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cosmicevenire · 4 years

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i dare you to move

Pairing: Ben Solo/Kylo Ren & Rey (Star Wars) Summary: The second time he asks, Kylo Ren gets what he wants: Rey’s hand. Notes: Includes spoilers from "The Rise of Skywalker." Includes some events from "The Rise of Skywalker," but they are mostly re-imagined/changed to stop my heart from aching so much. Prologue to Chapter 6 (updated). Also posted on Ao3.

Prologue:

“I don’t want to do this right now,” she hisses, angry at this inconvenient disruption to her training.

He is standing a few feet away from her and is watching her intently.

“This isn’t me,” he says, referring to their sudden connection across the galaxy.

She sighs and her anger dissipates. “I thought this was because of Snoke.”

“It wasn’t Snoke,” he says simply. “It never was.”

“Then, what is it?” she asks.

“Something else.”

Silence takes over as their eyes lock. He tries to search her mind while she tries to search his.

He starts to move closer to her and she stiffens.

“Rey...” he says. The softness in his voice takes her by surprise. “Where are you?”

He’s towering over her now and desperately searching her face, her mind, and her emotions for any clue.

“You know I can’t tell you that,” she says.

“Tell me,” his voice is harsh, frustrated.

“No,” she hisses back.

The tension between them is palpable. He wonders if she can feel it. She wonders if he can feel it.

His jaw tightens and then relaxes. “Please,” he lets out. In the back of her mind, she hears a whisper from the throne room. Join me. Please.

“Ben... I-” she closes her eyes and tries to breathe. It’s all too much. He’s too close. This time, he feels the conflict in her. She takes a deep breath and exhales. Her eyes open back up to his intense gaze. “What do you want?” she almost whispers.

“You know,” he breathes, leaning in to her.

Before she can respond, the connection breaks.

Chapter 1: Two that are one

Her eyes are wide and his words are still swimming through her head: Rey, you are a Palpatine.

He reaches for his helmet and it hisses as he removes it.

He looks at her, determined. He begins to stretch out one of his gloved hands.

“You know what you need to do. You know.”

For a moment, she is frozen. Immobile. She looks at his open, gloved hand and a war rages within her. His voice replays in her mind: A Dyad in the force, Rey. Two that are one.

"I do.”

If I go to him, Ben Solo will turn, replays in her mind. She steps closer to him and slowly reaches her hand out to meet his. When her hand finally meets his, he gives her a gentle squeeze. He starts to lower their hands and Rey watches as he starts to pull her closer to him.

The wind whips around them and Rey hears Finn screaming her name as the Falcon roars behind them. Rey! she hears over and over again. We have to go, Finn, says Poe. Panicked, she looks around at the crowd of storm troopers aiming at her friends before looking back at Kylo Ren. She decides to send a plea to him through their bond: Please, don’t hurt them. You have me. Please. Let them go. She squeezes his hand.

A shiver runs down his spine. You have me, echoes in his mind.

“Supreme Leader, would you like us to fire?”

Rey’s eyes widen as she waits for his command. Please, she sends to him as she gently squeezes his hand again. He debates telling her to let go, to stop holding on to the Resistance, to her friends. He decides not to push his luck.

“No,” he commands, never looking away from her. Relief crosses Rey’s face and Kylo Ren releases her hand. “Close the hangar. That will be all,” he hisses.

“Yes, sir.”

Finn’s voice fades away in the distance and Rey cannot help but wonder: What have I done? She notices that the momentary gentleness in Kylo Ren has dissipated as he turns away from her. “Follow me,” he tells her, roughly.

“Where are we going?”

“My quarters.” Oh, she thinks. She realizes how little she thought ahead. What would happen after she took his hand?

Kylo Ren leads her in silence. She feels nothing but coldness from his side of the bond. He feels Rey’s conflict as she struggles to finds the words to say and fully register the decision she just made.

When they finally reach his quarters, he is quick to secure the door behind them with a flick of his wrist.

“You will be safe here,” he starts to tell her. “I can rearrange anything you need to-”

“Ben,” she interrupts him, voice strained. She swallows and starts to move closer to him. Hesitantly, she begins to speak. “Ben....I-I don’t want the throne.” She pauses to make eye contact with him. “I took your hand because I will help you defeat my grandfather. I will stand with you. But I am not here to rule the galaxy.” She closes the distance between them even more with her next step. “I don’t want the galaxy.”

“Rey...” he starts, anger starting to rise within him. His leather fists clench.

“I just want you,” she quickly admits as her cheeks flush red. “When all of this is over, Ben Solo, I want you to come home.”

He looks at her for a moment, tortured by her words, and releases his anger with a loud exhale. He closes his eyes for a moment before opening them again to search her face. “Ben Solo is dead.”

“No,” she says, softly. She hesitantly reaches out her hand to the side of his face, near the scar she gave him, worried he will swat her hand away. He doesn’t. “Ben Solo lives.”

He leans into her touch and closes his eyes again. Rey cannot help but notice the sadness in his features.

“You know what you need to do,” she says, softly.

“What if I am not strong enough to do it?” he asks her, barely audible. She wonders if he meant for her to hear his question. His eyes have opened again and Rey remembers the last time he looked at her like this - in the elevator.

“You are,” she whispers. His eyes rest on her lips for a moment before meeting her eyes again.

They are disrupted by a loud, sudden knocking coming from the door. Startled, Rey jumps back from Kylo Ren. Kylo Ren stiffens and uses his free hand to force open the door. As soon as he sees the red-headed man in the doorway, he regrets the decision.

“I hope I am not interrupting, Supreme Leader.”

“General Hux” Kylo Ren hisses.

“If this is a bad time, Supreme Leader, I could always come back.”

“What is it, Hux?” Kylo Ren spits out through clenched teeth.

“Your presence is being requested,” Hux replies, looking Rey up and down with disgust.

“Give me a minute.”

“Very well,” Hux says as he turns to leave.

Once alone again, Kylo Ren breaks the silence. Once again, all softness has left him. “I will be back soon. I will send a droid to help you settle in and acquire anything you may need. Try not to break anything else in my quarters with your light saber, please,” he quips.

With that, he grabs his helmet and walks out of the door.

When he returns, she is curled up in a chair reading a book she found. Her hair is down and she is dressed in new, dark sleeping clothes. He tries not to disturb her as he takes off his mask he put on for the business he had to attend to.

She hears his footsteps and looks up at him as he moves closer to her. She feels his anger simmering beneath the surface.

“Did the droid come?” He asks.

“Yes. Thank you.”

He moves to the seat across from her. “I will have the droid check in with you daily. If there is anything else you need, tell me and I will get it for you.” He starts to get more comfortable in the chair and takes his gloves off. “I will sleep on the couch and you can take my bed until I can figure out something else,” he says, plainly. Oh, she thinks. Bed. I hadn’t even thought of that.

“You seem tense,” she remarks after looking at him. “Is everything alright?”

“Well, I cannot say you are a popular addition to the First Order.” He pauses for a moment, looking at her. “I told them you killed Snoke.”

“Mmm. I see,” she nods. She closes the book, places it in front of her, and sits in thought.

Interested to change the subject, he asks her if she’s hungry. She shakes her head. Silence fills the space between them.

“Ben?” she finally asks, timidly. His eyes meet her gaze. “Why go through all of this for me? Why not kill me?”

After a moment, he answers. “I don’t want to kill you,” he says plainly.

“But why? Wouldn’t it be in Kylo Ren’s best interest to kill me? Why keep me alive?” She starts to lean forward in her chair.

“I’m not going to kill you, Rey.”

“That’s not answering my question.”

He closes his eyes and sighs, annoyed. She is always a challenge to him. He gives himself a moment to think before answering.

“We are more powerful together,” he says.

“That’s all? That’s it? Power?”

“No,” he answers, quietly and honestly.

“Then, why?”

“You know why,” he breathes.

“I do?”

“Search the bond, Rey.”

You’re nothing...but not to me.

She does as she’s told and that’s when she realizes. “You...have feelings for me...You’re...afraid of them.” He can hear the surprise in her voice.

“Yes,” he says quietly. He pauses for a moment and his face softens as their eyes stay locked in a moment of silence. “But I can’t make you love a monster, Rey,” he says so softly that she almost doesn’t hear it.

The turn in their conversation and his unexpected honesty makes her head spin. Her mind takes her back to their force bond: You’re a monster. I am.

“You don’t have to be a monster,” she says quickly. “Turn. Leave Kylo Ren behind. It’s not too late. I will help you.”

“It is too late.”

“No, Ben, it’s not.”

“Ben is dead,” he growls, tension rising. Resistance to the pull towards her, towards the light. This is when Rey sees him - really sees him. Trapped between who he is and who he could be.

She sits back in her chair and holds his intense, fiery gaze. After a moment, she calmly tells him, “Well, as long as I am alive, I am not giving up on you, Ben Solo. So, you can add that to your reasons to kill me.” He huffs in response and the tension between them starts to evaporate.

He itches to change the subject again, no longer wanting to engage in this fight. “I am going to take a shower and prepare for bed. We can discuss our plans for Palpatine tomorrow. Do you need anything else from me?”

“No...” she says, biting her lip.

“What?”

“It’s just... You’re too...big to sleep on the couch. I think I should sleep there and you should take your bed.”

“No.”

“Stop being ridiculous. I’ll take the couch.”

“No.”

“You’re being stubborn and unreasonable.” He huffs again. “Fine. Get a terrible night of sleep.”

He resists the urge to roll his eyes and leaves to take his shower.

------------------------------

Chapter 2: Vulnerable

The next morning, she wakes to the smell of breakfast. Once she is presentable, she opens his bedroom door to find plates and platters full of every breakfast food imaginable. Realizing how hungry she truly is, she immediately starts grabbing as much as she can. She is midway through her second plate when he returns in full Kylo Ren attire. Surprised, she almost drops the plate.

“I didn’t know what you would want so I ordered everything,” he says, plainly. “I hope it was okay.”

“More than okay. Thank you, Ben.”

He stiffens at her use of Ben. “Eat up. You will need energy today. We will train as soon as you are done and ready.”

“Train?”

“Yes. We need to move quickly if we are going to defeat Palpatine. He is already worried that I am betraying him for not having killed you yet.”

She nods, taking in his words. “Well, how are we going to get to Exegol? Don’t we need to find a way finder, too?”

“We don’t need a way finder. I’ve already been to Exegol.”

“Oh.” She resumes eating and offers him some of her food. He shakes his head.

“I will meet you in the arena. I will have my men lead you there, when you are ready. Don’t forget your light saber.”

“Are you not staying?”

“I have a meeting,” he says, tense once again.

“The Resistance?” she asks, voice tense.

“Yes.” He says, still tense.

She nods and says nothing. Her heart aches for her friends, her family. She hopes to the Stars that they are okay and that they know she will be too. He feels the sorrow within her and waits a minute before speaking again. “Take your time, Rey. There is no reason to rush.” With that, he leaves her alone again.

------------------------------

When she enters the arena, she is surprised to only find Kylo Ren there. He has stripped down to a black tank top but remains in the rest of his dark attire. Rey’s eyes cannot help but linger on his arms for a little bit longer than she should.

“Are you ready?” he asks.

“Yes.” As she moves closer to him, she feels the rage burning within him. She takes it that his meeting did not go well. He pulls out his saber and ignites the red flame. She mirrors his move and the humming of their sabers fills the room.

“Don’t hold back,” he says, voice deep.

“I never do.”

He starts to circle her, the red flame aggressively pointed at her. She waits for his first move and braces for his first swing. When he does swing, she meets his saber immediately.

They spar like this until they are both covered in sweat. After some time, Rey grows tired and struggles to meet Kylo Ren swing for swing. She grits her teeth as he takes advantage of her fatigue, pinning her to the wall. He uses the force to lock her body in place as he hovers his saber across her neck. Towering over her, he leans in roughly says to her, “You’re going to have to do better than that, scavenger.”

He releases her and turns away from her. After catching her breath, she raises her saber once again. “It’s a good thing that we’re not done yet, then, Ben.”

Ben. That does it. His anger finally boils over and his fist slams the wall. “Stop calling me that. I am not Ben,” he yells, fuming. He continues to face the wall, refusing to look at her as he tries to catch his breath.

Finally, he turns again to face her. His wrath is clear in his eyes. He advances towards her again. “You need to let go,” he yells at her again. “Ben Solo is dead” he repeats to her, voice full of venom. “Kylo Ren lives.”

“No,” she shouts back. This time, she is the first one to swing at him. He meets her swing for swing.

“Surrender to it, Rey. Surrender to the dark side. It’s in our nature. It’s who we are. I know you feel the pull. Give in.”

“No!” she grits out, continuing to spar with him.

“We can have everything. I can give you everything.”

“I don’t want everything!”

This time, she has the advantage as Kylo Ren starts to fatigue. She mirrors his earlier move and pins him to the wall with the force and her saber at his neck. His messy, sweaty hair covers most of his face as he looks at her. She watches the anger in his eyes change to sadness.

She releases him and he surprises her by falling to her feet. He grabs her legs and cries into them, suddenly overwhelmed with emotion and exhaustion from the conflict in his soul. Rey looks down at the Supreme Leader undone at her feet, completely stunned. His unpredictable changes in mood absolutely bewilder her. She stands there, tense and awkward, as she tries to wrap her head around what is unfolding before her. He grips her harder as his cries become more intense. At that, she relaxes and moves to turns off her light saber. She starts to run her fingers through his dark hair in an attempt to comfort him, unsure of what else she could do.

When he finally calms down, he looks up at her. His lips quiver and his eyes call out for her. “I need you, Rey,” he admits quietly, vulnerable. She moves her hand from his dark hair to the side of his face. “I don’t want to hurt you.” She inhales sharply at his words and her heart flutters. I’ve never lied to you, she recalls him saying to her.

“Then don’t,” she whispers.

He closes his eyes and moves to lean his forehead against her legs. “It’s not that simple,” he breathes.

“Let me help you.”

To that, he says nothing. He stays quiet and they remain in this position even as Kylo Ren’s favorite pain-in-his-side arrives.

“Supreme Leader.”

“Yes, General Hux?” he hisses out. He doesn’t bother moving and remains kneeling before Rey, resting on her, eyes closed.

“Am I interrupting again, sir?”

“No,” he says too quickly. “We were just training, Hux.”

“Looks like it,” he remarks, looking them up and down.

“Is there a reason why you are here, General Hux?”

“Yes. Your...presence is being requested again.”

Kylo Ren sighs. “I will be there in a few minutes, Hux.”

“I will let them know, Supreme Leader.”

When the door has finally closed, signaling Hux’s exit, Kylo Ren stands to face Rey. He brings his hand to her face and Rey, once again, notices the sadness in his dark eyes. He tilts her head slightly up and his thumb brushes against her lips and his eyes dance in between her eyes and her lips. In the back of his mind, he thinks, I would burn down everything for you. Rey stands before him intoxicated by his closeness and by the tension building between them. Her lips open in anticipation and she feels heat rise within her. She closes her eyes and when she thinks he is going to lean in, he releases her and, without a word, leaves.

She opens her eyes to find herself alone. She huffs in disappointment and catches her breath. She stays there, for a few minutes, trying to comprehend everything that just happened. After a minute, a storm troopers interrupts her to let her know he will be leading her back to her room.

------------------------------

She takes advantage of her alone time and enjoys the shower, more comfortable sleeping clothes, and a book once again. While he is gone, a droid comes in to deliver a series of dinner foods and asks if she needs anything. She responds with a polite, “No thank you,” and dines alone. He obviously was unsure of what she likes because she has enough food in front of her to feed twelve families. She sighs and remembers many nights not having this kind of experience.

Once she is full, the droid comes back to clean up for her. Starting to get bored, she roams around, exploring the space. She realizes how cold and dark his quarters are, like the man he wants her to believe he is.

She is back in his room, and in his bed, when she hears him come in. His boots hit the ground rather hard, and she guesses that this meeting didn’t go well either. She hears him sigh and head for the bathroom. She hears the shower running and starts to drift off at the calming noise.

She wakes up suddenly to warm, strong arms wrapped around her. “Rey,” a deep voice says into her ears. Ben, her mind registers. “Rey. It’s okay. It’s just a dream.”

Her body starts to relax and her erratic breathing becomes more stable. “Ben,” she whispers.

He slowly lets go of her and she moves to sit up. “You were thrashing and screaming - I didn’t mean to -”

“It’s okay,” she reassures him. “Thank you.”

“No, it’s not,” he starts. “You miss your friends. You’re worried about them.” This is when she becomes aware that he was able to see her nightmare through the bond. He was able to see her worst fear - Finn, Poe, Rose, and Chewie being tortured by the First Order.

Rey, unable to suppress her sorrow any longer, begins to cry. He hesitates for a moment, unsure of what to do with the crying Rey. Then, he starts to wrap his arms around her. She, in turn, wraps her arms around him and tightly embraces him, taking him by surprise. He lightly rests his head on top of hers as she cries into his night shirt.

When she able to breathe again, she apologizes for crying and for getting his shirt wet. He tells her she has nothing to apologize for and reminds her that she wasn’t the only one to cry today. This, luckily, puts a smile back on Rey’s face.

After a comfortable silence, Kylo Ren starts to move. “You should go back to sleep,” he says. When he starts to move away, Rey reaches out to grab his arm.

“Stay.”

“Rey...”

“Please.”

He exhales and moves into the bed with her. They lay facing each other and Rey thanks him for staying. He gives her a sad, soft smile and grabs her hand. They lay like this before they both drift off to sleep.

------------------------------

Chapter 3: All I need

She wakes up and immediately notices the empty half of the bed. She sighs and starts to get up from the bed. She opens the door, expecting the next room to be empty, and is surprised when she sees Kylo Ren, sitting at the table, deep in thought, with a data pad and a cup of coffee. He remains in his night clothes and his hair is messy from sleep. The scene strikes Rey as being so...normal.

“I didn’t think you would be here,” she says as she approaches him.

“Do you want me to leave?” he asks casually, looking up from his data pad.

“No,” she says too quickly. “I just...am not used to seeing you here.”

“Are you hungry?” he says, moving the conversation forward. “There’s coffee and tea over there and a few options. If you don’t like any of them, I can order something else.” He motions to the table in the distance.

“That is fine. Thank you.” She moves to the table and starts to pour herself a cup of coffee while she snacks on a few items. While she does so, he watches her. Satisfied with her coffee, she moves to sit at the table with him.

“Are we training today?”

“Yes. As soon as you are ready.”

She nods at that. After a moment of thinking, she speaks. “Ben...” she starts, trying to take his attention away from his data pad. “What happens after we defeat Palpatine?”

He looks at her from behind his messy locks. She cannot help but think about how young he looks like this. “What do you mean?”

“To us. What happens to us?”

He has been dreading this question. He hasn’t wanted to think about this since she admitted she wasn’t interested in the throne. Here they are again, once again, stuck between what reality is and what it should be. He sighs.

“I will take the throne,” he says, matter-of-factly. “And I will usher in the New Order. The Resistance will resist and we will resume our lives as enemies.”

“I don’t want to be enemies.”

“Then join me. Take the throne. I know you’ve already seen us on the throne of the Sith, Rey. It’s your destiny.”

“You know I’m going to do that.”

“You’ve made it this far.”

She sighs, not interested in engaging in this argument, and decides to change the subject. “I’m going to get ready. Are we meeting in the arena?”

“No, I am going with you.”

“Okay.” She bites her lip. “Thank you for breakfast.” He nods and she heads to his bedroom to change and put up her hair.

When she is ready, she emerges from his bedroom to find him waiting for her in his dark Kylo Ren attire once again. Silently, he leads her to the arena.

------------------------------

They spend hours in the arena. Sparring, learning, practicing, testing each other, and working together to construct a plan. When they are both sweaty and exhausted, they head back to Kylo Ren’s quarters. Both disappear to shower and change and then return to the living room to find dinner waiting for them.

“I hope this is okay,” Kylo Ren says in reference to the food in front of them.

“It is. It’s great. Thank you. I’m not used to having so much food.”

They eat mostly in silence, still tired from hours of training.

“I’m surprised Hux has not taken you away yet.”

“Mmm. He won’t. Well, he shouldn’t. Even the Supreme Leader needs some time off.”

