[Unfair. Unfair. To have come so far, to have claimed so much for himself only to be leashed to the light. As always, it seems - this time embodied by a frail body with a tireless heart.
Whatever self-righteous anger he'd held close bleeds out, expression tired. Paper thin.] You think you know better.
[It isn't accusatory; for once, Ren hasn't got it in him.]
[Deep dislike barely scratched the surface of how much contempt the man held for Kylo Ren. A conflict that compounded the fracture when Anakin's loss took hold— acceptance, it seems, lies far beyond the pale for Ren.
His lips thin out into a rigid line; he opts not to look at Steve when he finally responds.] Anakin Skywalker was my grandfather.
[What use was there in hiding it any longer? Ahsoka and Hux both knew, Sam spat it out during the chaos - time would dislodge it from someone else's thoughts eventually.]
[ His lips part, a second later forming a silent oh with a sharp bolt of surprise. Eyes scan across Ren's face, this time searching for any kind of familial resemblance - the shape of his nose, mouth, jaw - anything.
And the age discrepancy - ]
You're from the future. [ Anakin's future, maybe even some other timeline, the same way Barton, Wilson and Bucky are all from Steve's. ]
[Ren feels the weight of his broodmate's searching stare: a natural response, really, in spite of the fact that Ben Solo inherited too much from his father's side.]
From his. [Difficult to imagine that remains true in whatever mirrored world they left behind - Anakin's absence should negate Ren's existence, after all. Or perhaps there's more to it than the simple matter of one-dimensional timelines. It's difficult to say.]
[ Huh. Hard to tell if Anakin knew. If he did, and still hated Ren - well, none of this is really Steve's business. He goes quiet for a minute, mulling over the information. ]
Barnes is from my future - far into the future. [ His turn to let his gaze lower, head tilting to one side. ] Not much of this makes sense.
[ Somewhere there most be a universe where Anakin didn't get hunted down by the Nest's enemy, where he's still alive. Another where Bucky's fate goes a different way.
Neither thought gives much comfort to fresh wounds. ]
He told you? [Picking at the binding on his arm, Ren's keeping his attention fixed elsewhere; small distractions, a means to weather topics that might otherwise incite him, stretching out the span of his own apathy.]
Didn't have to. [ The picture of a clean cut man in uniform flickers, bright and young compared to the man that arrived on Concordia. The pain attached to that is dulled, weighted with guilt. ]
I thought he would know. [How senseless it sounds, how stupidly sentimental.] The Force should have been enough.
[What a strange, strange concept - was it Anakin's ability with the Force that failed him, or was it the Force itself, hampered by the symbiotic bond, that reached some seemingly impossible limit?]
So I said nothing. [A beat:] And he died hating me.
[ Steve goes quiet. He doesn't have the same understanding of the Force, he isn't - wasn't close enough to Anakin to know, and he's kept his distance from Ren for a while now. What he knows - senses - is a spiritual edge, both near and intangible. ]
No. [The answer is simple; Ren spares no pain or sentimentality for it. This is a truth that's remained constant for the entirety of his life, after all, regardless of what transpired here.]
He was cut down before I was born, at the height of his glory. [When the galaxy knew fear and order in the same breath, the thought punctuated by a bittersweet pang of emotion.] By my uncle.
[And were it anyone else, being fated to die would soften the blow in Ren's eyes, (superficial to pick apart years as if they were currency) but Vader was more. So much more. Faint visions of gleaming armor— black as night— an iron fist, gripping the universe with enough force to overshadow hope itself flicker between them. The foundation from which Kylo Ren was brought to life.]
He would have changed everything, had he lived.
[This world, their brood— even Rogers himself, for better or worse. All that he needed was time.]
[ Glory. That shadow passes over him and his eyes close for a few seconds, swallowed by the portrait of the future - past - present, Ren's universe as seen through one filter. He swallows, gently forcing back the oppressive imagery. ]
Why? What changed him?
[ The Jedi, as Anakin briefly explained, were protectors - and in no uncertain terms had the man expressed his hatred for Ren's order. ]
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Whatever self-righteous anger he'd held close bleeds out, expression tired. Paper thin.] You think you know better.
[It isn't accusatory; for once, Ren hasn't got it in him.]
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His expression softens a bit, though he holds a certain amount of wariness. ] You and Anakin - I didn't think you two were, uh, close.
[ He's pretty sure Anakin expressed some deep dislike for Ren and his brand of space sorcery. Steve just kind of figured the feeling was mutual. ]
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His lips thin out into a rigid line; he opts not to look at Steve when he finally responds.] Anakin Skywalker was my grandfather.
[What use was there in hiding it any longer? Ahsoka and Hux both knew, Sam spat it out during the chaos - time would dislodge it from someone else's thoughts eventually.]
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And the age discrepancy - ]
You're from the future. [ Anakin's future, maybe even some other timeline, the same way Barton, Wilson and Bucky are all from Steve's. ]
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From his. [Difficult to imagine that remains true in whatever mirrored world they left behind - Anakin's absence should negate Ren's existence, after all. Or perhaps there's more to it than the simple matter of one-dimensional timelines. It's difficult to say.]
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Barnes is from my future - far into the future. [ His turn to let his gaze lower, head tilting to one side. ] Not much of this makes sense.
[ Somewhere there most be a universe where Anakin didn't get hunted down by the Nest's enemy, where he's still alive. Another where Bucky's fate goes a different way.
Neither thought gives much comfort to fresh wounds. ]
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Did you? [ Tell Anakin? ]
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[What a strange, strange concept - was it Anakin's ability with the Force that failed him, or was it the Force itself, hampered by the symbiotic bond, that reached some seemingly impossible limit?]
So I said nothing. [A beat:] And he died hating me.
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Is he still alive in your time?
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He was cut down before I was born, at the height of his glory. [When the galaxy knew fear and order in the same breath, the thought punctuated by a bittersweet pang of emotion.] By my uncle.
[And were it anyone else, being fated to die would soften the blow in Ren's eyes, (superficial to pick apart years as if they were currency) but Vader was more. So much more. Faint visions of gleaming armor— black as night— an iron fist, gripping the universe with enough force to overshadow hope itself flicker between them. The foundation from which Kylo Ren was brought to life.]
He would have changed everything, had he lived.
[This world, their brood— even Rogers himself, for better or worse. All that he needed was time.]
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Why? What changed him?
[ The Jedi, as Anakin briefly explained, were protectors - and in no uncertain terms had the man expressed his hatred for Ren's order. ]