Compassion

He defects. Kylo Ren, leader of the Knights of Ren, apprentice of Supreme Leader Snoke, defects.

 At the Resistance base, he sleeps willingly in a prison cell.

"Why did you defect?" Asks Poe Dameron, who somehow tolerates him even after all he's done.

He shrugs.

Luke Skywalker comes to sift through his mind. He's delicate even after he deems him safe. He still sleeps in the cell.

"Why did you defect?" Asks General Organa, he didn't even expect his mother to trust him this much.

He shrugs again.

"Why did you defect?" Jessika Pava of all people, a friend of hers.

He finds he has no response.

"Why did you defect?" Spits Finn, the traitor. No. Not traitor. He's the smart one. He found her. "Are you a spy or something? I won't let you hurt my friends."

He doesn't look him in the eye. Finn's defection was harder, he earned his place. He was right first.

"Why did you defect?" She asks, voice soft in the dead of night.

Ben can feel the warmth of her Force signature. A coincidence he decides, that she is a  ray of light to him.

"You don't want to tell me?" She asks. Her signature shifts, it's sadder now. "It's all right if you don't, Kylo, I won't make you."

"I'm not Kylo," he says finally. "I'm Ben."

She crouches. "Ben then. Why did you leave? You practically began the First Order. You claimed to hate me."

"I don't hate you, Rey. I left the First Order because." His tongue goes dry. "It doesn't matter." He lays out on the stone floor, it hurts.

"You want to come out?" She swings open the cell door.

He shakes his head. "No. It's not safe. I'm not safe."

"Ben," she steps into the cell. "Ben, it's okay. Luke, he says Snoke's not in your head anymore." She comes closer to him with every word.

His fingers itch. He wants to stand up, he wants to pull her into his arms and kiss her until she can't breathe. He keeps to the floor, averting his eyes from her.

She sits down next to him, pulling her ankles onto her knees. A tentative hand moves to his cheek. "I'm here, Ben, it's okay."

Ben crushes his eyes closed, hands clenching to fists. The heel of her hand brushes his lip and he jolts, sitting up and jerking away from her.

Rey recoils. "I'm sorry," she tries to hold his eyes.

Air rushes in his chest. "Don't be." He lets out a hiss of breath.

"I- I just want to talk, Ben, will you talk to me?" She leans a little closer to him. "I'll just sit here if you don't want to."

He closes his eyes.

"Ben," her hand makes contact with his bare arm.

Something in his brain snaps. He pins her to the floor. "Stop touching me," he breathes. Her eyes are wide, but she makes no sound. "Rey," he rasps her name.

She tries to twist her hand from his grasp. "Ben, let me go," she says firmly. He doesn't. "Ben, don't do this again." He lets her go, dropping back on his heels. "What's wrong?" She stands up, staying away from him.

It stings. "I'm sorry, I-" he sits against the wall. "I shouldn't have done that." He cards his fingers through his hair. "I- oh, kriff it." He stands like a shot and presses his lips to hers.

Rey freezes. Her first kiss, and it's with Kylo Ren. No, Ben Solo. But there is a larger surprise. She responds. He presses her against the wall, fingers gripping at her waist.

He pulls away for a moment.

She whimpers at the loss of contact.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?"

She kisses him

Okay, probably terrible. I haven't written fanfic in forever, let alone published it. Lemme know if it's too OOC. Go ahead, rip me to shreds, I'll probably die if I just get a comment. Lots of love, Gigi