( The small burst of anger that he receives is not unexpected, not unwarranted or unwelcome, but it still stings like the bright shock of a slap across his face. He misinterprets the intended direction of it until the lash at the end of its crack scores for him and does not internalize toward faceless, nameless shadows in her past, no physical manifestations to retaliate against. Kylo presses his mouth into a thin line but doesn't reciprocate in any way, content to let her feel the way she feels and take comfort in it if that's the course her anger runs itself. In some small way, though it might be misguided, he feels justified in her response if not in her reply.
That reply doesn't come with the immediacy that he would necessarily like, but it's unlikely that he would answer with any level of expediency were Rey to ask him the same question. He hasn't, in the past. In fact his retaliation has been physical and external. So he waits out the quieting of the storm that broils like a pressure cooker for a moment and then dies within her as she stands, just as he pops the last bit of metal casing for the emitter shroud back into place with some satisfaction and some dissatisfaction.
Skywalker.
His only response is a gruff noise in the back of his throat, half and hum and half a scrape of acknowledgement. Maybe he is looking for the same sentiments in her that he feels within himself, but they're non-existent every time he goes digging. Kylo can't be certain whether or not what he feels is disappointment or just further isolation. Or maybe some degree of envy where her resilience in the face of this kind of adversity is concerned. He'd always used his resentment and the dejection associated with his family as a crutch to help him rise to the top, and Rey stands on similar ground with no such animosity. Conditions of circumstance, he tells himself, while the idea that Supreme Leader Snoke would probably be able to take one look inside the girl's head and figure out who she is and where she comes from and who she belongs to without batting so much as an eye.
A piece of casing on his saber's hilt cracks quite suddenly and breaks in two, a section breaking off and falling to the floor. He swears under his breath and sets the blade aside. )
I wasn't asking to be intentionally cruel. ( Kylo says it with the air of someone who could very easily be intentionally cruel about it if he wanted to, and he could. They both know that. ) You're infinitely more likely to run into them now that you're actually off Jakku. ( He stands, boots thunking against the floor, knees and back popping helpfully, and calls his saber to his side to hang it once again from his waist. ) In my experience your family always has a way of catching up with you whether you want them to or not.
no subject
That reply doesn't come with the immediacy that he would necessarily like, but it's unlikely that he would answer with any level of expediency were Rey to ask him the same question. He hasn't, in the past. In fact his retaliation has been physical and external. So he waits out the quieting of the storm that broils like a pressure cooker for a moment and then dies within her as she stands, just as he pops the last bit of metal casing for the emitter shroud back into place with some satisfaction and some dissatisfaction.
Skywalker.
His only response is a gruff noise in the back of his throat, half and hum and half a scrape of acknowledgement. Maybe he is looking for the same sentiments in her that he feels within himself, but they're non-existent every time he goes digging. Kylo can't be certain whether or not what he feels is disappointment or just further isolation. Or maybe some degree of envy where her resilience in the face of this kind of adversity is concerned. He'd always used his resentment and the dejection associated with his family as a crutch to help him rise to the top, and Rey stands on similar ground with no such animosity. Conditions of circumstance, he tells himself, while the idea that Supreme Leader Snoke would probably be able to take one look inside the girl's head and figure out who she is and where she comes from and who she belongs to without batting so much as an eye.
A piece of casing on his saber's hilt cracks quite suddenly and breaks in two, a section breaking off and falling to the floor. He swears under his breath and sets the blade aside. )
I wasn't asking to be intentionally cruel. ( Kylo says it with the air of someone who could very easily be intentionally cruel about it if he wanted to, and he could. They both know that. ) You're infinitely more likely to run into them now that you're actually off Jakku. ( He stands, boots thunking against the floor, knees and back popping helpfully, and calls his saber to his side to hang it once again from his waist. ) In my experience your family always has a way of catching up with you whether you want them to or not.