After some silence, and once the droid has cleaned up everything for them, Rey yawns. “You should get some rest,” he tells her.

“Will you...will you sleep with me?” She immediately turns red at her accidental phrasing. “I mean...not like that...not that... I mean... will you share the bed with me?” she rambles, awkwardly. “I don’t want to be alone.”

He gives her an adoring half-smile. “Sure, Rey.” She starts to move away from the table. “Are you going to bed now?”

“Yes. Are you not?”

“I have a few things I need to attend to first but...I will join you shortly.”

“Okay,” she says as she heads to his bedroom.

------------------------------

She tries to sleep but finds herself tossing and turning. About one hour later, he quietly enters the room and immediately senses her anxiety.

“Rey?” he whispers, unsure if she is awake. He moves closer to the bed and starts to climb in.

“I can’t sleep,” she says.

“I can sense that.” He moves closer to her on the bed and faces his body towards hers. “Is something bothering you?”

“Yes,” she says quickly. “A few things, really. Mostly, I miss my friends. I worry about them. I feel like I abandoned them.” A tear runs down her cheek at her admission. Without thinking, Ben’s hand reaches to her face to gently wipe it away. He stays silent and lets her speak as she feels comfortable. “I miss them all - even Poe. But, I really miss Finn. I wish I could hear his voice right now,” another tear falls from her eye. Ben wipes away this one, too. As she continues to talk about Finn, she can feel Ben’s body and aura tense.

Eventually, he asks, “Are you...and...Finn...?”

“No,” she responds immediately, horror apparent her voice. “I mean, I love Finn. Just...not like that.” After a second she asks, “Why do you ask?” He doesn’t answer her and so she reaches into their bond to find the answer. “You’re jealous,” she realizes with a breathless laugh. He says nothing and his continues to stiffen. “Don’t worry. I only doodle Ben Solo’s name on my notebooks,” she teases. He groans.

He relaxes and moves his hand to push back some of the hair that has fallen in front of her face. “You will see them again soon, Rey.”

“But that also means that this is over,” she confesses. “I don’t want to fight you forever, Ben.”

“I know,” he says and she can hear the pain in his voice. “I don’t want that either, Rey.” More tears leak from her eyes and his hand is there to brush them away.

“Please don’t cry,” he whispers.

“Why does this have to be so complicated?” she whispers, sadly. To that, he closes his eyes for a moment. Then, he moves his forehead to rest on hers. The contact takes her by surprise and she is immediately consumed by his proximity. His smell, his breath, and his warmth. Their eyes move between the lips and eyes of the other. Rey feels heat within her once again. She is greeted only by the cold air when he abruptly pulls away from her and lies on his back, facing the ceiling.

“You should get some sleep,” he says, voice strained. She exhales sharply, annoyed, and turns her body to face away from him. Once a few minutes have passed, he slowly moves to wrap his body around her and hold her in his arms. She stiffens only at first and then welcomes his embrace. “I’m sorry,” he whispers into her ear. “I wish I could be the man you want.”

She turns rapidly to face him again. “Stop that,” she says. “You can be the man I want.”

“I’ve done a lot of bad things, Rey,” his voice is deep, dark, and serious.

“Under the influence of Palpatine and Snoke, Ben.”

“I don’t deserve you.”

“You don’t get to determine what I deserve. I do.”

“I can’t go back, Rey. They will put me on trial and execute me or lock me up for the rest of my life.”

“I won’t let that happen. You know that.”

He sighs and acknowledges he is no match for her fiery spit of hope. Having nothing else to say, he pulls her close to him and wraps his arms around her. She nuzzles into his chest and grips on to his shirt.

“Your mother loves you, Ben,” she says, softly. He tenses briefly as he realizes she is in his head. He starts to shut her out, afraid of what else she might see, and leans down to kiss the top of her head.

“Get some sleep, Rey.”

She nuzzles even more into his chest, feeling the warmth from him, his side of the bond, and his sweet gesture. “Goodnight, Ben,” she whispers.

------------------------------

Chapter 4: Tear in my heart

The next morning she finds herself alone, again. She finds breakfast waiting for her and sighs. As much as she does enjoy having real food, and plenty of it, she is starting to feel restless locked inside of Kylo Ren’s quarters. She eats and is only briefly interrupted by the droid Kylo Ren sends every day to check in on Rey and take care of anything she may need. Today, her only request is to hear the news.

“The news, Miss?”

“Yes.”

The droid starts reporting news from all over the galaxy. Rey listens intently, hoping to hear something, anything about the Resistance. She is sorely disappointed when she receives no updates.

“Would you like anything else, Miss?”

“No, thank you.”

Once the droid leaves, she remains alone for most of the morning. Until, she hears a pounding at the door. She moves closer to the door and uses the force to open it. Hux.

“Good morning,” he says, looking Rey up and down with clear distaste. He sends into the room and moves closer to Rey. “I am looking for the Supreme Leader,” he says after clearing his throat.

“He’s not here.”

“No?” he says. “What a shame.” Hux quickly moves his hand to grab the blaster at his side. He is about to raise the blaster at Rey when he is suddenly frozen in place and choking. Eyes wide, Rey looks to the doorway to see Kylo Ren, complete with his mask and cape, reaching his hand out towards Hux.

“I wouldn’t recommend doing that, General Hux,” Kylo Ren’s deep voice fills the room. Once General Hux starts to turn blue, Kylo Ren flicks his wrist to throw Hux’s body against the wall. Hux crashes violently against the wall. Once Hux hits the ground, wheezing, Kylo Ren walks over to tower over the small man. “I have faith that you will not attempt that again, General Hux,” he says, voice threatening. “And I believe you have other business to attend to.”

Hux looks up at the large man with revulsion. Once he has caught his breath, he lets a small and weak “Yes, Supreme Leader,” escape from his mouth. As soon as he can stand, he scrambles out of the room.

Kylo Ren waits a moment before turning to face Rey, whose eyes remain wide. He slowly walks over to her, red and black mask still on. “Are you okay?” he asks, voice even deeper than usual.

“Yes.”

“You shouldn’t open the door,” he starts, “He could’ve hurt you.”

“I wasn’t thinking,” she admits. She feels his simmering fury through the bond.

“We need to move faster than I anticipated” he says. “Palpatine is growing weary and you will only continue to face threats to your safety on this ship.” His voice is as frigid as he looks as Kylo Ren. “We will need to prepare to leave tomorrow.” With that, he reaches up to take off his helmet, revealing his tired face. Rey visibly relaxes as soon as the mask comes off. She moves towards him and wraps her arms around his body. He looks down at her in utter surprise and then holds her close.

“You didn’t need to hurt Hux like that,” she says into his chest.

“He was going to kill you.”

“I can handle myself, you know.”

“I know.”

She squeezes him tightly and after a moment says, “Thank you. For saving me.”

He says nothing but lightly kisses the top of her head. His lips linger for a second as he breathes her in and Rey feels that familiar heat building inside of her. A second later, he pulls away completely. “We should train,” he says, trying to gain composure. “Are you ready?”

She really hates when he does that. “Yes,” she says, slightly annoyed. He really hates when he does that too. Oh, the things he wants to do. He resists his urges in the interest of not making this experience any more painful than it has to be.

“I have something I need to...check on and then I will be there. I shouldn’t be long. I will have you escorted. You can start without me and I will join as soon as I can.”

“Okay,” she says. When he starts to leave she calls out, “Wait. Can I ask you something...about the Resistance?”

He turns to look at her but says nothing. She takes this as a yes. “Are...my friends alive?”

He waits a moment before answering. “Yes. Yes, Rey. Unfortunately for the First Order, they are fine.” With that, he puts his helmet back on and disappears.

------------------------------

She is whispering “Be with me,” over and over again as she floats, sitting, in the air when he arrives. She feels him come in and doesn’t open her eyes to look at him until he is closer to her. Once he is, she sighs and states that “They are still not with me.” When she does look at him, she is delighted to see him back in the black tank top.

She starts to lower herself down to the ground and greets him with a simple “Hi.”

“Hi,” he replies.

She feels his frustration and asks him if everything is alright.

“Mmm...it is now that I’m here with you,” he says, moving closer.

“You can talk to me, you know,” she tells him.

He chooses to change the subject. “We should get started.”

It is hours later in the arena when he decides to spar with her again, paying attention to her form so he can help correct it. The push and pull of the fight between them is suddenly interrupted by a female voice in his head. “Ben...” it whispers. Mom, he realizes.

Kylo Ren stops moving, immediately, and turns around. Rey, not anticipating this, still swings and grazes Kylo Ren’s arm. She is about to cry out when she feels it. Leia.

Rey gasps as Kylo Ren falls to his knees. Tears streaming down Rey’s face as she walks over to Kylo Ren. “Ben...” she cries as she crouches down with him. “I’m - I’m so sorry. Ben... you’re bleeding,” she notices the blood running down his pale arm through her tear-filled eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to - I didn’t know...And...” she struggles to find the words and to speak through her tears. He stays there, motionless. He says nothing as she lifts a hand to his arm to heal him. She closes her eyes to focus and he watches as the tears drip down her face. She starts to wipe away the blood from his arm and he brings a hand to rest over the one on his arm. He whispers a quiet, “Thank you,” and Rey’s heart continues to shatter.

They stay like this until General Hux asks for Kylo Ren’s presence.

------------------------------

Rey is already asleep when she hears loud crashing coming from outside of the bedroom. She jolts from the bed and opens the door to find Kylo Ren surrounded by destruction. “Rey,” he says, apologetically. “I didn’t mean to wake you. I wasn’t thinking.”

She looks around the mess and her eyes land on the broken, torn, and sad man in the middle of it all. She walks up to him and puts a hand on the side of his face. He closes his eyes at her touch. “It’s okay,” she tells him.

“She’s gone,” he whispers. He opens his eyes to meet hers.

“But what she stood for and what she fought for isn’t.” At this, he closes his eyes again. She moves her hand and wraps her arms around him. He leans down and rests his chin against her head, holding her tightly. Against his chest she whispers, “Come to bed.” She pulls away, takes his hand, and leads him to bed. Once there, he sighs and wraps his arms around Rey again. She nuzzles into his neck in response.

“Rey...” he says, sadly.

“I know.”

------------------------------

This time, when she wakes up, his arms are still around her. He has already been up by the time she starts to stir. He loosens his grip to allow her space to move.

“You’re here,” she breathes happily into his chest.

“Mmm,” he hums in response. “We leave today.”

“You didn’t sleep well,” she frowns after looking into their bond.

“I have a lot on my mind,” he says. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes,” she says, nuzzling back into his neck.

“Good. At least one of us needs to be strong today.”

She is quiet for a moment, fully becoming aware of what they are embarking on in just a few hours. “Today is a big day,” she remarks.

“It is,” is all he says, tersely.

“I don’t want this to end,” she admits shyly. “Are you sure we can’t just stay here and let the galaxy save itself?”

He smiles at that. “I don’t want this to end either.” He gives her a squeeze.

“It doesn’t have to,” she whispers just loud enough for him to hear.

He says nothing in response and kisses the top of her head.

“We should get ready,” he finally says, letting her go and moving out of the bed. She groans.

------------------------------

Chapter 5: The last of the real ones

By the time she gets out of the shower, breakfast is waiting for both of them. They mostly sit in silence as she eats and he drinks his coffee. She feels his anxiety through the bond but he blocks her from being able to pick up any more. She notices that he isn’t eating much and tells him, “You should eat some more. You’ll need the energy.”

“I’m not that hungry,” he admits. “Too distracted,” he murmurs to himself.

He looks exhausted and she is becoming concerned. “Are you ready for this? We can wait - I know you don’t want to but -”

“I am ready.”

She decides not to push this any further. “Okay.”

“I am going to notify General Hux of my departure and request for my ship to be prepared. You can pack or prepare while I am gone. I packed last night while you were asleep so I will be ready when you are.”

She nods and responds with another “Okay.”

When he starts to get up she asks him to wait. “Is everything...okay?”

He gives her a soft, sad half-smile. “It will be. I’ll be back soon. Take anything you want or think we’ll need.” With that, he puts his Kylo Ren mask on and leaves.

------------------------------

When he returns, she is anxiously biting her nails. She sits near the door next to their two bags of things. She looks up at him as he walks closer to her. He is still wearing his mask and is in full Kylo Ren attire, once again - cape and all.

“Are you ready?” he says, mask always making his voice even deeper.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she remarks, dryly.

He pauses for a moment and looks at her. She wishes she could see his face. He coldly responds with “Follow me,” and turns on his heel. She follows him, surrounded by storm troopers. She notes that he looks as cold and intimidating as ever.

As they reach the hangar, Rey notices General Hux waiting for them at the bottom of the ramp leading into Kylo Ren’s TIE fighter. Once they get closer, Hux greets Kylo Ren by saying, “I hope you have a safe trip, Supreme Leader.” Kylo Ren nods slightly in acknowledgment and then turns to Rey.

“After you,” he says to her, voice lacking emotion. She nods and boards the ship with him following closely behind her. Once they make it to the top of the ramp, he presses the button to close the ramp and leads silently Rey towards the pilot seat. He sits, enters coordinates, checks that Rey is comfortable, and takes one final look at the Finalizer, and takes off.

Once they are far away enough, Kylo Ren takes off his mask. Still anxious, he runs a hand through his dark hair and Rey thinks about how tired he looks. They sit in silence while he remains lost in his blocked-off thoughts and Rey tries to find the words to say.

Time passes slowly until Rey is unexpectedly startled by Kylo Ren starting to land the fighter on a planet that is definitely not Exegol. “Ben?” she asks, nervously, as he gets closer and closer to the ground. He doesn’t respond, too focused on landing. When they have successfully landed, he responds to her. “Change of plans.”

“What?”

“We are meeting someone here. They’ll be here shortly,” he says, too calmly.

“Who? What?” she asks quickly, eyes wide.

“I don’t want to ruin the surprise,” he says, slightly amused at her reaction.

“Since you’ve been inside of my head, you should know that I hate surprises,” Rey replies, unamused. She crosses her arms in childlike frustration.

He laughs and moves closer to her. He leans over her and rests his forehead on hers. “Do you trust me?” he asks her. She nods and his hands move to the sides of her head as he gently kisses her forehead - another surprise she wasn’t prepared for. “I’ll be right back,” he says. “You can wait outside, if you want.” He moves quickly and disappears. Unsure of what else to do, she waits outside.

She starts to walk away from the fighter when she sees a ship coming their way. She gasps as she sees it - really sees it. It’s the Falcon. A smile crosses her face as the ship nears her and she sees the pilot - “Chewie,” she says to herself. When the ship lands, Rey’s smile widens as BB-8 emerges from the ramp. “BB-8!” Rey moving to the droid. Rey laughs at BB-8′s excitement and says, “I know - we have a lot to catch up on.”

Their reunion is interrupted by a familiar roar. “Chewie!” Rey exclaims as she runs to hug her friend. “How did you...?” she starts to ask.

“I called him last night while you were asleep,” says Ben from behind them. Rey turns to face him and is taken aback by his new outfit. He replaced his Kylo Ren attire with a light black sweater, a fitted black jacket, and a black chest holster that drapes over his jacket. Without thinking, she immediately moves closer to him. “Ben,” she breathes, a wide smile gracing her lips as she realizes what this means. Ben. Ben Solo. “How?” she starts to ask, trying to register all of it. “And Hux?” She moves even closer to him as if he is a magnet pulling her in.

“He doesn’t know. I told him -” his explanation is interrupted by her lips crashing onto his. This time, she surprises him. He decides he likes these kind of surprises as he kisses her back, moving his hand to her neck to gently embrace her further. She pulls back and looks at him, smile still wide. “Ben Solo,” she breathes, searching his eyes. He gives her a wide, boyish smile and laughs. “You like the new clothes, I take it,” he jokes.

The moment is ruined by Chewie coughing, since they seemed to have forgotten about his presence. With that, Rey lets go of Ben and Ben moves towards Chewie. He walks slowly to Chewie and sadness replaces his moment of happiness with Rey. “Chewie,” Ben says, full of mixed emotions. After a moment, Chewie roars and embraces Ben. “I know,” says Ben to Chewie, hugging him back. “Thank you, even if you are not fully doing this for me.” Chewie pulls back and places a comforting hand on Ben’s shoulder.

“Ready?” Chewie asks.

Ben Solo looks back at Rey. “Yes,” he says.

As they board the Falcon, Ben asks Rey if she still hates surprises. She playfully hits his arm and his boyish smile returns. Rey makes it her goal to see more of that smile.

------------------------------

Rey holds Ben’s hand as she talks Resistance business with Chewie. Every once in a while, she gives his hand a gentle squeeze. She still feels his anxiety and hopes to reassure him in any way she can.

“How will Finn and Poe get to us?” she asks Chewie.

“Thanks to Ben’s guidance, we will be able to send our coordinates to them,” he responds.

“And they are aware?”

“Yes,” replies Chewie as BB-8 excitedly beeps.

She squeezes Ben’s hand again and looks at him, full of admiration, hope, and love. He starts to blush under her gaze. Thank you, she sends through their bond.

I would do anything for you, he admits to her. This time, she blushes and her heart skips a beat. He squeezes her hand.

Attempting to stay composed, she clears her throat and turns her attention back to Chewie. “I can’t wait to see everyone again.”

“Everyone can’t wait to see you. We missed you, Rey,” Chewie responds.

“I just wish General Organa could see this,” she says, quietly and sadly. Ben lowers his head at this and a silence falls upon them.

“She will always be with you,” Chewie says to both of them after a moment.

Rey looks at their interlocked hands and looks up to Ben and notices him staring out the window, lost in thought. She takes a second to admire his face before sending Ben? to him.

There is so much I regret, Rey, he thinks to her, still looking away.

There’s plenty of time to make it right, she reassures him through their bond. They would be proud of you, Ben. At this, he looks back at Rey. She sees the pain in his eyes as he gives her the saddest half-smile she has ever seen. She takes their interlocked hands and brings them to her lips so she can kiss his hand. He closes his eyes at her touch and leans back in his chair, relaxing. Thank you, he sends to her.

Anytime, Ben Solo. He smiles.

Rey turns her attention back to the mission before them. “How far away are we?”

After a series of beeps, BB-8 reports that they are are a few minutes away at most.

Are you ready? she asks him through their bond.

As ready as I’ll ever be, he sends back, echoing her earlier words.

----------------------

Chapter 6: Young God

The Falcon rocks slightly as they land in the dark paradise of Exegol. Ben presses the button to release the ramp as soon as the ship is steady. The ramp hisses as it reaches the ground. Ben and Rey look at each other, full of a mix of heavy emotions. “Just like we planned, Rey,” he says. “I’ll be right behind you. Don’t let him into your head.” He swallows, realizing this could be it for both of them. Eyes wide, Rey only nods.

“Rey—” he starts.

“No.” She cuts him off. “Tell me later.”

He nods and she starts to walk down the ramp. Before she gets too far, he grabs her by the arm, pulls her back to him, grabs both sides of her face, and crashes his lips to hers. She moves her hands to his neck to embrace him further and hums into the kiss. He pulls back and rests his forehead on hers as they both catch their breath. “Okay. Now, you can go,” he says, looking at her and smiling her favorite smile. Her heart flutters and for the first time in her life, she feels butterflies in her stomach.

“You’ll be the death of me, Ben Solo,” she says, breathless.

“Mmm. Didn’t I already tell you I wasn’t going to kill you? I have far better plans for you,” he croons into her ear before lightly kissing the side of her face. A shiver runs down her spine and she hits him playfully. “Ow,” he cries, pretending to be injured from her hit. She smiles briefly and then takes a deep breath.

“I’ll see you soon,” is all she says before turning to face her grandfather.

----------------------

The Sith crowd clamors behind Rey as her grandfather narrates her movements. When she lifts her light saber in conjunction with her grandfather’s words, she wonders where the Force Ben is. Of course, in that moment, as if the Force hears her thoughts, she feels the familiar hum of their bond and her lips part in surprise when she sees him. She immediately scans his face and notices the blood covering him. She tries to conceal her emotions as they lock eyes, not wanting to make her grandfather aware. Ben gives her a small nod and Rey, with eyes wide and full of admiration, gives him one back.

