When Light Meets Dark - A Reylo Romance

More Than His Own Skin

 "Come, gentle night; come, loving, black-browed night;
Give me my Romeo; and, when I shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night..." 

~William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet   

Rey

There was something about stars that fascinated me. Maybe it was how they were so distant and yet burned so brightly. Maybe it was how each one seemed isolated, and yet billions of them stretched out forever like twinkling lights. I couldn't tell, but once again I found myself staring up at them in wonder long after the Umbaran sun had set. I was up on the roof of the base, where I'd often come in the past to clear my head. And there was so much to think about; Finn, the battle, Kylo. But for a moment I was able to forget about it all, as I lay on the roof beneath the night sky.

But alas, peace of mind could never last for long in a galaxy at war. From the direction of the ladder I heard the sound of creaking metal as someone made their way up to the roof to join me.

As I looked over, I'd expected to see C-4PO's shiny golden head pop up from the hole, but instead I saw Finn's forehead, and then his entire upper body emerge from the hatch.

"Space for two up here?" he asked. His tone was light but the look in his eyes was pleading. I knew he was sorry, and a peaceful resolution was long overdue.

"Always." I replied, smiling.

Finn climbed up the last few rungs and stepped onto the roof. His boots made soft thudding sounds on the metal as he walked over and sat down beside me. Neither of us spoke for a long while and I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of the Umbaran forest.

"What are you thinking about?" I heard Finn ask.

"Nothing." I replied. He sighed.

"Rey I'm sorry." he said.

"I know." I answered with a sad smile, "I'm sorry too."

There was a pause. "I spoke to Kylo Ren." he said, making my eyes snap open in surprise. Only a few days ago Finn was disgusted by the idea of having Kylo anywhere near him, and now they were talking to each other? I shook my head in disbelief.

"What did you guys talk about?"

Finn shrugged. "Just stuff." he said. "Guy stuff." he added with a grin.

"Really?" I asked smiling "I'm surprised you didn't try to shoot him at the first chance you got."

Finn looked away, his eyes towards the forest. "He's not a horrible person." he said after a moment of reflection. "He really cares about you." Then he suddenly frowned and turned back to me." But why didn't you tell me about Snoke?" he asked.

"You didn't really give me much of a chance." I replied, watching as he shifted uncomfortably.

"I know, I'm still sorry." I didn't say anything. "But I'm happy that Kylo was there for you." I let out a deep sigh.

 "What's the matter?" he asked, searching my face under the starlight.

"Nothing." I replied.

"Rey, I've told you not to lie to me." he said sternly, and then added more softly, "Is it about Kylo?"

"No...yes." I said. Finn lay back on the roof next to me and asked "What happened?"

"We had an argument, yesterday." I said, "He hasn't spoken to me since then, he hasn't even tried to."

"What did you argue about?" Finn asked.

Our conversation from the previous day flashed through my mind. 

"He doesn't want me to go into battle, he thinks I'm putting myself in danger."

"Well you are." Finn said matter-of-factly, "But that's kind of what you signed up for." 

Yes, at least Finn understood. "Exactly! I just can't understand why he's so angry." I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in confusion.

Finn was quiet and since we were lying side by side, I couldn't see his face. I refrained from reading his thoughts and waited for him to respond. In the distance I heard the ear-piercing shriek of a banshee and then another, further away, responding to the call.

"I understand."

"What?" I thought that Finn and I were in agreement but he seemed to be taking a different stance.

He replied "Kylo...is it okay if I call him Kylo?"

I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn't see me. "Yes, it's fine."

"So Kylo, he's no stranger to battle, especially ones like this. Trust me I know." Finn began. He had one hand behind his head and with the other he gestured, his arm extending above us. "He understands the risk involved and how much effort needs to be put in to win a battle--"

"So why can't he understand that I need to do this?" I asked in frustration. I'd never willingly stayed away from Kylo, and it was starting to become more than I could bear.

"Wait let me finish." Finn said, and I took a deep breath and listened.

"But he's never been in a battle where he's had to risk more than his own skin. He's afraid Rey, afraid that he'll lose his only light in the universe and he'll just be stumbling around in the dark again. Now you're ready to take that chance, but he's not. That's why he's angry."

As Finn finished, a feeling swept over me that I couldn't quite explain. It was like realisation and excitement, but at the same time gripping fear.  

"Oh." was all I managed to say. Then I added "I don't want to lose him either."

I could sense Finn smiling beside me. "I know." he said. "And that's why we have to do this, so that he can cut ties with The First Order once and for all." He said something else after that, but I wasn't listening. My mind had wandered off, back to Kylo's bedroom, his shower, his ship. I smiled pleasantly as I remembered the first time we had kissed, and how gentle he had been, how soft his lips had felt. I ran a finger over my lips and closed my eyes. Now imagine losing all of that, a voice whispered in my head. But I couldn't imagine it, a world without Kylo. 

I opened my eyes.

"Do you think we will win?" I asked Finn suddenly, as I swivelled my head to the right to face him.

His eyes lit up with surprise. "Are you afraid that we won't?" he asked.

"I am afraid of what will happen if we don't." I said. Finn replied, "When I first joined The Resistance, I had complete confidence in us. And I knew that whatever happened, at the end of it all, the galaxy would be better off for it."

Finn's confidence helped to ease my anxiety and so I asked him cheerfully, "So you think we will win?"

He kept his gaze fixed on the stars above but out of the corner of my eye I saw his face stretch into a smile.

"Don't jinx it." he said.