Chapter Text
Rey Kenobi walked into the dingy studio apartment that overlooked the Coruscant skyline. The room was no bigger than a closet, but it was home. It was the only place she could afford in the city, and she wasn't going to let a cramped space stop her from achieving her dreams.
And those dreams were finally starting to become a reality. It had taken Rey only a week to pack up her personal belongings from her foster father’s home in Jakku, wave goodbye and book it out of there as quickly as she could manage. Her foster father, an overweight and surly man named Unkar Plutt, did everything in his power to make her life more miserable. But the one thing he couldn't take from her was dance.
When Rey had heard about the auditions for the Coruscant Dance Academy, she grabbed her small savings and took the next bus out of Jakku and into the city.
It was the first time she saw the legendary Luke Skywalker in person. Luke and his twin sister, Leia Organa, ran the academy together. The two of them were overseeing the auditions.
Rey performed her solo to the best of her ability. However, she kept getting distracted by a man standing at the far doorway, staring her down with lips pressed together and his arms crossed. She tried to ignore him as she pirouetted around the room, but she kept being drawn back to those dark brown eyes.
When she was finished with her piece, the twins looked to each other and whispered heatedly back and forth. It was Leia that spoke next.
“Thank you for your time.”
Luke held his hand up to let Rey know that they had seen enough. Her stomach dropped. It didn't seem as if she had made it. Her heart was breaking as she rode the bus home, tears slipping down her cheeks. She didn't want to go back to Jakku. She didn't want to work in Plutt’s factory. She wanted to dance, and she had just screwed up any chance of that happening.
It was two days later when Plutt called for her, telling her she had a phone call from some snooty sounding woman. Rey raced down the stairs and grabbed the phone, taking it into the powder room for privacy.
“Hello,” she said nervously.
“Rey Kenobi?”
“Yes, I'm Rey Kenobi.”
“I am proud to invite you to join our company.”
Her heart stopped in her chest as she took in a deep breath. This was everything she had ever dreamed of. It was finally happening.
“Oh thank you, thank you so much.” She said into the phone.
Leia chuckled and told her she would be expected in class the following week. Rey took that week to pack and to find her apartment. She was finally here, she had finally made it.
She grabbed her dance bag and quickly threw her hair up into a bun.
Rey made her way to the subway to ride the train to the academy. She lived in a questionable part of town, but Rey wasn't worried. She was a dancer. A dancer that grew up on the streets of Jakku, a dancer that knew how to drop kick somebody if they tried anything. And she certainly wasn't to be trifled with.
The ride on the subway was quick and uneventful. She held her dance bag to her chest as she waited for her stop. Rey couldn't wait to start her new life. One as a dancer in the Skywalker’s company.
***
The changing rooms were actually bigger than her entire apartment, but that shouldn't have been a shock to Rey.
She quickly changed into her tights and simple black leotard. She secured her hair in place with a few bobby pins and joined the students waiting outside of the doors to the studio.
They all looked at her with curiosity. She inwardly wondered if she was the only new person that had been accepted into the academy. It was a very prestigious company. One she would never have been able to afford if it had not been for the money her grandfather had left to her in his will. She was the only living relative in the Kenobi line.
“Hi!”
Rey turned to take in a dark haired Asian girl. She was gorgeous and it made Rey look at herself, and blush at how plain she must have appeared.
The girl smiled at her and offered her hand.
“I'm Jessika Pava. You can call me Jess.”
“Rey Kenobi.”
Jess hooked their arms together and leaned over to whisper in her ear.
“You must be new here. You are going to love it. The twins are very kind and encouraging. Can't say that about all the instructors here. But they mean well.”
“Oh,” Rey looked at her questioningly.
“Kylo Ren, he's an absolute asshole. But he's Leia Organa’s son and he's damn good. He is just well aware of how talented he is.”
“Ren, where did that name come from?” Rey asked curiously.
“Oh that, well that’s a story that has circulated around the studios in a whirlwind. I’ve no idea what to believe. His birth name is Ben Solo. But don’t you dare let him catch you saying that name. Apparently there was some huge falling out with his father. Some people say that Han Solo didn’t want a dancer for a son. I’m not sure if that is true, or even if that is the full story. But he refuses to go by that name any longer.”
Rey nodded and sighed to herself as she rolled her neck and shoulders, popping the bones in the process. She really needed to stretch, she hadn’t danced in over a week and she was already feeling the effects.
“He will be overseeing our class. If you want to impress anybody it's gotta be him. Though he hardly looks at anybody twice.” Jess added.
“He's our instructor?” Rey could feel her heart racing already. She wanted to impress this asshole. She took it as a personal challenge.
“He is on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.”
“And on Tuesdays and Thursdays?” Rey asked.
“Those are the days that we work on conditioning and stamina. Leia oversees those classes. Though Kylo is always sneaking in to correct all of us, even when he is supposed to have the day off.”
Jess quietened as the doors to the studio opened up, revealing a tall, muscular man with wavy locks of dark hair and hauntingly brown eyes. Her eyes trailed down to his full, luscious lips and she cursed herself. He looked like sin itself. Surely he couldn't be as much of an ass as his reputation had warranted.