The connection ends and Rey waits a second before breaking from her grandfather’s narration and advances on his surrounding guards. The Sith guards surround her and she takes them by herself until she feels his presence: Ben.

He uses the Force to eliminate the last guard and walks over to her. They face each other for a moment, nod, and turn to face Palpatine, together, light sabers ready.

“Stand together. Die together!” he roars.

----------------------

He continues to climb, determined to get back to her. Finally, his hand grips the top of the cliff Palpatine threw him over.

He spots her almost immediately and his heart drops. Injured, he walks and limps over to her as quickly as he can, ignoring the pain shooting out of his body. As he gets closer, he caresses her arm and pulls her into him, desperate for a sign of life from her. He sits and adjusts her so her body is resting on him as he says, “Rey…can you hear me? Hold on.” He looks around, hoping to see anyone, and sees nothing but darkness. He looks at her almost lifeless body, tears in his eyes, and pulls her into him to embrace her. He holds her here, like this, as he comes to terms with what he knows he has to do next. He is going to sacrifice himself, for her.

He moves back to sit up, knowing he doesn’t have much time. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and uses the Force to give her what remains of his life force. Her hand moves to his as she wakes and he opens his eyes to meet hers. He supports her as she shifts in his lap, moving to sit up. “Ben,” she breathes, smiling. Rey moves her hand to the side of his face as her eyes dart between his eyes and lips. When she closes her eyes and leans in, she feels him slip away from her. She opens her eyes, in panic, to see him on the ground. Unconscious. This is not how she imagined this moment.

“Ben?” she says, nervously? “No, no, no,” she whispers to herself, tears forming at her eyes. “Ben? Please, Ben. Ben?” She moves to lean over his body. Her hand moves to caress his face as tears stream from her eyes. The last thing Ben hears is “Please, Ben. Hold on.”

----------------------

Ben Solo wakes up in a room that is way too bright. His face scrunches immediately when his eyes flutter open. The next thing Ben Solo notices is that he has a killer headache. At this, he groans. The third thing he notices is the restraints on his arms as his body attempts to move. This evokes another groan. The fourth thing he notices is the sleeping body of Rey curled up next to him. This causes his heart to absolutely burst. He watches her as she starts to stir.

“Ben?”

“Rey,” he says, voice husky from sleep.

“Ben!” she exclaims, full of relief. She moves to sit up to get a full look at him. “How are you feeling?” she asks with concern.

“I’ve been better,” he groans. “Where am I?”

“A medical room at The Resistance base.” He nods and looks away from her briefly.

“I thought so…given the restraints.” She says nothing, not wanting to have this conversation just yet.

“How long have I been out?” he asks.

“A few days.”

“What?” He looks at her, eyes wide. “How…?”

She sighs and takes his hand in hers. To answer the question she knows he is asking, she closes her eyes and shows him everything he missed, including the days she spent in this room by his side.

“Rey…”

Her eyes flutter open again and he watches a tear escape from her eye. “I couldn’t let you go,” she says, voice breaking. “I just got you.”

Cursing the restraints, he uses the Force to wiggle out of them so he can wipe her tears away and pull her into his chest to embrace her.

He peppers his forehead with kisses as she cries. “Shh, Rey,” he whispers as he tightens his grip on her. “It’s okay. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Don’t ever do that to me again,” she says into his chest, threatening. He knows he would. Deep down, she knows he would, too. He would sacrifice himself for her every time. He would die for her. It’s not even a choice. He doesn’t verbalize any of this in fear of upsetting her and instead responds by gently squeezing her closer into his chest.

Once she has calmed down, she moves to sit up so she can look at him with her now red-from-crying eyes. “What were you going to tell me on Exegol before I cut you off?” she asks, quietly. His eyes soften and he stays quiet for a moment before responding.

“I was going to tell you that I am Force-sensitive.”

She playfully hits him. “I’m serious.”

“So am I!”

“Ben.”

“Okay.”

He put his hand on the side of her face. “I was going to tell you that I love you.”

“Ben…” she breathes as she feels what she assumes is her heart bursting inside of her chest. She moves to straddle his hips and then crashes her lips on his. Her needy, quick kisses melt into slower, passionate kisses as he moves his hands to her lower back, wanting to get her even closer to him. In the background, the monitor for Ben’s heart rate goes wild.

Eventually, he pulls back to catch his breath and smiles his wide, boyish smile. He laughs as he acknowledges the wildly beeping monitor saying, “We should stop before a nurse droid comes rushing in thinking I am having a heart attack.”

“Mmm..I didn’t realize I had this kind of affect on you, Ben Solo,” she teases. “I wonder what else I could do to get your heart racing,” she says as she moves to grind her hips on him.

“Rey…” he groans as the monitor goes wild once again.

She laughs, smiles, and leans in to rest her forehead on his. “I love you, too, Ben.” He smiles and looks at her like she is his entire universe.

Both of their eyes go wide in fear as they suddenly hear the door opening behind them. Rey turns to see a medical droid rushing in, panicked. As the droid discovers the two of them and asks if everything is alright, Ben and Rey laugh.

"Yes,” Ben says, answering the droid while looking at Rey. “Everything is just fine.”

----------------------

Thank you for reading! I wrote this story because I had an abnormal amount of free time and because my heart has been aching since watching the end of TROs. I admittedly don’t know everything about the Star Wars universe, but I hope you enjoy this. I will be adding more as soon as I can!

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zetalial · 4 years

Text

Further thoughts on Star wars: episode 9

So the overall experience was a positive one - I was hooked into the film from the first scene. Not all of it was amazing - it’s far from my favourite Star Wars film - but I sincerely enjoyed it.

(warning: spoilers)

I had heard Palpatine would be back and he was! At first, I was a little wary about this choice as his defeat in episode six seemed like a good conclusion to him already but honestly he reeled me back in with his line - a callback to revenge of the six - “the dark side of the force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be... unnatural.”

In this movie he reveals that Palpatine has been hiding in the shadows, somehow reborn through some sort of dark power on this legendary planet of the Sith. He is almost certainly limited in strength though as he hasn’t left in the past 20 or so years and has simply sat there, doing what he does best: manipulating the minds of powerful but emotional people in order to reel them into the dark side.

He created Snoke and with him the First Order and he’s been manipulating Kylo Ren. He offers Kylo Ren power, to build a great empire and become the ruler and Palpatine reveals hundreds of spaceships all with the power to destroy entire worlds. Still, there is opposition in the form of what remains of the Resistance and the Last Jedi, Rey.

Spies within the First Order, inform the resistance of Palpatine’s existence and seeking him out and destroying him is the Resistance’s new objective and the plot of this film.

Despite, my initial reservations, I think it’s pretty good. Episode 9 is not just the end of a trilogy of movies after all, it’s the ninth and this sets up Palpatine as the overall villain, a perfect representation of the evils of the Sith. Now, I don’t think a sequel trilogy of films needed to be made and with the end of this trilogy I can honestly say, I’m not sure they added all that much to the Saga - their themes were mostly the same and I don’t feel like they really added all that much to the overall world. They have functioned broadly as remakes of the original trilogy and largely played it safe, I think. That said, the presence of Palpatine as the one pulling all the strings really pulls the whole thing together and makes it feel more a part of this same epic story. (Honestly, the amount of fanservice for the original trilogy is perhaps a bit much and as a Prequels fangirl I kinda wish there had been a couple more nods to it though I’m aware that they were a long time ago in the timeline.)

So: Rey. In the last Jedi we got this pretty striking theme of how you don’t have to be born special or important with a secret backstory to become a hero - a Jedi. This film, decided to give Rey an important parentage but spins the message pretty effectively into your parentage not defining you. It’s revealed that Rey is Palpatine’s granddaughter whom her parents gave away to protect her before being killed by him. Palpatine plans to use Rey for her to fall and succumb to the darkness and for his spirit to be born anew inside her as she takes the throne as the Galaxy’s empress.

Heh. the Last Jedi received an astonishing amount of hate. I don’t think it’s fair but Star Wars fans are ever so picky and didn’t appreciate it trying to subvert their expectations with twists like Rey having no backstory, Luke having had moments of weakness and being an exile refusing to take up the call, new force powers, Snoke being defeated, and... okay much of the resistance stuff was a bit weak. I thought it was cool how Po had a daring plan of getting a codebreaker and trying to turn off the shields in a risky endeavour only for that plan to just fail which was a subversion that actually really caught me by surprise and helped me to become genuinely invested in the remaining plot though.

Err, anyway, again the resistance stuff wasn’t nearly as interesting as Rey’s stuff. I liked how again she just did whatever she wanted and the others just kind of followed her around, repeatedly talking about how this was their final hope while Rey was just having her own internal battle with Kylo Ren.

The force bond from the Last Jedi continued to be important as Kylo uses it to track down and repeatedly fight Rey. Kylo Ren’s motives are a little weird as he’s leading the First Order but I’ve never really been convinced he really wants to be emperor - he seems to be angry that Rey is on an opposite side to him and wants her to rule beside him just like their ancestors Vader and Palpatine. The real issue though is that he believes he can’t be redeemed for evils such as killing his father. He and Rey are so different though.

We see Rey use Force Lightning and destroys a ship and she think she’s killed Chewbacca - a clear foreshadowing of her heritage. Later, in a fight against Kylo Ren she manages to steal his Red lightsabre and stabs him lethally with it, again nearly succumbing to darkness. Still, she has great propensity for good and evil as she heals the damage she inflicted, calling Kylo by his given name, the name he feels himself unworthy of: Ben.

She runs away and nearly gives up entirely but for Luke’s ghost calming her down and telling her to have hope and she heads to the Sith Planet to face Palpatine once and for all. Kylo Ren is having his own crisis and flings away his Red Lightsabre as he has a vision of his father forgiving him. Then he heads to the Sith Planet too, to help Rey defeat Palpatine.

(It’s kinda cheap how after so much work to find the planet, she just discovers another beacon to lead her there but whatever. Yeah, a lot of the plot just happens with fights and meeting people and I’m not sure it really all needed to be there, it’s close to just filling time between them important plot of the conflict between Kylo, Rey and Palpatine. The resistance comes in force at the end to fight but the exact same scenes could’ve happened without any more resistance stuff than what we got in the Last Jedi. Threepio loses and regains his memories, Finn meets some more former stormtroopers, Po has an old friend who... exists. They get trapped in a hole, Chewie gets captured and saved again, there’s a spy working for the resistance and it’s Hux who just gets killed. They get a different ship with another funny little droid. Stuff happens but none of it adds all that much - the hope the resistance was spreading was there at the end of the Last Jedi. )

But the Rey and Kylo stuff was good!

Palpatine tempts her to kill him, an act borne of hate would lead to him being able to take control of her and he’d be reborn inside of his descendent to form a new empire and so we have Rey being tempted with darkness while her friends above her are dying, overwhelmed.

But she stands strong and the resistance rallies with people coming to help. And Kylo comes to save her and he fights with Luke’s sabre while she fights with Leia’s. Finally, the two of them have come together on the same side to fight evil.

But Palpatine sees their powerful bond and uses Force drain, suggesting that this was his plan all along - that their bond was special and with it he has achieved great power, allowing the Sith to be reborn. He force lightnings the entire resistance flee, and it seems all hope is lost as Kylo Ren falls.

And yet, Rey draws on the power of all the Jedi, calling them to her, asking for strength and the hear her plea and empower her and she finds the strength to stand and wield her lightsabre. Palpatine says he is the power of all the Sith and Rey confidently replies that she is all the Jedi and she overcomes him. Thus the Sith are defeated once and for all and overhead the Resistance defeats the First order.

Kylo Ren appears and it looks as if Rey is dead.

But finally she wakes up and they just stare at each other. And they kiss. I though I would hate it... but I really loved this moment - despit ethe stangeness and the conlfict I loved this soft moment where the show that they love each other and this love is a bit of what helped them to overcome. And if you didn’t like it Kylo Ren dies immediately after, passing into the force. Did he sacrifice his life force to save Rey?

Honestly, I wish he hadn’t died, I liked how the two became closer and how Kylo Ren was starting to find redemption through Rey. But it’s an echo of Vader who he tried to emulate for so long. Just like him, he managed to redeem himself and defeat Palpatine.

We close with a shot of Rey on a desert planet - Tatooine, I think. She buries Luke and Leia’s lightsabres in the ground and sees their ghosts smiling at her at she wields a lightsabre of her own - a yellow one. When an old woman asks for her name, she calls herself Rey Skywalker - not literally descended form them but part of her all the same.

So that’s the film and yeah it’s a very traditional battle of wills and a fight between good and evil. There’s not super clever plans, just dedication and hope that helps them to prevail over evil. there’s some funny moments and some reveals and plenty of cheesy lines but nothing too challenging. It has hints at exploring deeper things - Rey and Kylo’s kiss, Palpatine’s corrupt influence, Po and Finn becoming leaders of the resistance, more former stormtroopers, a spy with morally dubious motives, the secret Sith planet in general, plus some of the learning Rey’s done of the jedi order. But none of this is really explored as it’s kept safe.

Rey buries lightsabres at the end but wields her own but is she training the next generation? How did the Resistance call out for help/ I would have loved to see individuals going out of their way to fight but all we see is their massive army appearing. This film has got some charm but it keeps things simple. The force isn’t explained it’s just willpower and hope that prevails over evil.

That said, i did enjoy the film and I enjoyed Rey and Kylo Ren and Emperor Palpatine.

#star wars #the rise of skywalker #spoilers #er this is really long #i basically covered the entire plot

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eclecticminded · 5 years

Text

Stubborn

Here is a winning fic for @australiancarisi I took your idea and tweaked it just a bit. Hope you like it!!!

Three times Sonny was overprotective and one time you were.

Warnings: Cursing. Gun violence. Blood. Hospital.

Word count: 2549

Tags: @southsiderepresent @glimmerglittergirl @madpanda75 @southern-magnolia @katmstanton @esparza-army @sweetsummertime99 @obfuscateyummy @lifeisbetterwithbarba @lyssa1385 @hux-me-up @bowieisawizard @sleepylunarwolf @mrsrafaelbarba anyone else ask!

Also I have a Kofi (link in blog description) if anyone wants to donate!

Sonny Carisi had been your partner since you started at Manhattan SVU. He showed you the ropes and you became fast friends. You developed a small crush, but you knew it was inappropriate and shoved those feelings into a box and ignored them. But damnit, Sonny made them so hard to ignore with how sweet and caring he was. Sometimes it annoyed you, not that he was being nice, but because you wanted more from him and would never ask for it.

One such time was when you were lead on an investigation and he kept running interference between you and the perp. The guy was a sadistic motherfucker who tortured women to death that reminded him of his mother, and you fit the bill to a T. That’s why Olivia made you lead, and it has Sonny up in arms.

“Let me take the lead on this one,” Sonny whispered to you outside interrogation one. You’d been letting the perp sit; he didn’t like to be kept waiting.

“No way Sonny,” you crossed your arms and scrunched your forehead up, “I’m lead. I made the arrest. I get to do the interrogation.”

“But you’re his type,” Sonny almost sounded like he was pleading, “He might try something on ya.”

“Dominick Carisi jr, I am just as much a detective as you are,” you poked his chest with your pointer finger, “I can handle myself.”

“She’s using your full name,” Fin walked up, “Must be serious.”

“He doesn’t want me in there,” you pointed at the perp who was tapping his foot with a scowl on his face.

“She’s lead Carisi,” Fin crossed his arms to match your stance, “Last thing Liv said before leaving for parent teacher conferences was ‘You’re in charge Fin, and YN is lead on the case.’”

“Fine fine,” Sonny held his hands up in surrender, “But I’m coming in too.”

“Of course you are,” you patted his back, “You’re my good cop.” With a wink you threw the door open and sauntered in cockily, spinning the chair around backwards to sit and dropping a file fodder on the table.

“About damn time,” the perp licked his lips and eyed you up and down.

“Had more important things to do,” you shrugged and Sonny came to sit down next to you glaring at the guy.

“Doubtful, a woman like you? Nothing but a whore,” the man spat at you. Sonny stiffened and you laughed.

“Well this whore is the one that caught you so I’m better than you that’s for sure,” you picked the file up and circled the room to stand behind him uninterested.

“I bet he did all the work and you’re taking credit,” the man motioned to Sonny.

“Not at all,” Sonny relaxed into his chair, “I let her do the hard work.”

“You don’t let me do shit,” your voice was angry but you winked at Sonny, it was all a game.

“You going to let her talk to you like that,” the man challenged Sonny.

“I hold all the cards,” you thumbed through the folder, “I have your DNA and fingerprints on their bodies and clothes. I win. You lose. You’re a loser.”

“You take that back,” the man spun around and glared; if looks could kill you’d be struck down.

“Thems the facts. You killed and tortured three women, and I have all the proof,” you held up the folder.

“It was four you bitch! Shelia Moore. Alyssa Hinks. Monique Ford. Helen Bell. Get it right,” the man was fuming, his face was red and you had to bite your lip to keep from laughing.

“Wow,” your eyes widened in surprise, “you were easier than I thought you’d be. Fastest confession ever. Think I’ll win an award Carisi?”

“Bet the Lieutenant will buy you dinner even,” Sonny nodded approvingly.

“No good whore,” the man flipped his chair charging at you and before Sonny could react, you’d knocked the man on his ass. You’d clothes lined him and he crashed into the floor.

“Thanks buddy,” you dropped the file on his chest and take out menus fell out. Other officers came in to cuff him and take him to booking.

“You okay,” Sonny cupped your face then started frantically checking your arm for injury.

“I’m fine Sonny,” you rolled your eyes and pulled away, “I told you I could handle myself.”

A couple weeks later you were out with Sonny making an arrest. The perp was a women that would drug and sexually blackmail out of town men. She was easy enough to track down and again Sonny was being overprotective. The two of you had been at lunch when the arrest warrant went through and it was cute. Sonny had ordered your food while you were in the bathroom and got everything right. It only made you resent his overprotection more.

“Listen doll,” Sonny put his hand on his hip and you took a deep breath as not to let him know the combination of his pet name for you and stance was melting your insides.

“Don’t you doll me,” you pointed in his face.

“Let me take this one yeah? If she tries to fight back I can take her,” he smiled and you knew he meant well but the way he phrased it pissed you off.

“Well maybe if you don’t have confidence in me, we shouldn’t be partners,” you shrugged nonchalantly.

“That’s not what I meant,” he was backpedaling fast, “I just meant that—“

“Sonny, you have to trust me, I’m a good detective,” your hand rested on his shoulder and they slumped.

“I know, I just worry about you sometimes,” he shook his head.

“Don’t worry about me, I can handle myself,” he slumped further and now you were backpedaling as well, “I worry about you too.”

“You do,” he brightened up instantly and it have you a glimmer of hope that he might like you how you liked him, but you shoved that feeling away.

“I do,” you nodded over his shoulder, “And there’s your perp. Go get her tiger.”

“Let’s do this,” he spun on his heel and approached the woman with his badge. Before he could read her any rights, she kicked him hard in the crotch. Sonny doubled over groaning and the woman took off like a bullet.

“You okay,” you patted his back and he held his thumb up. That was your cue and you took off after the women. She was weaving through alleys and running across traffic. You were nearly hit twice by the same cab and it just pissed you off more. Not only was she making you break a sweat, but she hurt Sonny. It took three blocks but you tackled her to the ground and got her handcuffed. Sonny pulled up as you walked back to where you’d left him. Once she was in the car you grabbed his sleeve.

“Are you okay” you searched his face for the truth.

“Yeah I’m fine,” he rolled his eyes, “I’ll survive.”

“Will you trust me already? I can do this job too ya know,” you pleaded with your eyes and he relaxed.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you…” he trailed off and kept his lips shut when you motioned for you to go on.

“What is it then,” you held your breath.

“Forget it,” he climbed in the car and left you disappointed yet again.

Not too long after, the squad was faced with a hostage situation. The man had taken his wife and daughter hostage and refused to talk to anyone but you. You’d convinced him over the phone to let you come and take their place. Olivia had reluctantly agreed, at least you’d have a vest, but Sonny was livid.

“She can’t go in there Lieu,” Sonny bellowed.

“Last time I checked, I was in charge Carisi,” she gave him a mom look and he dropped it.

