For allbingo
Jan. 7th, 2022 05:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyofleithianTitle: Ashes
Summary: Rey and Kylo talk about the burned Academy.
Prompt: School / Education
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
“You’ve accepted it?”
There was a moment, just a moment, in Rey’s interactions with Kylo Ren where she could say that they had reached some sort of bizarre position. Not complete sympathy, but not throwing insults at each other. She still didn’t like him, as a person. There was a lot to dislike, actually — his casual cruelty being one thing.
“I haven’t, completely,” Rey said. “So Luke…let’s assume you are right about him trying to kill you.”
“I’m not a liar, Rey.”
Except to yourself, Rey thought, but she didn’t say it out loud.
“When did you decide to burn the Temple? Luke says you took half his students and slaughtered the rest.”
“That,” Kylo said, “Is a lie. There weren’t any survivors of the massacre, other than those who were off-planet at the time. If there were any survivors, I’d be surprised.”
Rey paused, stunned. It sounded unbelievable, but she could feel the images in the Bond trickling over. Fire, so much fire. And Kylo — had he caused it? That one image wasn’t too clear.
"I didn’t kill them,” Kylo said, in the same tone he had when he explained to Rey he didn’t hate Han Solo. “But I good as did. Because I couldn’t save them.”
“But you said you destroyed…” And then it hit Rey. Wasn’t it obvious? Kylo…all this was survivor’s guilt.
Even after he killed his father, she thought, he had been falling apart. It was like even he knew the act was despicable, horrible — she could believe him when he said he didn’t hate Han. More memories came flowing in, because she had felt those things through the Force even though she didn’t know what was happening at the time.
Guilt. A twisted, poisoned sort of love. Duty. It didn’t excuse him killing his father, but it was at least something.
"You…you aren’t completely a monster.”
“I think that’s where you’re wrong.”
“No. I mean, if you were…you wouldn’t be feeling guilt. You wouldn’t care about the Jedi who died there. You wouldn’t care about your father. You think a monster would still be feeling survivor’s guilt?”
“I suppose not,” Kylo said. "You came to this so easily.”
“It just made sense."
***
“I did see snippets. When I pushed you out of my head.” Rey winced at the memory. "I suppose I didn’t have time to acknowledge them until now.”
Kylo was silent, for a change. He looked very much alone. Then, “There was a man there.”
“The one in the pilot uniform?”
Kylo nodded. “Someone else I hurt. I didn’t like it. I didn’t hate him.”
Rey couldn’t help but feel like these two statements were drastically downplaying things.
“You could just stop.” Rey said.
Kylo paused. “I doubt there’s anything else."
“Don’t say that.”
"I don’t know.” Then, “I never thought I’d say this but…thank you, Rey. You did help. I…didn’t expect anyone to do that in a long time.”
Rey paused. How exactly did she react to that?
Then, “You’re welcome.”
Kylo faded away, leaving Rey alone with a strange sense of resolution in her place.
Summary: Rey and Kylo talk about the burned Academy.
Prompt: School / Education
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
“You’ve accepted it?”
There was a moment, just a moment, in Rey’s interactions with Kylo Ren where she could say that they had reached some sort of bizarre position. Not complete sympathy, but not throwing insults at each other. She still didn’t like him, as a person. There was a lot to dislike, actually — his casual cruelty being one thing.
“I haven’t, completely,” Rey said. “So Luke…let’s assume you are right about him trying to kill you.”
“I’m not a liar, Rey.”
Except to yourself, Rey thought, but she didn’t say it out loud.
“When did you decide to burn the Temple? Luke says you took half his students and slaughtered the rest.”
“That,” Kylo said, “Is a lie. There weren’t any survivors of the massacre, other than those who were off-planet at the time. If there were any survivors, I’d be surprised.”
Rey paused, stunned. It sounded unbelievable, but she could feel the images in the Bond trickling over. Fire, so much fire. And Kylo — had he caused it? That one image wasn’t too clear.
"I didn’t kill them,” Kylo said, in the same tone he had when he explained to Rey he didn’t hate Han Solo. “But I good as did. Because I couldn’t save them.”
“But you said you destroyed…” And then it hit Rey. Wasn’t it obvious? Kylo…all this was survivor’s guilt.
Even after he killed his father, she thought, he had been falling apart. It was like even he knew the act was despicable, horrible — she could believe him when he said he didn’t hate Han. More memories came flowing in, because she had felt those things through the Force even though she didn’t know what was happening at the time.
Guilt. A twisted, poisoned sort of love. Duty. It didn’t excuse him killing his father, but it was at least something.
"You…you aren’t completely a monster.”
“I think that’s where you’re wrong.”
“No. I mean, if you were…you wouldn’t be feeling guilt. You wouldn’t care about the Jedi who died there. You wouldn’t care about your father. You think a monster would still be feeling survivor’s guilt?”
“I suppose not,” Kylo said. "You came to this so easily.”
“It just made sense."
***
“I did see snippets. When I pushed you out of my head.” Rey winced at the memory. "I suppose I didn’t have time to acknowledge them until now.”
Kylo was silent, for a change. He looked very much alone. Then, “There was a man there.”
“The one in the pilot uniform?”
Kylo nodded. “Someone else I hurt. I didn’t like it. I didn’t hate him.”
Rey couldn’t help but feel like these two statements were drastically downplaying things.
“You could just stop.” Rey said.
Kylo paused. “I doubt there’s anything else."
“Don’t say that.”
"I don’t know.” Then, “I never thought I’d say this but…thank you, Rey. You did help. I…didn’t expect anyone to do that in a long time.”
Rey paused. How exactly did she react to that?
Then, “You’re welcome.”
Kylo faded away, leaving Rey alone with a strange sense of resolution in her place.