She froze on the spot when his gaze met hers. He slowly looked down her body and then back up again, letting his eyes land on hers. She swallowed hard as he smirked at her.
“Welcome to Hell.” He said out loud, pushing the door all the way open and standing aside to let the students enter.
“Hell.” Rey whispered to Jess.
“Oh it’s only just the beginning sweetie.”
***
The class began with all of the dancers stretching on their own for the first five to ten minutes. Jessika and Rey sat across from each other and held hands as they each took turns stretching towards the floor in a straddle position.
Rey eyed Kylo as he stood in the front corner of the studio. He was fiddling with the stereo, skipping a few of the tracks until he found the one he wanted to start the class off with.
He reached his arms over his head and pulled them over to one side, stretching. Rey’s eyes widened at the sight of his muscles. The man was built. Suddenly, she caught his gaze once again. He was staring at her in the mirrors at the front of the studio, and she was gawking like a flushed school girl. Rey quickly averted her eyes and felt her cheeks burn. She was already making an ass out of herself.
“Ladies,” Kylo shouted, his deep voice sending tingles through Rey’s body. “We will start at the barre, and after warm up we will go across the floor. Put your pointe shoes on and be ready to begin in five minutes.”
Rey took out her pointe shoes and started breaking them in, beating them on the floor and bending the sole back and forth. She put on the cotton toe pads and slipped her pointe shoes on, wrapping the ribbons a few times around her ankle and tucking them in.
With her shoes on, she practiced a few plié and relevés. Kylo clapped his hands to signal it was time to go to the barre.
They started in first position, two demi-pliés and one grand plié. Kylo walked around the room, inspecting each dancer as they warmed up at the barre with this basic step.
Rey’s breath hitched when he stopped in front of her, watching as she continued to bend her knees in succession with everybody else in the class. He pressed his thumb against his full bottom lip, and Rey wished it wasn’t so distracting.
He leaned in close to her ear and whispered.
“Turn out.”
“What?” she felt her face flush with embarrassment. She had been turning out. What was he even on about.
“Turn out…” he repeated, “from the hip.”
He took the space behind her and placed his hands on her hips.
“From here.” he stated, putting one hand on her back to show her the posture he expected of her.
She tried again, remembering to turn out from the hip and not the feet. She looked to him with what she could only hope would be his approval. He stared at her expressionlessly, but then he nodded and moved on to Jessika.
Once he was out of earshot, Jess turned around, with her mouth hanging open.
“What?” Rey whispered.
Jess looked around to make sure Kylo was busy with another student, before leaning over to whisper to Rey.
“He has never done that before.”
Rey furrowed her brow and scoffed under her breath.
“What are you talking about, correcting people. Isn’t he an asshole? That’s what he does.”
“No,” Jess stifled a laugh. “No, you don’t get it. He would never have reacted so calmly. He made Bazine cry because he said she looked like a duck. Then he told her to get out of his class.”
“Jessika,” Kylo yelled. “Care to share what is so important that you couldn’t wait until break to discuss with your friend?”
Jessika yelped and snapped back into place. “No sir, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“It's my fault.” Rey called out.
Kylo stopped and stared at her curiously.
Rey could feel his stare burning into her skin. She bit her lower lip and stared at the back of Jessika’s head, anything to keep her eyes off of her instructor.
“It's my fault.” She repeated. “I was asking her how long we normally do barre work. I apologize for being rude.”
He started walking back towards them, stopping in front of Rey and staring at her. She blushed and cleared her throat.
“Kenobi is it?” he asked.
“Yes sir.”
“See me after class before you leave.”
“Yes sir.” she repeated.
***
Kylo watched the girl as she went across the floor, she was something else entirely. There was just something about her that called to him. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, he could tell she wasn’t classically trained. But she had something-- a fire, a passion. And he wanted to train her, bend her, make her into a force to be reckoned with. She was capable, he knew that much.
He watched her as she leapt across the floor. Her grand jetes were beautiful, and when she landed you could barely hear anything as her feet kissed the floor.
Kylo couldn't wait to get his hands on her. She was like a blank canvas, one that he could dedicate all his time and energy on. She was malleable. She already listened to him and made the suggested corrections without attitude like some of the dancers in the academy.
But she was not without passion. She was a sassy little thing, and hot headed when pushed too far. He found her intriguing. This spitfire of a girl. She kept him on his toes, and he liked that.
And she was loyal. He knew that she had covered for Jessika. Whatever the two of them had been talking about it wasn't about the barre exercises.
But there was something about her. She was going to be something special.
Rey Kenobi. She was almost blinding with how bright she shines when she dances. Kylo kept his eyes on her the entire class, she was mesmerizing.
Finally, it was time for class to end. He waited eagerly to speak with her. Once everybody had trickled out of the studio, she stood in front of him, nervously brushing the stray strands of hair behind her ear.
“Rey,” he said sternly. I have a proposition for you.”
“I'm all ears.” She replied.
Kylo smiled broadly.
“Perfect, so hear me out…”