“Whatever,” he slammed out of the white command truck to find you.

“Trying to convince her to send you instead,” you pulled your vest on.

“Maybe,” Sonny helped you tighten your vest.

“Sonny! That’s too tight,” you swatted his hands away and loosened it so you could breathe.

“Sorry, I’m just nervous,” he dropped his hands to his sides.

“He’s not gonna talk to anyone but me,” you reminded him, “We need to get his pregnant wife and young daughter out. When I go in I’ll send them to you, and I need you to take care of them. Can you do that?”

“I guess,” he grumbled.

“Sonny,” you grabbed his forearm, “If they’re with you I know they’ll be okay. You’ll keep them safe and take care of them. Like you do for me.”

“That different,” he muttered under his breath.

“What,” you had barely heard him.

“Nothing, “he waved you off, “Let’s go rockstar.” Sonny followed you up to the apartment, the SWAT team staying out of eyesight but poised to go.

“It’s me,” you knocked three times, “I’m gonna open the door. They come out and I’ll come in.”

“Hurry up,” the voice was muffled. You took a deep breath and opened the door. The wife and daughter bolted out the door and past Sonny, crying hysterically. When the man saw Sonny he flipped.

“He’s just here for them,” you held your hands up, “he’s staying out there.”

“Liar! You lied,” the man pulled his gun up and shot. You prepared to feel pain but instead heard Sonny cry out. The SWAT team pushed past and took the man out easily; he was in cuffs and dragged away.

“Sonny,” you dropped to his side in a blind panic. He was lying in a pool of his own rapidly growing blood. The bullet had pierced his leg and acting on instinct you pulled your belt off and made a make shift tourniquet.

“Doll,” Sonny’s eyes were glassy and he was wincing badly, “how bad is it?”

“There’s a lot of blood Sonny,” the paramedics shoved you away and you watched in horror as they loaded him up and rushed to the ambulance that was on standby. You followed hot on their heels.

“Your quick thinking may have saved him,” one patted you on the back while they loaded him up.

“I’m going too, I’m his partner,” you climbed in beside him and took your place next to him to hold his hand. Your clothes and hands were covered in his blood and you didn’t care. During the ride you murmured softly in his ear while they worked to stabilize him. You only let go when they wheeled him into surgery.

Nurses brought you spare scrubs to change into and Olivia tried to get you to go home, but you refused. It was your fault Sonny was shot, he was there for you. Sonny was in surgery because he felt he didn’t trust you, or so you thought. If he survived this you were going to ask that he be given a partner he trusted more.

You annoyed the staff to no end constantly asking for updates and pacing the floor in front of their station. They tried to avoid you after a while but you wouldn’t let him. You milked every drop of information they would give you, even using Olivia to get more when they held back. They’d tell her things they wouldn’t tell his family out of professional courtesy. Everyone encouraged you to go home and rest from his nurse to his sister, and every single one of them was met with a glare and threat of bodily harm if they kept Sonny from you.

When he was finally stable enough for visitors, Fin and Amanda had gone home and Olivia was getting coffee while checking in with Lucy. His family was asleep and you didn’t know how they did it, but it was pretty late. The nurse let you into his room and you immediately took his hand again.

“I’m so sorry Sonny,” tears fell onto his forehead, “I wish it was me instead.” He looked so pale and weak, it broke your heart.

“Don’t say that,” his words were slurred but he was coming too.

“I was so worried Sonny, I haven’t left once,” you crashed into him and he winced, “Even have on these itchy scrubs so I didn’t have to leave. Took a makeshift shower in the bathroom to get the blood off.”

“Didn’t realize you cared so much,” Sonny’s words were becoming clearer as time went on.

“Of course I care, I love you you idiot,” you froze when you realized what you said.

“What you’d say,” he was wide awake now and staring in awe.

“Nothing,” you shook our head.

“I love you too doll,” he pulled you closer to him when you tried to pull away, “Why do you think I’m so protective?”

“I thought you didn’t trust me,” you wiped your tears away with your free hand, “Thought you thought I was a bad cop.”

“Not at all, just love you is all,” he squeezed your hand, “Have since you broke the coffee pot and I took the blame.”

“That was my second week at SVU,” your mind was processing everything.

“I know,” he grinned.

“Why didn’t you say anything,” you shook your head, all the heartache could have been avoided if you weren’t so stubborn, “I’ve loved you since the day after when you let me buy you lunch after Lieu chewed you out about the coffee pot.”

“Why didn’t you say anything,” he challenged.

“Didn’t think you liked me back,” he scooted over and you sat next to him, “I guess the fear of losing you gave me courage.”

“I’ll be fine with a little physical therapy,” Sonny’s big hand rubbed your back, “Was a clean shot all the way out.”

“Oh good,” you smiled, “Sonny?”

“Yes doll,” he sighed and drank in your beauty.

“Can I kiss you,” he answered by pulling you down to him, kissing you long and slow. Time stood still, this was a moment months and months in the making and you deserved to feel every second of it. Feel his slightly chapped lips move against your, his warm hands cupping your face. The way his stubble felt under your hands. Even in a hospital he still smelled uniquely like himself and it calmed you.

“Bout damn time,” he fell back against the pillow and your fingertips brushed your lips.

“Damn Carisi,” you blushed, “you kiss like a pro.”

“That’s nothing doll,” he winked, “I’m just getting started. Wait until I’m healed.”

“Oh I’ll hold you to it,” you teased.

“So I took a bullet for you,” he played with the hem of the blue scrub top, “That means you have to pay for the first date.”

“You got shot because you stubbornly followed me into a situation you shouldn’t have been in,” you lowered your eyes.

“I’m injured here doll, give me a break,” he pouted and you giggled.

“I’m sure I’ll be made to take leave,” you rolled your eyes, “How about I nurse you back to health, then when you’re better you can buy me dinner to make up for worrying me.”

“It’s a date doll,” and just like that you were kissing again.

#sonny carisi #sonny carisi x reader #sonny carisi imagine #sonny carisi fanfic #law and order svu #law and order svu fanfic #law and order svu imagine #svu imagine #svu fanfic #law and order special victims unit #law and order special victims unit fanfic #law and order special victims unit imagine #mine #my writing

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reylofanfictionanthology · 5 years

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THE REYLO FANFICTION ANTHOLOGY ST. VALENTINE’S DAY LOVE FEST

This year, to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day, we wanted to show the Reylo Writing Community a little bit of love by hosting a Reylo Fanfiction St. Valentine’s Day Love Fest.

We will accept recommendations for this project until the end of February. You can find details about how to submit a recommendation to the project here.

LOVE FEST LIST #7/7

REYLO COMMUNITY RECOMMENDATIONS

i wonder if our future was written in our past by TheVeryLastValkyrie

Summary: He's the one in the fear chair, but Rey's still afraid of the dark.

Recommendation by @aliensamba: A TFA what-if fanfic that is evocative and filled with the tension that characterizes Rey and Kylo Ren's connection. Although I usually don't prefer fanfic written in first POV, this is the exception because I think Rey's voice is spot-on.

Stolen Hearts by Trish47

Summary: As the Judge of Souls, Rey weighs humans' hearts to assign their fates. When an imposing man who goes by Kylo Ren shows up without a heart, Rey seizes the chance to solve a mystery that threatens the universe. Returning to the mortal world together, Rey and Kylo rush to find his murderer and restore balance.

Recommendation by @liminal-zone: “In my best Stefon voice: This fic has everything. Immersive worldbuilding, thoughtful exploration of mythology, the fiercest Rey you’ll ever read, a tortured Kylo who makes you own heart ache, a wrenching romance, a thrilling adventure, devastating consequences. Read it and beg her to post the rest of it (spoilers, the finish is better than you could EVER imagine).”

Everlast by Tiara_of_Sapphires

Summary: He was her lost love, but everything had changed. Everything had changed, except for her.

Recommendation by @kuresoto: “I may be biased because I'm beta-ing this atm but this concept is truly unique and amazing! It's a canon compliant (to an extent) fic with a twist, delving into different ideas about the Force. Rey is an immortal being of the Force who lost her love (Ben) many hundreds of years before TFA. Just imagining how she will react when she sees him again on Takodana has me giddy for updates!”

Sons of the First Order by ColliderOfHadron

Summary: Six months after the Battle of Crait, Hux overthrows Kylo and puts him on trial, but not everything goes to plan. In the space of 24 hours, the lives of both men are turned upside down and their hatred for each other reaches new levels. Will Rey manage to save Kylo? Will Kylo throttle Hux before the day's through, and just who's stirring up so much trouble aboard the Finalizer?

Recommendation by @shewhospeakswiththunder: “I LOVE this characterization of Hux. His actions are central to the narrative, and everything from his interactions with others to the contents of his bedroom are alternately hilarious and deeply sad. Besides that, this is such a fun romp through an alternate ending to the canon trilogy, and I've enjoyed every chapter.”

RFFA WRITERS SELF RECOMMENDATIONS

Kiss or Kill by paynesgrey

Summary: After successfully stealing medical supplies from the First Order, Rey waits for Kylo Ren to meet her, and she hopes she can show him the future she sees.

“I like this because it's set up to be a one-off, not a long story of progression of their relationship but more like a resolution to their sexual tension that carried over from the movies. They are still at odds, but even in their fighting they can't bring themselves to defeat one or the other. Instead they give into raw, carnal desire and end things with more hope in their future. If readers would like a quick, resolution of sexual tension this is that kind of story.”

alone (i can still see your face) by bittersnake

Summary: Words cut deeper than swords

“This was the first fic I wrote post-TLJ? Pre-TLJ, I had a hard time grasping Rey's voice and inner self, but this fic was the first time I felt I was getting a better grasp on her and her voice. ALSO HANDHOLDING.”

Illuminate by Lizzen

Summary: There’s a rip in the galaxy opening up to a parallel universe much darker than its mirror, and a familiar face emerges with an insidious agenda. Rey and Kylo meet again to challenge the oncoming darkness and find a strength together against all odds. (Post-TLJ)

“Odile saunters onto the stage and into Prince Siegfried's heart, her intentions wicked. Now let’s see the same scene transposed with Reylo, and complicate it with adventure, gangsters, hijinks, romance, and a longing that rips through the known cosmos. I loved spinning this web, and would love love love for others to fall newly in love with Rey and Kylo again as they read this story.”

Wish Upon A Candle by MissCoppelia

Summary: Rey Jackson is sick of the world and ready to end her life until she meets a haunted candle and her world turns upside down.

“I usually come up with some of my best ideas in dreams, and this fic is one of those ideas. It deals with a lot of tough stuff, but I love the dreamy, surreal, magical quality of it. I think it's one of the sweetest, most hopeful fics I've ever written.”

#reylo #reylo fanfiction anthology #rffa writers #reylo fanfiction #valentine's day love fest #love fest list #mod post #photo edit

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flaming-dumpster · 6 years

Text

Moon River

Fandom: Star Wars

Ship: Kylux

Words: 1576

Part 2 to Enchanted

Also on AO3

Dedicated to @readytake2

Hux nearly jumped out of his skin when something bounced off his window. He looked up from his book and stared at the curtain covering the windows.

“Damn crickets,” he said, returning to the book.

It was well past midnight, the clock on his desk reading 2:47 a.m. Hux had settled himself into bed hours ago, but sleep was evading him. He went back to reading until something connected with the window again.

“What the...” Hux grumbled to himself as he stood and walked over to the window, pulling back the curtain to investigate the courtyard. Movement below his window caught his eye, bringing his attention down. There stood Benjamin Solo. As a smile edged its way onto his face, he quickly unlatched the window and pushed it open. “Ben?” he called to the figure below.

“I hope I didn’t wake you,” said Ben quickly. “I saw the light on and just assumed you were still up.” He shuffled on the spot, clearly nervous.

“No, I was reading. So, what are you doing here, besides pulling off the biggest romantic movie cliché?” Hux crossed his arms and leaned them on the windowsill.

“At least I didn’t bring a boombox,” said Ben, pulling a laugh from Hux.

Ben looked down at the ground briefly and stuck his hands into the pockets of his jeans. The confidence he had had at the banquet was gone and Hux could tell this was not something he did often, if ever. “I forgot to ask you for your number the other night.” He gave his shoulders a little shrug. “So, my plan was to return to the address of the party.”

“At night, where if anyone saw you sneaking around, they would have likely called the police?” He could see a faint blush tickle Ben’s cheeks.

“I never said I thought the plan through.”

Hux laughed. “How very Romeo of you.”

“Well, do you plan on staying up there all night, Juliette? Or are you going to join me?”

Hux took another glance around the courtyard. “Meet me at the pavilion.” He closed the window and drew the curtains shut.

----------

Ben admired the little flowers that bloomed from the hanging baskets on the pavilion's frame; even in the dark cover of night, he could tell they each had rich color. He brushed his fingertips over the delicate petals before reaching down the stem of a small red flower, plucking it from its place. Glancing around, he wrapped his hand carefully around the little blossom, hiding it from view. Ben smiled when he saw Hux approaching him and stepped down from the platform to meet him.

“I do have to ask,” Hux started once Ben was in range, “how you knew which window to knock on?”

“I didn’t,” said Ben. “I went to the first window I saw that had light behind it and started chucking pebbles.”

Hux narrowed his eyes. “And of all the windows on the estate, that happened to be mine? I find that rather hard to believe.”

Ben shook his head. “It wasn’t. Your brother stuck his head out the window and told me where I would find you.”

“Well,” Hux laughed, “that explains the look he gave me when I bumped into him in the kitchen.”

Ben reached out, briefly flashing the flower he had picked to Hux before placing it behind his ear. Hux watched him with surprise, and Ben couldn’t help but notice how the Hux’s eyes glowed silver in the moonlight. “Will you walk with me?” he asked softly, offering his arm. There was a moment of pause before Hux’s hand curled into the crook of Ben’s elbow.

They walked together, Hux leading the way while speaking only in hushed tones, as though neither of them wanted to disturb the quiet of the sleeping world around them. They eventually found themselves at the other side of the grounds, a long way from the house, while lying side-by-side in the grass. Ben had been the one to suggest stargazing to pass the time, but now that they where here he couldn’t help but stare in awe as the Hux’s face scrunched with joy as he pointed out stars and constellations. Ben quickly learned that Hux had a fascination with space.

“And that one over there is Orion's Belt. If you look closely, you can see a group smaller stars just beside his belt. That's his hunting dagger.” Hux had one arm up, pointing to the collection of stars he was speaking about.

“How on Earth do you memorize what each speck of light is called?” Ben asked.

“You don’t,” said Hux, turning his head to face him. “You memorize the shape it makes with the stars around it.”

They stared at each other for a moment, and Ben found himself wanting to reach out and trace the shape of the Hux’s lip, preferably with his own.

“Have you ever gone star tipping?”

Ben just about flinched, not expecting the question. “Is that anything like cow tipping?” he asked.

Hux snorted and rolled his eyes. “Yes. You launch yourself into the abyss of space, sneak up beside a star, and push it over.” The amount of sarcasm in his voice was almost lethal, but the way Hux’s eyes crinkled as he laughed assured Ben that there was no sharp edge to his words.

Ben rolled onto his side to face Hux, propping his head up with his hand to look down at him with flirtatious intent in his eyes. “All right then, teach me how to tip stars, Hux.” To his dismay, Hux sat up abruptly and was standing in an instant. At first, Ben believed he had overstepped some sort of boundary, but Hux turned to offer him a hand, pulling him to his feet.

“My brother and I used to sneak out as kids to play this” was definitely not what Ben was expecting to hear. He watched with both curiosity and confusion as Hux jogged over to a tree and picked up a stick that had fallen to the ground before quickly returning to where Ben was standing. “It’s quite simple but harder than it looks. First, you pick a star—preferably one directly above you so you’re looking straight up, and you spin around as fast as you can for fifteen seconds. Then you go pick up the stick.” Hux gave the stick a gentle toss so it rested in the grass about ten feet from where they stood.

Ben raised an eyebrow. “Sounds pretty easy to me.”

“Go on then.” Hux took a couple steps back. “Give it a try. I’ll count for you.”

Ben couldn’t help but feel as though he looked like a fool as he spun in rapid circles with his head tilted up to the sky, but if it was what Hux wanted, he wasn’t going to say no. As soon as Hux reached fifteen, Ben dropped his head to locate the stick and immediately felt the effects of his spinning. His legs moved to walk forward but his body went backwards and before he knew what was happening, Ben was lying flat on his ass as the world around him continued to move.

Hux was cackling.

“That is the last time I underestimate the power of spinning,” Ben laughed. “Your turn. Show me how it is done.”

“Watch and learn.” To Ben’s surprise, Hux fared far better than he had, managing to move in a forward direction despite stumbling to the right. He didn’t quite make it to the stick though; he too ended up in the grass with a laugh. “I win!” he declared.

“Best two out of three?” Ben asked.

“Challenge accepted.”

Soon enough, ‘best-two-out-of-three’ became ‘five-out-of-seven,’ and then ‘ten-out-of-twelve.’ Ben improved at an impressive rate, but Hux was not willing to give up his victory.

“How about a race?” Hux suggested. “We both spin, both run, first to grab the stick wins.”

Ben, whose stomach was starting to ache a little from the amount of twirling he had done, agreed eagerly. They counted together in unison, then took off toward the stick. For a moment Ben thought he might be winning, but in a moment of ultimate betrayal, his leg gave out and he went stumbling straight into Hux, knocking them both to the ground.

“Cheater!” Hux shouted, no real heat behind his accusation.

“Am not,” Ben said with a grin. “It’s not my fault my leg quit on me...” He trailed off once he realized just how close their faces were. He could feel Hux’s breath across his cheek. Hux reached up and brushed a wave of hair out of Ben’s face, tucking it behind his ear.

“You look amazing in moonlight,” Hux said, barely above a whisper. Ben felt his cheeks heating up, but he couldn’t tell if it was from the close proximity or the unexpected compliment. Taking a chance, he leaned down, pausing once there was only a small amount of distance between them.

“Is this okay?” Ben could barely hear himself, but if Hux heard, he didn’t answer. Instead, he closed the distance, meeting Ben’s lips in a soft, almost shy kiss. They stayed like that for a few beautiful moments that left Ben’s heart spinning is if it was playing its own game of star tipping. When they did part, Hux grinned.

He said, “As long as you remember to get my number this time.”

__________

Authors Note

Credit to @gefionne for beta reading this

#kylux #soft kylux #kylux fic #kylux au #benarmie #ben solo #armitage hux #tooth rotting fluff #fluffy #starwars #star wars sequel trilogy #my work #dumpster fics #request #fandom #fanfic

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kylo-renegade · 6 years

Text

Baby- Kylo Ren x Reader

Requested By: Anon.

Request: “Hi! #98 with Kylo?”

Words: 1K

Warning: 1 Swear, not even

A/N: I am not dead! I am still alive, I’ve just been so busy with everything, so I haven’t had time to update. But I’m gonna hopefully post as often as I can. I loved writing this, sorry for it being pretty short!

You sat on the couch in you and Kylo’s large bedroom. You sat with your back against the arm rest. Your feet rested on the cushions of the deep red couch. A fleece blanket laid on your lap as you stared down at the pages in your book. The book was one you had been reading, and was a gift from General Organa, much to General Ren’s extreme dissatisfaction, after you marriage. You had kept the book against your husbands wishes because the book was a romance drama that you had fallen in love with.

“My love?” A voice called in the hall. You looked up, and to the doorway just in time to see Kylo appear in it. He looked stressed, something that was quite familiar ever since he became Supreme Leader. The bags under his eyes had grown increasingly darker as the days went on. His hair was tangled, almost as if it hadn’t been brushed in weeks. You frowned as he stepped into the bedroom and took off his shoes. You swing your legs over the side of the couch and pulled yourself up, letting the blanket fall.

“My dear, what’s wrong?” You asked, walking up to him and stroking his cheek. He sighed as he looked at you. His eyes were tired, that much was obvious to you. You needed to force him to get more sleep, otherwise he would pass out, even if he was the Supreme Leader.

“Everybody is an idiot.” He said, leaning into your touch. This was the side that was reserved for you, the side that you got to see everyday. The side that was loving and caring beyond belief, the side that made you swoon. This side was the man you had fallen in love with.

