

"It was your first time experiencing it?" He asked, this time trying to keep up the bored tone, though he failed.