“I’m so sorry. I wish I could take some of your stress away. Do you want to talk about it?” You asked, wrapping your arms around his neck. His hands settled on your waist and he nodded. You smiled, guiding him so you both sat on the edge of the bed, your legs in his lap.

“Hux is being a dick. He doesn’t think I’m capable of leading on my own.” He explained. You huffed. Hux had been getting on your husbands case lately. You reminded yourself to find the General and give him a piece of your mind later.

“It seems like everything I do is challenged by someone, be it a General, or a Commander.” He said. You rested your head against his chest, continuing to listen. You hummed a reply so he would know that you were listening.

“And on top of that I feel like I rarely ever get to spend time with you.” He said. You looked at him and gave a sad smile. You knew that he tried his best, but he wasn’t wrong. Normally he came home super later and left before you were even up. It was t his choice though so you didn’t blame him. You kissed his cheek gently.

“I cherish every moment, big or small that I have with you dear.” You said. But Kylo’s frown didn’t go away. If anything it deepened immensely. He gently went to push your legs off of his lap. You complied and watched as he stood up and walked to the bedside table.

“I need to go de-stress.” He said. You raised an eyebrow, folding your arms gently across your chest. Kylo grabbed his lightsaber and from the bedside table and walked to the doorway.

“Where are you going?” You asked, watching as Kylo’s cape swished with his every movement.

“To demolish the living room.” He said, and the lightsaber turned on. Your eyes widened, and you rushed after him as he started to walk down the hall from your room into the living room.

“Kylo, honey, please don’t.” You begged, following beside him.

“It’s the only way.” He said. You sighed exasperatedly. He had always been a huge drama queen, but you had just cleaned and didn’t want to have to clean up again tomorrow as well. Then, you remembered something. Kylo raised his lightsaber to destroy the lamp, but you wrapped your arms around his waist. He slowly lowered the saber and turned to look at you.

“What? Why did you stop me?” He asked. You looked at him, intertwining his hand with yours.

“I have something I want you to tell you. Come on.” You said, leading him back to the bedroom. He followed, confused. You pushed him to sit on the edge of the bed, before rushing into the bathroom.

“Honey, what’s going on?” He asked.

“Don’t worry about it.” You called back. Kylo sat there impatiently, arms crossed and finger tapping his side. You came back, your left hand behind your back. A cheesy smile was on your face as you stood in front of your husband. He raised and eyebrow as he looked up at you.

“What are you hiding?” He asked.

“Something that’ll hopefully bring some happiness in your life. So you remember the other day when, we had that whole night to ourselves.” You asked, smirking. Kylo nodded, knowing exactly what you were talking about.

“Well, we forgot something. The next week I was getting really sick in the morning, and then I missed my period. So I went to the medday and got a test.” You said. His mind slowly pieced it together, his face slowly brightening.

“You’re…” He stopped, waiting for confirmation. You finally revealed your hand, to show the small white stick that held the positive sign. You smiled as Kylo stood up and grabbed it, his eyes widened.

“We’re going to have a baby?” He asked. You smiled, nodding happily. Kylo looked from the stick to you, and smiled. A rare smile that you almost never saw. He wrapped his arms around your waist and picked you up, spinning you around. He stopped and looked at you.

“Y/N, I’m so happy.” He said. You smiled.

“I’m glad. I am too. I hope that this can make you calm down a little bit. Knowing in months we’ll have a little baby running around.” You said. Kylo kissed your forehead.

“It does. I love you Y/N.”

“I love you too.”

#kylo ren #kylo ren x reader #father!kylo ren #star wars #star wars headcanons #star wars x reader #star wars one shot #star wars force awakens #star wars the last jedi #star wars tlj #Star Wars The Force Awakens #star wars tfa

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sleemo · 6 years

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Rian Johnson on the evolution of the Force in 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' and more spoilers

Who is Snoke, anyway? Has Kylo Ren ever kissed a girl? Rian Johnson answers the burning ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ questions. — LA Times | Dec 18, 2017

As Obi-Wan Kenobi once told young Luke Skywalker, “The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things — it surrounds us, and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.”

Ever since Tatooine’s favorite farm boy learned about the Force, “Star Wars” fans have devoured every bit of the universe that’s come alive in the galaxy far, far away over the course of eight movies and counting.

But in Disney’s weekend box-office smash “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” writer-director Rian Johnson (“Brick,” “Looper”) takes bold leaps and shakes up the “Star Wars” universe, sending “Force Awakens” heroes Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) further into the fight between light and dark with one surprise after another.

How much does “The Last Jedi” redefine the rules of Force physics as we know it — and what do these tantalizing new possibilities mean for the future of “Star Wars?” Who is Snoke, anyway? What exactly can Force ghosts do from beyond the astral plane? Has Kylo Ren ever kissed a girl?

Back in Los Angeles between globe-trotting appearances, a week after his star-studded premiere, Johnson answered all these burning “Star Wars” questions and more. Heavy spoiler warning: Best to read after watching “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”

“The Last Jedi” takes much of what we all thought we knew about this 40-year-old franchise and how the rules of the Force work, and expands them in some wild new ways. Knowing the doors you were going to open, what were your consultations like with Lucasfilm’s in-house protectors of the canon while writing the script?

There is a man named Pablo Hidalgo who is the sweetest dude in the universe, and he’s one of several keepers of the flame at Lucasfilm. It would always be a conversation, and if the story required it and if it felt like it stretches into new territory but doesn’t break the idea of what the Force can do, Pablo was down — I got the blessing.

The evolution of Rey’s relationship with Kylo Ren takes an intense and pivotal turn in “The Last Jedi.” We learn that Supreme Leader Snoke has linked them through the Force, as if he were connecting a call at a switchboard — an idea thematically mirrored in Poe’s “bad connection” scene with Hux earlier in the film. Where did that idea originate?

It was always through the demands of the story. With the Force connections between Rey and Kylo I thought, “OK, I need to get these two talking. But if I put them face to face they’re going to either fight, or one of them has to be tied up” —

Well, they could also make out …

They could also make out! I’m going to give you a spinoff movie …

Even if they make out, then they can’t be talking. So I knew I wanted them to talk, and to talk enough to where we could go from “I hate you,” to her being forced to actually engage with him. That’s where the idea of these “Force connections” came from, which is kind of a new thing. It’s a little bit of a riff on what happens with Vader and Luke at the end of “The Empire Strikes Back,” but it’s entirely new in some regards.

I’ve got a catchy name for Rey and Kylo’s sexy “Force connection” sessions for you: “ForceTime.”

[Laughs] I’ve heard “Force Skyping,” but that’s good! I’ve got to talk to Apple. There’s a real big co-branding opportunity here.

Some of these revelatory new Force possibilities might be challenging for fans to accept. Are they such a stretch within “Star Wars” science and the greater franchise?

The truth is, because “Star Wars” until “The Force Awakens” has been set in amber and we hadn’t had a new “Star Wars” movie in 10 years, you forget that they were introducing new Force stuff with each movie, based on the requirements of the story. Force-grabbing didn’t come around until “Empire,” it wasn’t in “A New Hope.” Same with Force ghosts. They’d introduce new ideas of what could happen with the Force each time.

After the climactic battle on the salt planet Crait we learn Luke was projecting himself from his island the whole time. How does that scene rewrite the rules of the Force? Could a Force user projecting themselves physically influence the world around them, not just the minds of others?

That’s a question. When Luke shows up he’s projecting, it’s like a hardcore variation of what Kylo and Rey have been doing the whole time and that’s why it takes so much out of him. In the version that we play, no. We tried to play really, really fair. In terms of his footsteps – we removed all of his foley — there are no footstep sounds. They never touch. And if you look, the salt flakes that are falling are sparking off of Kylo’s saber and not off of Luke’s.

What about Force ghosts and the suggestion that Jedi masters wield even more previously unknown powers from beyond the grave? Can powerful Force users create physical, tangible manifestations?

The one point where we do introduce a bit of a twist in terms of Force ghosts is where Yoda calls down the lightning onto the tree. That, I think, is a tantalizing hint of the potential of someone who is a Force ghost interacting with the real world.

Hypothetically speaking, can dark Force users become Force ghosts?

I think that would be interesting. We haven’t seen them in the movies as far as I can remember. But that would be really interesting considering the dark side is about self-preservation, trying to find immortality, and the notion that the light side actually got to it through selflessness — what would the dark side version of that look like? There’s so much cool [stuff] to think about if you’re willing to open your head a little bit!

Another surprise in this film is seeing Leia use her latent Force powers after decades of being the Skywalker twin who doesn’t wield the Force. Why was that an important parting gift to give both Leia and Carrie Fisher?

That was something Kathy [Kennedy] was always asking: Why has this never manifested in Leia? She obviously made a choice, because in “Return of the Jedi” Luke tells her, “You have that power too.” I liked the idea that it’s not Luke concentrating, reaching for the lightsaber; it’s an instinctual survival thing, like when you hear stories of a parent whose toddler is caught under a car and they get superhuman strength, or a drowning person clawing their way to the surface. It’s basically just her not being done with the fight yet.

I wanted it to happen [for Carrie] and I knew it was going to be a stretch. It’s a big moment, and I’m sure it will land different ways for different people, but for me it felt like a really emotionally satisfying thing to see.

Han’s dice are a nice touch that resonates with Luke, Leia and Kylo, not to mention the fans, and a callback to how he got the Millennium Falcon in the first place.

When I wrote it, it was something that was in “The Force Awakens.” I think they shot it and didn’t end up using it: When Han comes onto the Falcon, he takes his dice out of his pocket and hangs them back up, like, “This is mine again.” When it got pulled out [of “The Force Awakens”] I thought, even if it’s not directly set up I think you’ll get it that these are Han’s dice. The notion that they get used different ways ending with Kylo, I liked.

Fans have been obsessed with Snoke’s origins since “The Force Awakens,” and while we get to know him much more in “The Last Jedi,” you don’t necessarily give that answer. Does it matter who he was?

Not in this story it doesn’t, which is not to say it wouldn’t be interesting — they might explore it in the next movie or elsewhere. I wrote this script before “The Force Awakens” came out, so when I wrote it, the “Who is Snoke?” mania hadn’t arisen with the fans yet. Even if it had, my perspective is it’s similar to how the Emperor was handled. The first three movies you know nothing about the Emperor because you don’t have to, because that’s not the story. You know exactly what you need to know. Whereas in the prequels, you know everything about him because that is the story.

In this movie, Rey doesn’t really care where he comes from, so if in any of their scenes he had stopped and done a 30-second monologue about how he is [Darth] Plagueis or whoever, Rey would have blinked and looked confused and the scene would have gone on … and we would have ended up cutting it in the editing room because it doesn’t matter to the story right now.

Why does it matter, then, who Rey’s parents are — the idea that she doesn’t come from a lineage of “special” Jedi kin?

It felt like the way to go because it’s the hardest thing that she could possibly hear. It would be the easy thing for her to be defined by, “yes, this is how you fit into this story — it’s because your parent is so and so!” In that moment, for Kylo to be able to use that [information] as a knife and twist it to try and get what he wants, felt like the most dramatically potent option.

Please explain the dramatic necessity of giving Kylo Ren a shirtless scene.

At the premiere I heard somebody in the balcony say, “Yesssss!” You can see Adam was training hardcore throughout the whole process. It’s fun but it also has a specific purpose, which is the increasing feeling of uncomfortable intimacy. That was sticking with the theme of trying to give Rey the hardest thing you could possibly give her, which would be unavoidable intimate conversation with this person that she wants to just hate. This was just one more way of upping that ante.

So … is this the first time Kylo has ever held hands with a girl?

I actually talked about that with Adam [Driver]. Adam was like, “So … have I actually kissed a girl before?” I would think maybe he has. Maybe after hours in the Jedi camp, there was a game of spin the bottle — “spin the lightsaber…”

— LA Times

#interview #rian johnson #luke skywalker #rey #kylo ren #the last jedi #snoke

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tomatette · 5 months

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Part III of the General Hux Spin-Off Movie Poster Challenge. You picked this, it's not my fault lmao.

If Hux Could Kill (1/13) The Hux Stops Here Kylo Ren’s a (Bleep) (Bleep) (3/13) Aw Shucks, Hux Big Bucks Hux It Sucks To Be Hux I Don’t Give A Hux That’s One For The History Hux Off The Hux Too Many Hux D2: The Mighty Hux General Hux And The Sorcerer’s Stone Aeon Hux (2/13)

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frillyfacefics · 5 years

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The Knights’ Pet - Chapter 7

Fandom: Star Wars Rating: Explicit Relationships: Kylo Ren/Clan Techie, Kylo Ren/Armitage Hux (secondary) Warnings: Unhealthy Relationships, Abusive Relationships, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Non-Consensual Touching, Slavery, Body Horror (specifically eye-related body horror), Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Harm Chapter: 7/14

Also on AO3

Read the first chapter

Kylo meets Hux again for the first time since he brought Techie to the Temple.

The change of coming to the Finalizer after so much time in the Temple of Ren chafed at Kylo like a pair of ill-fitting boots. Surrounded by strangers instead of comrades, feared instead of understood, his nerves had always been on edge in the first few hours of adjustment. He had to remind himself to actually speak to people, to lay out plans with words instead of just thinking them and knowing that his will would be carried out. His Knights were extensions of himself, the arbiters of his intention, and without them he felt as if somebody had cut off his arms and legs.

Where the Temple felt like a living body, breathing the hot power of the Force, the Finalizer was a machine through and through. Everything on this ship seemed cold, methodical, clicking into their assigned places without ever understanding the bigger picture. The thought alone that not a single being on board of this ship knew the intoxicating feeling of making the Force yours, this one ecstasy Kylo had hunted his whole life, made him miss the endless corridors and winding bowels of the Temple.

But the First Order’s goals were the Knights’ goals, and if he wanted to see the day when the galaxy would be back to its imperial glory, under the leadership of Snoke, he would have to stop being a homesick little bitch and actually get things done.

The main briefing room was just off the bridge, so that Hux would not have to stay away from the center of his command for too long. The General was already there when Kylo entered, flipping through documents on his data pad. As always, every second that he couldn’t spend working was a lost opportunity. He would never know the insights mediation had given Kylo, the power of even a moment’s complete, motionless silence. But even though Hux would never hold this kind of power, just looking at him reminded Kylo again of the power the General had over him. And when those ocean green eyes looked up at the noise of his helmet’s closing mechanism clicking open and met his own eyes, he felt as if all the countless hours of meditation he had spent in his life had done nothing to prepare him for the gut-wrenching need that Hux created in him. If he was a true descendent of the Sith, if he was true to their teachings, he would be able to take this need and turn it into strength; but looking at General Hux’s face, the beautiful lines of his jaw and nose, the intensity of his eyes, he felt weak to the bottom of his heart. Even though every line and plane of his face was so identical to the pathetic, pity inspiring boy he had started to want, their tension, their set, was so different that for just a moment, he wondered how he could ever have seen Hux in Techie. Where Techie seemed to bruise from as much as a harsh look, Hux seemed to be able to withstand an explosion with the sheer force of his cool, single-minded will.

“Finally,” Hux said as he laid out the holo projector and started it, making the plans of the home of some important person he had to apprehend appear above the table. He started to lay out the mission objective and everything important that Kylo should know, but Kylo just couldn’t bring himself to really listen. His eyes were glued to Hux’ lips, but for quite a different reason than to not miss out on anything he was saying. His mind had wandered back to the last night, to the softness of Techie’s lips, the sweet, but slightly bitter taste of his mouth, to the way he had strained into his touch, so shy but also so eager…

He wondered if Hux would taste like Techie, if his tongue would be able to find their similarities as easily as his eyes. His body would be different, he knew that. He remembered the frail softness that had been evident in every part of Techie’s naked body on the medic’s examination table; he had never been starved, but the bad quality of the food he had eaten had turned his skin dry and discolored, had bloated his belly and rounded his thighs, had left his face puffy. Kylo had wanted to touch him to feel just how soft he was, to grab those hips and feel the give between his skin and his bone. And the sight of his ass…

Hux would be different, definitely. He had been brought up on nutrition bars and exactly measured rations, on drills and discipline, and even in his uniform it was obvious that every part of his body was trained to the exact degree Hux needed for it to function perfectly. There would be not a spare inch of skin, not a pound of fat to dig his fingers in; he would be all wiry muscles and sharp bones, as painful as delicious, so hard to break but so wonderful to own…

Suddenly a hand slapped the table top right in front of him. Kylo guessed that a part of him had noticed Hux coming closer, but since a far more active part of him had been completely consumed by the thought of his body, he had not judged this factoid important. But now he was standing right in front of him, looking down at him as if at a naughty student who he had noticed day-dreaming during class. His nostrils were flaring, and his lips became even thinner in his displeasure.

“When I am talking, I generally expect people to listen to me, Ren,” he hissed. “Especially when I am talking about a mission crucial for the success of the First Order.”

That voice… He was sure that Techie’s and Hux’ voice were just as similar as their noses and ears and chins, but at the same time few things seemed to put them so far apart. He could never imagine Techie speaking to him – or to anybody else – in such a tone, with a cold anger that showed just how much he felt entitled to everybody’s attention, everybody’s obedience. If it had been Techie he’d be ignoring, he’d just shrink back into the background, sure that he had done something wrong, waiting patiently to be acknowledged or punished or treated however Kylo saw fit. But Hux – Hux would pounce on any slight just to rub his General’s stripes into Kylo’s face.

He could see the anger growing in those green eyes glowering down at him, but there was something else, something that pushed its way through the anger and changed the lines of his face into something vicious, wicked.

“Have you completely lost your mind now?” he asked, his voice dangerously low.

Kylo leaned back in his chair, looked up at Hux with what he hoped was a challenge in his eyes. “General, can you really not fathom the concept of somebody listening unless you get enthusiastic applause for every word?”

Hux raised his eyebrows at that, but let out a little noise that sounded nearly like a laugh. “You think you’re so clever, Ren…” he said, and then he was coming closer, bending down above him, looking into his eyes with a brazenness Kylo would have beaten out of anybody else. “Do you even realize how easy it is to read your face?”

And then there was a hand in Kylo’s hair, pulling down sharply, forcing his head back as Hux’ mouth descended upon his and crushed his lips in a brutal kiss. A surprised noise escaped Kylo, and the General used the opening of his mouth to push his tongue in, let it sweep over Kylo’s before he bit down hard on his lower lip.

When Hux drew back, still keeping his hold of Kylo’s hair, a vibrant, red smear of blood was visible on his pale lips. The General impaled Kylo with his gaze, then slowly drew his tongue over the blood.

“I am absolutely sick of all your pussy-footing, Ren,” he said in a low, growling voice, then he gave Kylo’s hair another sharp tug. He could feel how the General’s strong fingers weaved through his hair, winding it around his hand. Kylo grit his teeth, but didn’t fight, just stared up into those water green eyes. “I thought you would have made your attentions clear months ago, really, but obviously you are either a lot more indecisive or cowardly than I would have thought.” He bent down again, and Kylo thought he would kiss him once more, but then he just stayed an inch away from his lips, their noses just shy of touching. “If you had even one courageous bone in your body, if there was more to you than just your freakish powers, you would have pushed me against a wall months ago, Ren. I know how much you wanted to do that…”

Kylo’s head was spinning. He was so close to Hux that the smell of his skin, of his regulation shampoo, of his shaving soap, was clouding his mind, and those words were pushing their way into him, filling an empty space in him he had not even known existed. He knew he was insulting him, but it was different than their usual spats. Every single one of his acidic words was laced with a poison of unfamiliar sweetness, and he wanted to kiss his mouth so badly again…

But just when Hux started to move closer again, the General’s comm-link beeped, and he stood up again, let go of Kylo’s hair and left him alone with the sharp sting in his scalp and even more painful hunger in his soul.

“The mission schedule has changed,” Hux said after he had checked the message. “You will have to go right away – apparently our target has gotten intel of our plans. Your transport leaves in T minus five.”

Still dazed, Kylo nodded and stood. But just when he was about to turn around, Hux’ hand caught his shoulder. Kylo looked back, and felt himself burn up in the General’s gaze. “We will continue this later,” he said. Then he turned around and let Kylo leave the meeting room.

~*~

Techie was going through his very first in-depth check of the security system when another technician came into the room.

“Hey Sizzly,” the tech, a dark-haired girl with her goggles shoved up on her forehead, greeted the head-technician, then she nodded towards Techie. “Is that the newbie?”

Sizzly, who was half-hidden inside another droid she was repairing, just gave a low grunting sound and something that might have been interpreted as a nod as reply. Techie had come to like her in the two days he had been working with her, but he had very early on figured out that if she was immersed in a task, nothing short of an explosion could get her out of it.

Which was likely why she had given up the job of security-center tech so freely. You had to be pretty on your feet for that kind of work. Of course, you also had to be able to just sit around for hours without anything happening, which also didn’t seem to be Sizzly’s kind of thing.

The tech smiled at him and came up to his chair. Techie made to stand up, but she just waved her hand at him to stay seated. “Hi! I need your comm-link real quick.”

Her jovial, friendly tone took Techie a little aback. He wasn’t the best at meeting new people, and this girl’s way of talking gave him the feeling as if he had already met her, but didn’t remember. And he couldn’t say that he liked that a lot.

“Why?” he asked, a little bit more suspicious sounding than he had wanted it to come out.

“I’m looking into your little Rancor adventure,” she said, as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world. Techie could feel himself bristle – he still didn’t really want to think about last night (had it really only been last night?), and honestly, he didn’t like the thought that people he had never seen before knew stuff like that about him.

“And I’ve already checked the door to Lady Kashti’s quarters,” she continued, “and since nothing’s wrong there, I figured it’s more likely than not that something is wrong with your comm-link. So, can I have it?” If she had noticed the defensive tone in his voice, she didn’t let anything on.

“Alright,” he finally said and took it out of the breast-pocket of his black uniform jacket. The girl took it and then opened a little satchel she was wearing on her belt, from which she pulled a connection cord; then she unclipped a datapad from the other side of her belt and put it down on an empty surface next to the security console, plugging the cord into both the comm-link and the datapad.

From his chair, Techie couldn’t see what she was doing on her datapad, but it only took her half a minute or so to let out a relieved sigh.

“Okay,” she said, “I know what happened. Whoever calibrated this link put Lady Krel’s name into the wrong tag. She should be in the ‘issued by’ and the ‘authority’ tags, not the ‘proprietor’ tag. That’s why the door thought you were Lady Krel, and Lady Krel has access to Lady Kashti’s place.”

She made some inputs, then she unplugged the cord and gave the link back to Techie with a broad smile. “So. You can still enter Lady Krel’s and Lord Kanar’s places, but this should keep you from accidentally messing up the diet plans of any more of Lady Kashti’s pets.”

She gave him a wink at that, which actually made a smile rise on Techie’s face. And honestly, that was a feat – he couldn’t remember the last time he had smiled. It felt pretty strange.

“Oh, by the way,” she said as she stuffed the cord back into her satchel. “I’m Eff. I mean, actually I’m Effeffiffa, but nobody’s called me that since my father. It’s a generational thing, you know? My grand-grandfather was Eff, my grandfather Effeff, my mother Effeffi, so now I’m Effeffiffa.” She grinned again, and Techie smiled back. “Nice to meet you, newbie. What’s your name?”

Suddenly his smile faltered, and he looked at the security console again. In this environment – with two other technicians in the same room – he felt just how stupid his ‘name’ actually was.

He just really wished he had a real name.

“I…” he started, then cleared his throat, “I don’t really have…” He bit his lip and glanced at Eff, who was starting to frown slightly. “People used to call me ‘Techie’, so I guess that’s my name… kinda…”

Eff’s frown deepened for a moment, but then her eyes widened and her mouth formed a silent little ‘O’. But just a moment later she seemed to shake off whatever feeling she was showing on her face and smiled again. “Are you like, super married to that name? Because I mainly need people’s names to yell at them through hallways, and since you’re also in security, I’m likely going to have to yell at you quite a bit, and if I just yell ‘Techie’ around here I’m pretty sure everybody would think I’m talking to them.”

Techie, taken aback, just stared at her.

“I mean, like, if I gave you a nickname? Would that be okay?” she asked again, a little bit more subdued this time, though the smile was still on her lips.

He couldn’t help but feel suspicious again.

“Like what?”

“Like…” She paused and looked at him intently, obviously thinking. “Red, maybe? I mean, I’m pretty sure you’re the only red-haired tech around here, so there’d be no potential for confusion.”

Techie stayed silent for a moment, thinking. ‘Red’ wasn’t so bad, was it? It was descriptive, but not pejorative. He could live with that.

“Alright,” he said, and tried on another smile for her.

“Great!” Eff said with a grin, then she took her datapad. “I’ll see you in the mass hall tonight?”

“Uhm… Sure?” Krel had told him to eat there tonight anyway, and the thought that he might actually already know somebody in what would likely be a sea of unfamiliar faces gave him a slightly fuzzy feeling.

“Wonderful. See you tonight!” And with that, Eff left the room.

Techie still felt the unfamiliar pull of smiling in his cheeks as he turned back to his security screenes.

#star wars fanfiction #kylo ren #clan techie #clan techie/kylo ren #the knights pet

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solohux · 6 years

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I got a Fox!Hux prompt plus a lol writing challenge b3cuase I don't think you've written something like rhis. So, first this piggyback of an idea way back. It's one were Leon was taken by an inspector getting rib of rodents. Instead, of finding him they don't for at next 18 years they assume Leon just died and never was found until Hux smells his scent in a crowd and actually find him. Leon is someone else's pet who are unaware of his human half, But Leon is unaware of who is really is.

Oh my god, I’m shook that someone actuallyremembers those ideas! I’m in love with everything to do with the fox pups soto be asked to write something proper for that beloved au of mine makes mesuper happy! Thank you, darling!

For anyone who wants to read more of thisau, I’ve tagged them all with ‘Little Leon Lost’, but it’s basically just foxHux & human Kylo have a litter of four foxlings (children who arehalf-kitsune so they’re able to shift between a fox form and a human form) andthe youngest of them is taken by pest control and his family are unable to findhim. And for the purposes of this fic, instead of Hux and Kylo having 8 pups, I’llmake it 4, just so they’re easier to keep track of. I’ll pick it up from there!

It’s the day after hischildren’s eighteenth birthday, the morning after happy celebrations, but Huxcan’t find the strength to keep up his ruse.

It’s an early spring morningand he’s out on the balcony of their suburban home, slowly flicking throughtheir family’s photo album. With Kylo being a photographer, the book is filledwith pictures of their pups, all from when they were still tiny babies to onlylast week when they took a short break to the east coast to visit Hux’sbrother, Techie, and his partner and twins. Family time, filled with laughs andlove, but after a week of celebrations for the pup’s birthdays, Hux needs sometime to let his grief show.

He turns the page of the photoalbum and his heart swells with sadness.

It’s a page with photos of hislittle lost pup, the youngest and the smallest of his quadruplets, Leon. Thereisn’t a day that passes where Hux doesn’t think of his beautiful dark hair, orhis sparkling green eyes, or his little fingers clinging onto him, a soft voicewhispering ‘Mama’. The poor pup hasbeen missing for fifteen years, taken by pest control and—and—

“Hux?”

The fox lets out a startledyip as Kylo’s voice brings him out from his thoughts and his warm hands on hisshoulder. His mate sets a cup of tea down on the little outdoor table beforesitting on the adjacent chair, glancing over to look at the pages of the photoalbum.

“He wouldn’t have liked theparty,” Hux says, smiling nostalgically through his tears. “He didn’t like loudnoises, or attention. He would’ve sat in the kitchen and had one of his sisterssmuggle him some cake.”

Hux’s tears drip down, wettingone of the photos, one where Leon is sat atop Kylo’s shoulders looking a littlescared, but both are smiling. It’s almost as if Hux can hear Leon’s laugh; hewas always happiest when he was in Kylo’s arms, protected by his Papa.

“The girls are still in bed,”Kylo says, reaching to take hold of Hux’s hand across the table. “Want to gofor a walk? The air might help. You always liked going out in the air when wefirst met.”

“Almost twenty-three yearsago, Ren. I’m hardly the young, spring fox that I used to be,” Hux scoffs, quietlyremembering how young he and Kylo were when they first met; Kylo was still apup by kitsune years! “But a walk sounds wonderful.”

Elora, Layla and Alana, trueto Kylo’s word, are all still asleep in their bedrooms, all three daughtersseemingly partied-out from theprevious night, so Kylo and Hux sneak past their doors and down the stairs,fetching their coats and boots, and Hux grabbing his hat out of habit, stillsometimes forgetting that his fox ears and tail are no longer visible to humans.A visit family visit years ago to the Scottish highlands had put him in thepresence of a witch, who’d taken slight pity on the kitsune and cast a spell onhim and his pups to make their additional fox appendages vanish withoutaffecting their ability to transform between bodies.

Even now, as Hux puts his hatback on the coat stand, he’s grateful for the witch’s spell, giving him thegift of being able to be Kylo’s husband, be his children’s mother, without havingto be afraid of revealing his fox ears and tail. The same with his daughters;able to be free. If only Leon were here—

The cool spring air isrefreshing, Hux finds, as he walks hand-in-hand with Kylo down their streettowards the centre of town, towards the shops. He lifts his head, relishing inthe feeling of the wind in his face, partly wishing he could switch into hisfox form and just escape the human world for a few hours, maybe give anothersearch through the surrounding forests to look for his lost pup. Just one morelook, he may be there this time, the pest control company may have released himinto the wild—after all this time,Hux still has hope.

“Should we find somewhere tohave breakfast?” Kylo says, tugging Hux’s hand along. “That café you likeshould be open by now.”

“Sure,” Hux nods. His stomachtwists, finding that his grief is still swelling somewhat ferociously. “I’d likethat—”

Hux stops, freezing completely. His skin tinglesand the hairs on his neck stand on end. His fingers twitch and his nostrilsflare. The other early risers in the town move around him like faceless souls,unimportant, bustling to and from the open shops without even noticing that Huxis standing there, still.

There’s a familiar scent inthe air, one that’s haunted him for fifteen years, and it’s so strong that Huxfeels that he may be forcibly changed into his animal body as a result.

“Hey! Hux, Hux, come on, talk to me,” Kylo gentlypats Hux’s cheek, yet the fox doesn’t blink, too busy looking around for thesource of the scent. “What’s wrong?”

“It-it’s him, Ren,” Hux gasps,spinning around to look everywhere. “I can smell him, he’s here, I know it.”

“Who, Hux? You’re scaring me,sweetheart, please.”

“Leon.”

If Hux still had his ears atophis head, they’d be pointed and alert now, though every one of his heightenedsenses is working in overdrive to confirm what he’s known for years; his son is alive.

Hux takes off running throughthe crowd, scampering along and uncaring that he bumps into almost everyone—Kylois quick behind him, though, apologising to the disgruntled public—in absolutedesperation to find the source of the scent. It gets stronger and stronger asthey make their way out of the shopping centre and out across the traffictowards the park. Hux holds his breath as he runs, overwhelmed already, findingit so hard to ignore Kylo’s calls for him to slow down but he has to follow hisheart.

Hux skids to a halt on thegravel path, and it takes Kylo’s hands around his waist to stop him fromcollapsing to the ground.

“Ren…” Hux whispers,practically limp in Kylo’s hold, only managing to find his footing when hehears his mate’s heavy breaths. “That’s…”

“That’s him,” Kylo says, voice trembling. “The-the black stripe.”

Being one of the pups withbrown hair like their father, just like his sister Leyla, Leon’s fox fur had asomewhat thick stripe of black fur that ran down one of his sides from his leftear, a massive difference to the typical all-red fur seen on a wild fox.

And the little fox that’s onthe end of a short leash just up ahead on the park’s dirt path has a very defined stripe along his back, and he’sthe source of the strong scent that’s dragged Hux here.

He isn’t prepared to wait amoment longer to hold his lost pup.

With newfound strength in hislegs, Hux surges forward, stomping along the path with Kylo in close tow, growling, ready to rip the leash fromthe human’s hands. It’s a male and a female, both relatively young, that arewith the little fox; the girl poses for pictures with him whilst the male snapsthe shot, manoeuvring the pup into whatever position she chooses, and he makesno effort to bite or fight back.

“Release him at once,” Hux shouts, continuing his advance. Thecouple turn quickly at the bellowing voice, looking afraid.

“He’s tame!” The girl picksthe fox up, holding him tightly. “He doesn’t bite! He’s allowed on a leash inhere.”

“I’d rather he did bite. At least thenyou’d be able to see the harm you’re causing! Give him to me, now.”

“Rusty is our pet, Mister!” The man steps in front of Hux and the woman, hissunglasses slipping down his nose. Hux wants to punch them off of his face.

“Rusty? Pet! How very dare you!” This time, when Hux yells, Kylotakes hold of his hand.

“What my husband means,” Kylo says, seeing the yellowflicker of Hux’s irises, the warning of his ancient power bring brought forth. “Isthat we used to have fox with the same sort of stripe as that who went missing,and I think he presumes this is him. Where did you find him?”

“They stole him,” Hux growls under his breath, but Kylo hushes him.

“He was at a sanctuary,” thegirl says, bouncing the pup in her arms. “Up north. He was covered in cuts andscrapes when the sanctuary took him in, poor little orphan. They said hismother was likely killed, or that he was abandoned because he was the runt ofthe litter. Apparently he was there for a real long time until we came andsaved him. Rusty has been ours for almost three years now so I doubt he’syours.”

“He’s ours, without a doubt, girl,”Hux says, struggling in Kylo’s hold. “I didn’t abandon him, he was stolen, you fucking—”

“Hey, don’t start gettingaggressive,” the man says, looking at Hux and then to Kylo. “You wanna thinkabout puttin’ him on a leash. Rabid as a dog.”

“Yeah, I’m thinking about it,”Kylo mutters, trying to pull Hux away before he leaps on the couple and takesLeon back by force. “Thanks for your time, guys. We’ll be going now.”

“Ren!”

But Kylo is already pullingHux away and back across the park, fighting the supposed rabid cur with everything to counteract Hux’s unnatural kitsunianstrength.

“Let me go now, Kylo Ren, or else,” Hux shouts, kicking.

“Hux, for star’s sake, we can’tjust snatch him off them! They’d call the police and he’d be taken away from usagain. We’d have to lose him all over again. Would you want that?”

Hux is silent for a fewmoments but then his struggles stop, calmly looking back over Kylo’s shoulderto where the man and woman have resumed posing with the foxling—Leon.

“Then what do we do?” Hux’svoice is calmer now, cheeks paling. “He’s ours,Ren. He’s our lost pup. We can’t leave him, I won’t do it.”

“Ssh, my sun and moon. We’llfind a way.”

Hux melts into Kylo’s arms,closing his eyes and unable to shift the image of his helpless son so unhappyand lifeless in that human’s arms, like he’s been tamed into a mere pet insteadof the boy he’s meant to be. He wouldhave grown up alongside his three sisters, all of whom swore from the beginningto protect their smaller brother, never leaving him out of their games, neverrushing too far ahead when they played in the garden in the fox forms—

Hux’s eyes shoot open, pullinghimself out of Kylo’s hold.

“Do you trust me?” Hux asks.

“Yes,” Kylo smiles, “But not when you have that mischievous lookin your eye.”

“I’m a kitsune. I am a creature of mischief.”

“Oh. I’m so aware.”

“Kylo Ren. Do you trust me?”

“With everything I am.”

“Then do not interfere.”

Hux gives Kylo a final kiss onhis cheek before turning quickly on his heels and making a dash for the huddleof trees and bushes off to the side of the path, disappearing amongst theirgreenery almost instantly, leaving Kylo to watch from the side-lines. Butbefore he can even consider interfering,there comes a short but strong blow of a very warm wind, and Kylo realises Hux’splan.

A streak of orange bursts outfrom the cover of the trees, leaping in strong bounds towards the couple, makingloud growling sounds. Kylo covers his mouth as he watches Hux charge towardsthe couple, tail fluffed out and wafting to give him balance as he runs. Thegirl shrieks, the boy drops his phone, and the foxling cowers in the wake ofthe sudden noise. The leash is Hux’s mouth then, and he tugs and pulls at it tofree it from the girl’s hold, and it isn’t long before the threat of the fox’steeth becomes too much and the girl drops it, fleeing in fear with the boyfollowing with just as much fear.

Kylo takes his coat off as hemakes his way over to the line of trees, to where Hux has already carriedlittle Leon over to. Kneeling in the mud, Kylo crawls underneath the bushes,heart pounding, unable to fathom that his lost son has been found.

“My baby, my beautiful boy,”Hux says, now in his human form, nude except for his coat draped around him. He’scrying, holding the pup close to his chest and nuzzling the top of his head. “Wethought you were gone forever. My darling, Leon. We knew you were strong. Weknew—”

“—We knew you were stillalive,” Kylo says, reaching to stroke behind Leon’s soft fox ear. “We’ve missedyou, Leon. So much.”

But regardless of how much hisparents fuss and cry over him, Leon does not react. He stays pliant in Hux’shold

“Baby, it’s your mother,” Huxsays, lifting Leon up and rubbing his nose against his. “You’re safe now. Youcan change. We can take you home. Your sisters will be so happy to see you. Youcan shift forms now, Leon. Please.”

“Hux.” Kylo places his hand onHux’s leg. “He’s…”

“Don’t, Ren. He knows who heis. He has to. He has to. He’s ourpup.”

“He’s been gone for fifteenyears, Hux. Gone through hell, probably. Been subjected to all kinds, likely, especially living with those two. He won’tremember us.”

“No, no, don’t say that. Of course he remembers us. Don’t. Leon?”

The foxling does nothing.

Fresh tears fall from Hux’seyes, dripping onto Leon’s soft fur. Kylo shuffles closer to them and wraps onearm around his mate and uses his free hand to ruffle behind the foxling’s ears,like he always used to when Leon wasjust a tiny pup and afraid of everything.

But to Hux’s and Kylo’ssurprise, the foxling makes a small whimper and licks the falling tears awayfrom Hux’s cheeks, wriggling as though trying to get free. Doing as he wants,Hux sets Leon down, who wobbles on his feet for a moment before padding softlyover to Kylo, climbing on him, pawing at him like he used to do when he wasasking to be held. Kylo sniffles and picks the pup up, holding him gently inhis arms, and rocks him.

“Little lion,” Kylo says,smiling as he remembers Leon’s namesake. “Our brave one. Even if you don’tremember us, we’ll always love you. Always.”

Kylo looks over to Hux, expectinghis mate to be in tears but, instead, he sees the kitsune’s aura glowing afiery orange, eyes burning with the same yellow as before, bringing his powersto the front of his consciousness. Kylo can’t help but squint, overwhelmed bythe light of Hux’s presence but he manages to see Hux’s soft hands coming tohold Leon, cupping his head in his palms. There’s a flash, Hux’s voice utteringwords that Kylo doesn’t understand, and then an agonisingly deafening silence.

And the weight in Kylo’s armsbecomes so much heavier.

The light fades, sending themback into the shadowy cover of the park’s trees, and the soft whistling of thewind and Hux’s ragged breaths are all to be heard. Kylo blinks; the foxling isno longer in his arms. Instead, there’s a boy.

He’s pale and thin, thoughfaint scarring litters almost the entirety of his soft skin, even one thatcascades over his left eye in an almost identical way to Kylo’s. At eighteen years old, Leon looks just like his father. A mess ofthick, dark hair sits stop his head and both Hux and Kylo know that beneath hisclosed eyelids are the sparkling green eyes that would put the stars to shame.

It’s him. Their son. Leon Ren.

Hux strokes through the boy’shair and, unable to control his sobs, kisses his son’s forehead whilst Kylocuddles him close, covering his naked body with his own coat, resting his cheekatop Leon’s head, closing his eyes, relishing in the feeling of having his sonin his arms again.

“Leon,” Hux says. “Our boy. Thank you.”

#kylux #fox hux #my fox hux!!!! <3 #i'm so so so sorry it got so long but i couldn't stop!!!!!!#m:writing #little Leon lost

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thegreyreylo · 6 years

Text

Just Breathe - Chapter 3

RATING: Mature

This chapter could be a one shot by itself in all honesty.

He clearly had just been woken up by the force bond. His hair was tousled, eyes bleary and face had the light impression of sheets. But his own white tunic was virtually useless at protecting his modesty. He wore grey ribbed leggings and wool socks.

“Shoot, Ben this is not – ugh, I didn’t mean to! Please, can you just-” My face burned. I looked around frantically for a blanket or some sort of material to cover myself with.

It took him a moment, the cogs in his brain clearly struggling to process my panic. He cleared his throat and pointedly tried to look away when he registered why I was so flustered. “I see, uh, this is a bad time?”

Chapter 3 –

The scene after the madness was eerie. Several cloaked figures had descended from the woods of the unknown planet we were seeking shelter on and launched an attack on the Millennium Falcon. Thinking quickly, I had activated the blasters of the ship and they retreated almost immediately. A stillness fell over our camp, with the few remaining members of the resistance holding formation still. Two people doubled over with blaster wounds.

“Who the hell was that?”

Poe, naturally was the first to break the ice.

Leia, still wounded and recovering slowly emerged from the med bay towards the ramp of the ship.

“Natives I’m assuming. We should seek shelter elsewhere. Everyone, prepare to disembark.” She spoke with exhaustion lingering in her every breath.

Adrenaline still coursed through my veins, but Ben slipped back in to the forefront of my mind. Oh hell. How am I going to let him know everything’s ok? This force bond thing was turning out to be quite the burden. He seemed irrational when we had spoken. Who knows what he would do if he was being unreasonable.

I returned to the small lounge of the Millennium Falcon. I had yet to be assigned a task or post in the Resistance, so it was the understanding that I should just get out of the way. It felt wrong not helping, but even with decimated numbers the Resistance was a well-oiled machine. Anyone could see that.

Sitting cross legged, I decided to try to see if I could get a read on Ben through the force bond. I had never tried to bridge the gap, or even contact him before. The force seemed to pick its own time to bond us. It was easy to be suspicious that Ben had been trying to work explore the bond, several times I had felt little feathers on my mind of emotions that were not my own. Often worry and interest, but occasionally annoyance would make an appearance. Most of the time, I just wanted to ignore him.

I was still hurting.

Clearing my mind was difficult, but eventually I seemed to find a string of emotions that were not my own.

Sheer panic.

“Bloody impulsive desert rat scavenger - “

Ben?

I slammed my rapid pacing to a halt.

“Rey?!” Spinning in a circle, trying desperately to find her. She wasn’t here. But then how could I hear her?

It felt like a whisper in my ear.

“I’m fine, ok?”

“How are you doing this?” A feeling of adrenaline washed over that was not my own.

She whispered again, “I’m not sure how. But don’t worry, everything is ok. I don’t think I can keep this up though-“

Just like that, I was alone in my own mind. I took a deep breath and tried to steady myself. The room was destroyed, but Rey was ok. Foolish desert rat, running off to fight without a weapon. Unarming my light saber, I stalked out from the room.

General Hux spotted me first, “Supreme Leader – “

I cut him off, “Have this room repaired. I’m retiring for the evening.”

“Sir, it’s only – “

“I will not have my orders questioned.” I snarled.

Not a word was spoken again as I left the hall immediately and returned to my private chambers. My legs gave out as soon as I neared my bed. Exhaustion challenged my frustration over Rey for dominance. If Rey was fine, I could afford to try to rest.

I had a feeling I was going to be perpetually tired trying to keep up with her.

I woke with a startle as the Millennium Falcon jumped to light speed.

All of a sudden my little corner was a lot more crowded. Finn and Rose had squeezed in to my right and were keeping up an easy conversation, while Poe lounged in one of the only chairs available looking thoroughly underwhelmed and slightly annoyed. General Leia was in deep discussion with several of the Lieutenants. I seemed to have woken up in a full blown meeting.

“What’s going on?” I elbowed Finn.

“Oh hey, your awake!” Giving me an easy smile. Everything was easy with Finn. “General Leia has a plan to go back to Canto Bight and try to reconnect with old Allies.”

Rose promptly added, “She wants to send you in undercover as a princess to recruit to the high rolling tables. Personally, I hate that place. I’m also fairly certain it’s pretty trashed right now”

“Wait, what?”

Confused was an understatement. “I’m going to look like a princess?”

Apparently I said this louder than expected, because the room fell quiet for a moment.

“Yes, you will look like a princess.” General Leia answered me with a cool and confident tone. I was floored.

Poe huffed audibly, which drew General Leia’s attention. “Yes, Poe?”

“This seems risky. This plan only works if you are a convincing princess, and I just don’t know if you can do it in all honesty Rey.” Poe explained in the most causal tone, looking like he might actually die from boredom in the middle of Millennium Falcon.

I took offense to that.

“Hey, I take offense to that!”

“I don’t mean it like you aren’t pretty, you are just a little rough around – “

Before any of the other Resistance members could speak, Finn decided to take the bullet on this one. “Ok, everyone let’s just calm down. Let’s just take a minute. Having a princess is not the only way to get in to the high rolling room on Canto Bight, right? Rose and I managed to get in there without looking like we owned a planet. We can do without one, I’m sure?”

“How well did that work out for you?” Leia interjected abruptly. The room fell silent as she struggled to her feet, still weak from the battle that was just two days prior.

Rose was the only one with the spine to respond, “In all fairness, not the best. We would’ve lasted longer if we looked like we belonged.”

“Exactly Ms. Tico,” Leia nodding, “and royalty will not be denied entry from any floor in Canto Bight. If we are to get to my contact, we are going to need to blend in to say the least.”

A young female spoke, Lieutenant Connix, “Couldn’t you just take the lead on this one then, since you are Princess Leia?”

A small smile graced Leia’s exhausted expression, “Thank you, but no. I have far too big a bounty over my head at the moment. These people may be rich, but even they won’t pass up that sum of free money.”

She turned to face me, that small smile almost reaching her eyes as she spoke. “Rey is the best choice to send in as a Princess. She’ll be able to defend herself even without a weapon, and with a little work I’m sure she can look the part.”

Ok, I was mildly offended by this but General Leia wasn’t one you can just openly yell at. Glancing at my hands, dirt and sores covered every square inch from my constant practicing and the recent battle with Ben So—Forget it.

Leia seemed resolved after a careful eyeing me over. I couldn’t help but fidget, and feel like everyone in the room was looking at me. I would kill to be back on Jakku in this moment.

“I will decide escorts later on, but for now I need Rey, Ms. Tico and Lieutenant Connix to follow me. Meeting dismissed, back to your post everyone.” Her tone was clear and concise, not even Poe decided to linger.

We filed out of the room on the heels of the real princess, who happened not to be going far before stopping next to a storage area. “Rey, you are a powerful young woman. You can do this, but it’s going to require some work. Rose will help you. I’ve briefed her on the usual dressing procedures, do you have any questions Ms. Tico?” Whom immediately shook her head. Leia nodded once and turned to Lieutenant Connix, “I have some personal items we are going to be needing. They should be in this storage unit, but they are going to need some attending to and possible adjusting. Please handle that, and bring them to these two when you are done.”

I yelped and swore loudly at Rose who immediately apologized but didn’t stop. “I’m sorry, but when was the last time you actually brushed your hair?”

“It wasn’t a priority on Jakku, ok?” I grumbled back and bit my lip to brace for the next blow. Give me running in the dessert and fighting a Praetorian guard any day over this. I had been forced to shower twice and physically had every inch of scrubbed, plucked and polished. Rose’s eye roll was practically audible.

“I’m going to go see if Lieutenant Connix is ready, I think I’ve done all we can without her. Don’t worry, the brush won’t be back… For a moment.” Giving me a small smile in the tiny mirror that we found before leaving the lounge area.

That’s when I felt the tug, and spun in my chair.

“Rey?”

My heart thumped for a moment, I was in nothing but a semi-long tunic and while I normally didn’t care how I looked… This was different. I met his gaze and involuntarily shudder.

“Shoot, Ben this is not – ugh, I didn’t mean to! Please, can you just-” My face burned. I looked around frantically for a blanket or some sort of material to cover myself with.

“Yes!”

What was happening to me? I never used to get so damn flustered all the time. My cheeks felt as hot as a light saber blade.

He must be peeking because all of a sudden, with a voice hitch he spoke, “Your hair is down, what is going on? I’ve never seen it down before…”

I made a non-committal noise and prayed for an early death.

Rose stumbled in to the room loudly, carrying several massive dresses that seemed too large for her tiny frame to carry.

“Oh Force, what are those?”

The horror must’ve been completely unmistakable on my face because all of a sudden Kylo was on his feet, light saber in hand but not armed.

Rose grinned, a constant energy of cheeriness. “General Leia has decided to dress you in some of her family gowns. I’ll add makeup and rearrange your hair as needed. If you are going to look the part, you might as well have the real thing.”

Take me back to the Sinking Sands.

“You… you want me to wear one of Princess Leia’s dresses?” The words felt odd in my own mouth.

Ben was confused to say the least.

“What is going on Rey?”

“I believe she actually gave you some of her mothers, Padme. She seemed to think their color palette would complement your skin tone. May I suggest the one I wish you would try first?” The obvious excitement from Rose had me hold my tongue. I wanted to say, Can I just have my split tunic and high boots back?

But never less, “Ok, so they are Padme’s. You can have me wear which ever one you want, but could I have a moment with them first? Alone? I’ll call you in.”

If this request was odd to her, she didn’t show it. Just nodded and popped up from her chair, “I’ll go get the shoes!”

I forced a polite smile until she left the room, before finally looking back to Ben.

“You don’t get to know what is going on, and you most certainly can’t stay to see me change so…” I snapped, the stress of being turned in to some child’s personal doll was getting to me. I never would have fathomed being in this moment right now.

“Are you going to wear one of Padme’s dresses? My grandmother’s?” The curiosity burned in his voice.

I sighed, nodded and rolled my eyes in one motion.

For a split second, I could argue that I think I saw him smile.

“Ben! Seriously, this is embarrassing!” I huffed before remembering I should probably be quiet. “Listen, you got to get out of here. I’m not going to change in front of you, and I need to start trying stuff on.”

He pondered that for a moment, screwing his lips up for a moment before sitting cross legged on the floor. “If I don’t watch you change, may I stay?”

The gall this moronic Sith idiot has. “Why would you even want to stay?!” I tried to catch my volume, but failed to do so.

He looked down for a moment, “I’ve never seen them before. I’ve seen some of Leia’s but not my grandmother’s, she would’ve worn them when he was still Anakin.”

The brutal honesty and openness was so surprising my jaw dropped. I snapped it closed and looked away. How could he be so damn annoying and pushy, but somehow sentimental?

“Ok, fine. But if you peak once before I say you can look, I will personally stab you with this bloody hair brush. Deal?”

He nodded, taking one last glance at me before pressing his face in to his hands.

Not attempting to peek at the easily most stunning female creature in the entire galaxy as she undressed took large sums of my personal will power.

But I would sit here forever if I meant I got to listen to her bicker with someone else other than me.

“Ow! Rose, that was me you just stabbed!”

Whoever Rose was, I felt a brief moment of comradery. Rey yelling at you is a force to be reckoned with.

I had discovered that the calmer I remained, the steadier and strong the force bond became. It was a careful line of meditation and being present. Sitting here was not technically difficult, but the anticipation of seeing Rey in something other than her usual attire was tempting. I was curious that it was my grandmother’s gown, I genuinely had never seen any of them before as my mother –

I stopped myself as rage flared inside of me.

Focus on something else. Focus on Rey.

“Is that it? Am I done?”

“No, I don’t want to see – Ok! Ok! Fine, I’ll look in the mirror.”

It was entirely quiet for a moment. My curiosity almost overwhelmed me, Rey hardly ever shut up and all of a sudden she was dead silent.

She spoke at almost a whisper, “Thank you, Rose. Could you please get me something to drink? I feel a little dizzy. Yes, I’m ok. Some water should help.”

She felt ill? A moment passed before she spoke. “You can look now, Ben.”

I couldn’t breathe when I opened my eyes. She was easily most beautiful being to ever live. A silver plated necklace held up layers and layers of the most tender fabric. Each inch of the dress hugged and floated at each of her incredible curves, teasing her womanly figure with such taste that it was undeniably sexy and enchanting in the same moment. Its golden top blended in to shades of blush and lavender before trailing behind her in a pool of colors. The thinnest gold ribbons laced around her foot and ankle, giving her several inches in height. Nervously chewing her lips, they were a shade of the loveliest rose that I could only imagine the silkiness of there texture. Her complexion glowed against the pastels and her hazel eyes glittered in anticipation. Her hair had been carefully pulled back from her face in a series of twists and knots to expose her stunning neck and bare toned back. She was the epitome of royalty.

I couldn’t find the words to speak.

She chewed her lip further, “I look ridiculous, I should change- “

“No.” It was a command.

“What?” Her voice wavered.

“Don’t change. You look… You look incredible.”

Silence.

I tried again, she was frozen in place. I couldn’t have looked away from her if I wanted to. My heart hammered in my chest, and in that moment I would’ve done anything she asked of me. You couldn’t say no to a goddess.

“Rey, you… No one could look more beautiful.”

These words hit home, and her cheeks flushed furiously.

“I-I don’t feel like myself. I don’t even think I can walk in these shoes.” She whispered, and I detected the first note of fear I’ve ever heard in her voice. It was involuntary but I crossed the room and offered her my hand.

“I’ll help you, Princess.”

#reylo fanfic #padme #padme's dresses #reylo #tlj #rey #kylo ren #ben solo #fanfiction #chapter 3 #just breath #star wars #star wars fanfiction #one shot #kylo x ren #ren x kylo fanfic #ren x kylo #ren x ben solo #tlj one shot

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kylorengarbagedump · 6 years

Text

Unprofessional Services: Chapter 5

Read on AO3. Part 4 here. Part 6 here.

Summary: Everyone has fuck-ups on their job, right?

Words: 2700

Warnings: Mind-fuckery

Characters: Kylo Ren x Reader

A/N: Hello! I so appreciate all of the new comments and patience that y'all are giving me! I cranked this chapter out in a few days as I was working, so, be proud of me, please! I've been feeling more inspired since TLJ came out, and I have a new idea and direction for this story. I have no idea if I can pull it off because I'm still, somewhat, flying by the seat of my pants, but... hey! Wish me luck.

I hope y'all enjoyed it! I love you so much!

If the stuffy atmosphere of the war room hadn’t been enough on its own to paralyze you, the swarm of eyes on you did the rest. Two rows of high-ranking officers swiveled in near-unison to greet you as the blast doors parted, all regarding you like an intruding insect. At the head of the table, General Hux raised a brow. You raised one back. He wasn’t going to intimidate you. Scanning the table, you found no evidence of your client. Kylo Ren hadn’t even arrived yet. But you shouldn’t have been surprised.

“Officers.” You straightened your shoulders, taking one of the open seats at the end of the table. Hux’s eyes hadn’t left you.

“Doctor,” he said. “I assume you have a reason for intruding.”

“I’m not a…” You bit your tongue. “I do. I’m here on the Supreme Leader’s orders, even.” Smiling, you shrugged. “I assume that’s good enough for you.”

The officers turned their collective gaze to Hux. The steel of his stare hardened. He shifted in his seat as if to admonish you, and behind you, the doors parted again. His brow furrowed, and the other officers kept their eyes from lingering. You didn’t have to turn to know it was Kylo Ren.

“Officer.” The sharp edge in Ren’s voice sent a shiver up your spine. “We had a discussion about this.”

You spun in your chair, meeting him with a wide smile. The oppression of his presence almost--almost cracked your facade. “With all due respect, Commander, your authority doesn’t discharge me.”

His head tilted. You wondered how frequently he’d been actually, legitimately challenged. The lightsaber on his hip made you think it wasn’t often.

“She’s right, Ren. Leader Snoke’s orders. You understand, I’m sure.” Hux’s voice was slick and sticky--his delight dripping from his teeth. Amazing how the shared desire to embarrass Kylo Ren could bring you together.

The weight of Ren’s gaze floated from you to the weaselly ginger across the room. His leather gloves squelched, and he brushed past you, taking a seat nearer to the General. You realized, then, with vindictive glee, you’d taken Ren’s spot. Your approach was already working.

Of course, you’d be wrong to deny that the meeting wasn’t drier than the vacuum of space. There was little they said that you cared about or wanted to invest in--strategy this, resources that. What interested you was the way Ren and Hux sniped from only feet away--each of them crafting verbal barbs to spit into the eyes of the other. The inferior officers seemed accustomed to this. Not one of them acknowledged the intermittent spat happening in the room. But to you, it was new. And it was delicious. Folding your fingers together, you leaned forward.

“It’d be just as effective to corner the fleet with a few dreadnaughts, General.”

“The idea that the Resistance would sit still during a full-on assault is ludicrous.”

“Apparently not more ludicrous than the idea of somehow siphoning half their support from the New Republic.”

“The Republic is weak! The First Order can offer--”

“Nothing that the current administration would accept based on loyalties alone.”

Hux reddened, teeth clenched. “Leia Organa’s influence dwindles by the day, Ren.” When the Commander failed to respond, Hux’s lips twisted into a grin. “Or didn’t you read that report?”

Your eyes widened. That was strange. You watched Kylo Ren’s body--he hadn’t moved, either out of restraint or something else. The officers at your side were silent--you weren’t even sure if they had taken a breath. The moment passed, and he cocked his head.

“I fail to see how that changes the impracticality of your suggestion.” He stood, and you blinked, prepared to scramble to your own feet. “Alert me when you identify a solution that doesn’t waste my time.”

With that, Ren marched across the room, and you leapt up, nodding at the officers behind you before you hopped through the door to match his pace. Thoughts raced--you were almost certain that Hux had inadvertently revealed a crack in Ren’s mental armor. Something about the exchanged bugged you--Kylo Ren’s pause, the smarmy little smirk on Hux’s dumb ginger face.Then the fact that he got up and left. That classic avoidance, again. You cleared your throat, but he spoke before you.

“Your presence is a mixture of both irritating and unnecessary.”

“Too bad for you, then.” Your physical endurance was waning next to Kylo Ren’s furious pace. “You’re stuck with whatever I determine is clinically appropriate.”

He didn’t turn, but you swore you heard the static of a scoff. “Clinically appropriate.” His fists were tight. “What clinical application involves you clinging to my every move?”

Huffing, you shrugged. “Whichever one was determined to be most effective at pissing off Commanders of the First Order.”

Ren said nothing. Before you could try and poke at him, your name rang out behind you--a familiar voice. Rue’s. You hesitated, head whipping between your friend and your client. Without an explanation, you knew it looked strange. At the same time, having the conversation about your special assignment in the middle of the hall seemed less than ideal. Best to wrap it up quickly. You spun, waving.

“Hey,” you said, irritated at how out of breath you sounded. “What’s, uh, what’s up?”

Rue raised an eyebrow, looking behind you at the disappearing Commander. “What’s up with that?”

Your fingers twitched in anxiety, and you tossed a half-hearted look over your shoulder. “Huh? With what?”

She laughed, folding her arms. “I mean, what’s up with you running after Kylo Ren?”

“Run--running after Kylo Ren? Me?” You shook your head. “No, way, I wasn’t…” Your voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m, uh, y’know. This is client-stuff.”

Her jaw dropped. “Client-stuff? As in, Kylo Ren being the client? As in, your anti-therapy project is the fucking Commander--”

“Shh!” You looked over your shoulder again and started pedaling back. “We’ll talk later, okay? Later!”

“Uh, okay!” Rue threw her hands up in the air, grinning. “Later!”

You tripped over yourself to catch up with Kylo Ren--he had gotten what seemed to be a mile ahead of you in mere seconds. Grumbling to yourself, you followed him through the halls of the Finalizer to an area you’d never been. You were greeted with entrances to four huge chambers, the hall dead-ending in a pile of decimated droid parts. The damage to the bodies was clean, like they’d been run through by a hot knife. Your eyes landed on Ren’s lightsaber.

He passed his hand in the air and the blast door near the end of the hall opened. You kept to his heels to prevent him from shutting you out--and realized once you entered that this was a conditioning chamber. It was entirely empty. The walls and floors were all black, with not a single window to disrupt the slate appearance. At the ceiling, a massive white light illuminated the room, as if to imitate a sun. Poorly, at that.

“I suppose you expect me to be intimidated.” You crossed your arms.

“No.” Ren’s right hand went to his lightsaber, his left fiddling with the air. Seconds later, the walls opened, several hatches sliding to reveal droid dummies which thrust into the room on metal arms. They twisted and swiveled, their arms flailing, almost taunting. “I expect you to be as ineffective as you always are.”

A raging, terrible crack cut through the air when his lightsaber came to life, and he moved toward the droids, twirling the blade with an arcing, melodic hum.

You supposed you had expected him to be clumsy, somehow, maybe even bullish. But Kylo Ren’s brutal aggression was entrancing. He swung at the first droid, cutting through its body with a short, easy spin, sidestepping the second when it jerked into his path. Like his saber possessed a mind of its own, it whirled in a wide circle before Ren drove it through the droid’s chest. The other droids jostled in agitation, actively pursuing him, now--three, four, five, six, cornering him to the wall. He bent low, extending his arm before slashing through two in a single slice, the top halves of their torsos crashing to the floor. One long leg stepped toward the crowd, his wrist limbering as he clipped one, two, three droids in brilliant red trails of light.

The last one seemed to operate on panic programming, its metal guide flying it high into the air, out of the radius of Ren’s saber. He reached out with his free hand, and for a moment, it was still. Then you could see it: the droid shaking, trembling, as if it were trapped in a quake, its body growing one dent, two dents, three. Your arms fell to your sides, your lips parting--and then the droid imploded in a nova of white sparks. Forgetting your facade, you squealed, shielding your face with your arms and ducking.

But you were only hit by silence.

A moment passed, and you lowered your arms, cheeks red. You’d let him get the better of you. But not for long.

“Really?” you said. “You think that killing a few mindless droids is impressive?” You shrugged. “Starting to see why Hux doubts you so much.”

Ren stepped forward. Noticeably, he hadn’t killed his saber. He didn’t speak, but waved his hand in the air again. The metal arms retreated into the walls, replaced by steel, spherical orbs. You raised a brow. Ren’s fingers twitched, and three of the orbs spat out blue-tinted holograms. There appeared three identical figures, their arms covered in layers of armor, their lower bodies wrapped in flowing fabric. All three possessed a curved double-blade, and all three were faceless, their heads concealed by columnar, domed helmets.

Their images flickered, and they readied their weapons--paused in defense, waiting for Ren’s move.

He spun on his heel, charging them, and they leapt away, noiselessly landing several feet from him. Kylo Ren whirled toward the one on the far left, momentum bringing his saber down with vicious speed, but the projection escaped him, spinning its double blade and slicing toward his head. Ren leaned, dodging the blow, and spun once more, tossing his lightsaber to his left hand and dragging it through the hologram’s waist while he landed on two feet. The projection blinked, then fizzled out.

You realized you’d been watching at this point, entirely hypnotized. It wasn’t just watching a fight--it was the way his body moved. It was mesmerizing. Kylo Ren commanded the room, his ruthlessness seemed choreographed. His breath came, deep and slow, between each effortless movement, vocalized static in the mask. It had never been more clear to you that he was not just an overhyped paperweight. He was, to the core of his being, a trained and precise warrior.

Shaking your head, you cleared your throat. You needed to be doing your job.

“So what happened in the war room?” You stepped back, leaning against the door. “Hux seemed to get under your skin there.”

Ren was silent, switching his saber back to his right hand, limbering his wrist again as he approached the second projection. The hologram jerked back, winding its blade above its head and thrusting at Ren.

“Did something bother you about him insinuating you can’t read, or something?”

Feinting right, Ren stepped left, spinning while he whipped the blade toward the projection. It skated past by centimeters, and Ren twirled, raising the saber above his head and slashing down. Another miss.

“No,” you said. “That couldn’t be it. It was something else he said that bothered you.” Tapping your chin, you recounted Hux’s words. Leia Organa’s influence dwindles by the day…

Growling, Kylo Ren stomped forward, slashing again, and again--the third time, he caught the projection, cutting it straight through the shoulder. Like the one before it, it winked, hissed, and flashed into nothingness.

You pursed your lips. “What about Leia Organa?”

“Quiet.”

You smirked.

The third projection spun its weapon between its hands before rushing Ren--he stepped, leaned, ducked to miss its swings, swiping at it as he did. It hopped on its toes, slicing for his head, the edges of its double blade whizzing by his neck.

“So it is something about Organa,” you said. “Kind of pathetic you can’t talk about it.”

“Quiet,” he huffed, almost mis-stepping straight into the hologram’s blade.

You laughed. This was, for some reason, fun. “Did she hurt your little feelings, Ren?” you said. “Did she make you cry?”

At that, the laser of Ren’s gaze shot straight at you--but the seconds-long distraction was enough to let the hologram stab straight through his chest. He froze, an alarm screeching through the room, and the hologram disappeared.

The shrill whine lingered for several moments before winding down, and Ren remained, stationary. Statuesque. The excitement bubbling in your chest was almost too much to contain. You couldn’t just let him off easy.

“Wow,” you said. “You expect to serve Leader Snoke, but you can’t even take care of a few holograms. What does that--”

Ren rounded on you, his lightsaber still sizzling in the air. “I warned you not to play this game with me.”

You sneered. “I can do whatever I want, Commander.”

“Can you?”

Before you could respond, Kylo Ren released his saber, returning it to his hip, and started moving toward you. The instinct to bolt lit up your brain, but you remained still, thrusting out your chin and crossing your arms. He cleared the room in wide, strong steps, the weight of his stride resonating to the soles of your feet. You swallowed, paralyzed, as he reached up, pushed the locks on his helmet, and, after a quick second, tossed it to the side. Regret plummeted from your throat and through your stomach. Oh, fuck--

His face, much younger than you’d expected, was blessed with a high nose and high cheekbones carved out by what you could only assume would be the Maker (That’s if there was one--Ren was giving you faith). They contrasted with his full, pink lips and hazel eyes. Waves of his dark hair stuck to the sweat on his temples. All of this on top of his massive, powerful frame that threatened to pin you to a corner.

The heat that raced through your blood was, to your horror, refreshing. Kylo Ren’s words echoed in your mind. Release. You want me to give it to you. You steeled your jaw to prevent it from trembling. His eyes were dark with fury. With more. Your hands were sweating. You balled them into fists.

“Still took your helmet off,” you breathed. “Looks like I’m winning.”

Those stupidly beautiful, plush lips curled into a smirk. Your eyes couldn’t leave his stare. He leaned forward, planting a hand next to your skull, the other tracing the line of your jaw, leather catching on the delicate skin. Ren was close. So close, you could count the beauty marks on his face. So close, his breath was warm when met your own. So close, if you shifted in just the right--wrong--way, your mouth would graze his.

In the back of your head, you remembered Fent. In the back of your head, you wished you hadn’t.

“No,” he purred. “You aren’t.”

None of this do you remember: the pull on your skull, the starbright, searing pain ripping the seams from your mind, the lightning strike of emptiness, razed ground in its wake, the crumpling of your limbs, like paper, to the floor, or the time that forgot you, a wilted lump in space.

#kylo ren smut #kylo ren x reader #kylo x reader #kylo ren imagine #kylo ren #kylo trash #unprofessional services #fanfiction problems

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streetsolo · 7 years

Text

A Flare in the Dark (chapter 3)

Click here to read on ao3 or

“So you know how I’m not one to ask stupid questions?”

“Mm?” B glances sideways at you. You are sitting on a stool at the island in the kitchen at breakfast the next morning, idly pushing the cereal around your bowl with a spoon.

“I just want to know, is there anything up with that mask?” you ask. “Like, is this Kylo Ren guy human or what?”

“I believe he is, but I couldn’t say,” B responds curtly as he glances away from you. You are smart enough not to bog him down with pointless questions that don’t pertain to the assignment, so when you do tend to ask an off-the-cuff question, he tends to have a ready answer.

“I had nightmares about that mask last night,” Ladson says nonchalantly. He was sitting on your left, and so you don’t have to do more than tilt your head to look over at him. You’re a bit surprised, but decide it’s better to say nothing. “What? The thing was creepy.”

“Now I’m almost glad I didn’t go yesterday,” Sadie says from her spot on the couch.

“That was a voice distorter of some kind, wasn’t it?” you ask. “I could hardly understand him when he spoke at first.”

“That’s got to be a bitch to interpret for,” Shayne says, coming to sit beside Ladson, skewing up his face in a terrible impression of C. “I’m sorry, but could you tone down your modulator just a wee bit? I can’t understand a bloody word you’re saying.”

You laugh at this, as you do so many other things. Accents make the job harder for sure, although it’s one of the understood difficulties of the job. There was absolutely nothing worse than trying to interpret your way through a dialogue where you couldn’t discern the specific lexes of one half of the conversation, while the other half was laced with inside jokes and references that didn’t mean a lick of sense to you. It was a challenge that was sometimes fun, sometimes daunting, but always a seemingly superfluous struggle. Attempting to understand someone through a mask, with their voice purposely distorted, definitely highlighted the unnecessary aspect of that struggle.

“Well, I’ll find out this morning,” B says with a nonchalant sip of his mug. His candor surprises you as you all turn around to look at him.

“So whatever you’re doing, you have Kylo Ren’s direct involvement?” Shayne asks. “Can we suspect then that General Hux will be there as well?”

“That information is not relevant to your assignment,” B replies coolly. “You are to report to your scheduled room assignments at the time that I posted on the fridge.” You all look over to the fridge, which is completely bare. “C!”

“I got it, I got it,” C says as he comes in the room, a piece of paper clenched in the corner of his mouth as he fights to get his shirt on.

“Gross,” you can hear Sadie mutter under her breath.

He looks to tack it to the fridge, but can find nothing to hold it with. “Oh well, here you go,” he says as he places it on the counter. It’s closest to you, and you suspect he did that on purpose.

“And I’m with Taro, right?” you ask, looking up at them.

“He took a liking to you,” B says with a wink in your direction, and you can’t help but beam. It wasn’t that you were worried about being liked, it was just a work assignment, but at the same time, you had to work with him for six months. It wasn’t necessarily a friendship you were concerned with, but a proper business relationship. If you had found out that yesterday you had inadvertently done something to cause Taro to want to stop working with you, it would have wrecked your confidence for the entire duration of your stay.

“We should be off,” C murmurs to B, and he nods quickly as he sets his mug down in the sink.

“Please don’t let me hear that you were late for your first assignments,” he tells us. “Sadie, Shayne, you both should go a little bit earlier to introduce yourselves to your partner. You two already know your partners, but it can’t hurt to talk to them and get to know them a little bit better. Just have a regular conversation, probe for their language skills to help aid your interpretation, but under no circumstances are you to ask or discuss what their ultimate objective here is. Do you understand?”

You all nod solemnly and wait in silence for them to leave the room. “Well, that was pretty ominous,” Shayne says at last.

“Are you still poking your nose where it doesn’t belong?” Ladson asks.

“No, I’m going to drop it,” Shayne says. “I’m going to do my job. But I’m just curious though. I can’t help that.”

“Well, try to help it,” you say bitterly. You turn to Ladson. “Did you really have nightmares about Kylo Ren last night?” He shrugs non-committedly and looks away from me. “Do you think he’s human?”

“Humanoid,” he confirms. “A bit tall and lanky, though, but I don’t know how much of that was the suit.”

“Well, usually if you’re going to wear armor you want it to make you look a bit beefier,” you say with a roll of your shoulders. “I don’t know, that voice modulator thing is weird though. Maybe he’s wearing that weird mask covering because he’s got like, tentacles under there or something.”

“Okay, now I really want to see this guy to know what the two of you are going on about,” Sadie says.

Ladson rolls his eyes. “Trust us when we say that you really don’t.” He spins around to face us. “Since you all slept in, I had a little private time to talk to B. Apparently General Hux can be nice if you catch him in a good mood, but he was warned that Kylo Ren is another beast entirely. He’s apparently known to fly off the handle and exhibit intense fits of violence and take his rage out on whatever’s nearby.” He shrugs. “Just so you know. Stay away from him.”

“Yikes,” Sadie says. Ladson turns around, back to the counter, and you can’t help but catch the look in his eye as he turns. He’s afraid. He’s afraid that you might be in danger here, that this mission is a lot more precarious than they had previously let on. What if he was right? What if you were all in physical danger from being here? There was nothing you could exactly do about it now. You had already signed the contract. Six months here, and then you could go home.

You push your half-eaten bowl of cereal away, suddenly not able to eat anymore. You weren’t scared exactly, no, you had nothing to hide. You didn’t have the Force, you didn’t have any secret information that they wanted, and your pockets weren’t lined with valuable resources. You had absolutely nothing to offer them aside from your linguistic skills. And when those were no longer needed, would they…?

You shake your head. No, they wouldn’t kill you. That would be silly. They had a reputation for being evil, for committing atrocities, but those were soldiers in the middle of battle. This had to be different. This may have been a military installation, but surely it couldn’t have all been run by soldiers. There had to be other ordinary civilians, ordinary technicians, cooks, and medical staff, keeping the base up and running on a daily basis. You shake your head and let your forehead slip into the palm of your hand. The job hadn’t even really started yet and already you wanted to turn tail and head home.

In a group, you head down the corridors, getting lost exactly four times before Sadie, to the surprise of everyone, leads you in the correct direction. You had always thought that you had a pretty keen navigational sense, but considering you got everyone more lost than they had been when Shayne was directing the charge, you felt that you could no longer own to your previous navigational skills. Fortunately for you, there were two rooms on each side of the hall, and so you would all stay pretty close together if any of you needed anything. Usually interpreters worked in teams of two for lengthy assignments, or simply for support, since interpreting could be extremely mentally and physically taxing, but since there was a limited number of you, you had to do the best you could with what you had.

You enter the room to see a table and three chairs, one on one side of the table, and two on the other. You huff, and immediately pull one of the chairs around to the side of the table, so that you are an equal distance between both parties. Setting up the room was always an overlooked part of your job, and so you had promptly learned to develop upper body strength, so you could quickly and easily move chairs, tables, and other heavy furnishings as required. It is was important to take a seat between the two parties, enforcing as neutral of a position as possible, while maintaining a clear line of sight so that the person you were signing with could see you clearly. It was no longer a surprise to you how often this fact was overlooked, or even ignored, even in the most formal of settings.

You sit down in the chair, pleased to see that it swivels quite easily. It would definitely make it easier to turn your body between the two parties to make the turn-taking aspect of communication clear, but it had a substantial drawback. Shooting an anxious look at the door, you kick off from one of the table legs and spin in a little circle, like a little kid. You do it a second time, and a third, and a fourth, until you see the door open and you quickly plant both feet on the floor and wait for your vision to clear a bit to see who it is.

It doesn’t take you long; there is no one that tall anywhere else on board, and you quickly wave to Taro with a sheepish grin on your face. He looks amused, and the first two fingers on his right hand tap against his palm. Ha-ha. You smile and scoot out of the way so he can take his place on the other side of the table, informing you as he moves that someone else will be there shortly. Taro explains that he is going to ask questions, and the person is going to give answers. He shrugs his shoulders as he sits down in the chair, moving both wrists in a circle with his thumb and pinky extended to indicate that this would simply be a standard assignment. You nod your head, receptive and professional. He tells you that this won’t take long, but you will have these kinds of meetings almost daily, maybe several of them a day, and you nod your head again, knowing better than to ask any questions.

So. He glances at you, then at the door, and shrugs his shoulders a bit, as if figuring that you two have enough time for a quick chat. Why interpreter you? Prefer why?

You pick up your hands, again a bit nervous with your grammar, but you had expected this sort of question, and saw it coming. You tell him that you always had a gift for languages; it was something that had always come easy to you as a child. You had always liked learning languages and meeting new people and seeing how they interacted within their given culture. You explain that over time it had evolved into less of a passive interest and more of a vocation, especially since you always found it easy to read people and sense the true agenda behind their words. You don’t tell him this, but you were always deeply interested in the way people spoke. Sometimes it was awkward pausing that gave it away, or the way they would fumble over certain words or signs, or the specific choice of words they used, but in the end, it always interested you to know that at the root of every syllable or gesture, there was an emotion, whether it be happiness, or jealousy, or pride, or disgust, there was always an impression of a feeling laced throughout whatever was said, and it was your job to convey not only the words, but the feeling the words carried with them. Communication didn’t simply lie within the narrow confines of letters and grammar; communication was an intangible, indescribable energy to make another being understand your own feelings and intentions, or purposely disguise them, and it was your job to convey that. On a massive scale, it was a very minor pursuit, but between two people, there could be no greater profession in the whole of the galaxy.

He listens to you babble out your passions with interest, and you sense that he can read your excitement in the way you move your hands energetically in front of you. He smiles and looks up at the ceiling when you are done, and he is quiet for a long while, as if processing what you had said. When he looks back at you, the friendly expression on his face has slipped, and there is something different in his eyes. He points to you. He gestures around you, taking his time to indicate the vastness of it all. Here. He hesitates for a moment before he meets your eyes again and makes the sign for fear. Are you afraid to be here?

You blink at him, visibly taken aback, and he quickly asks if he was clear. You nod your head hurriedly and assert that yes, he was clear, before you bite your lip and look away, trying to think. Why would he ask you a question like that? Was this really a dangerous mission after all? Was he simply asking if you were afraid because you were on this base far away from home? You know you can’t ask him any of these questions, and so you give the most neutral, but truthful, answer that you can.

Lifting your hands confidently into the air, you tell him firmly, and clearly, that no, you are not afraid. You explain that you are an interpreter here, and your role here is to serve in communication. You don’t know anything about the assignment at hand, and so you don’t know anything that can be valuable to anyone. If you don’t know anything, there is no reason for anyone to come after you. You pause, then look him in the eye and explain what he already knows: that if an interpreter does their job well, they are invisible. They don’t get noticed. If you don’t get noticed, there is no need to be afraid.

He seems to consider this for a moment, and when you put your hands down he utilizes the casual sign to show that he understands: resting his elbow on the arm of the chair, he moves his forearm in a stiff up and down motion, holding his wrist steady, with his thumb and pinky extended. He holds up his hands again, and collects his thoughts before signing. You take in each word carefully, putting together what he means to say in a series of eloquent sentences in your head.

“Not being noticed is not a choice, nor is it something you can control. Even if you do not speak to anyone here, you are still seen. People can see your face. You give off waves of emotion the same as anyone else, whether by sight or smell or-“ He touches the tip of his middle finger to his forehead and spells out the next word for emphasis. “-sense. You can choose to be a shadow in the darkness, but you can be easily summoned by a simple flick of the light.” He moves his fingers to imitate turning on a light switch, and you nod slowly. Was he trying to warn you that you had already been seen? Or was this just a bit of preemptive advice? He puts his hands down and you hesitate, not sure how to respond to this.

Fortunately for you, you don’t have to. At that moment, the door slides open and a Storm Trooper in silver armor walks in. The rest of the Storm Troopers that you had seen had all worn white armor, so this must be someone of special rank or importance. His eyes sweep across the room, across you, and settle on Taro. Good. You had made sure to sit in this position to make him the ultimate authority in the room and keep as much focus on him as possible. The Storm Trooper steps inside and sits down at the chair on the other side of the table, as if he already knows why he is there. You immediately turn your head to look at Taro, where he clearly makes the sign for captain on his shoulder. He holds it for a moment to make sure you emphasize the rank, before spelling out the name. Phasma.

“Captain Phasma?” you ask. He had posed it as a statement, not a question, and you bite your tongue at your own incompetence. In return, Captain Phasma reaches up to remove his helmet and you blink at the wisps of pale blonde hair as your eyes settle on his face. It’s not a him. It’s a her. You blush at your own stupidity, of course there were probably female Storm Troopers on board, and you chide yourself for not realizing this sooner. Still, you are a machine in this environment, not a person, and so you do your best to keep your face level and press all of your surprise and embarrassment into a box, deep down away from you.

You look at Taro, who asks why her armor is silver, and she tilts her head to the side as you repeat the question. “Are you sure you don’t mean to ask why I am a woman?” she asks. “Is that your real question?”

You can’t help the frown that tugs on the corners of your lips. No, he had clearly made the sign for silver, but you shake off any personal feelings and repeat her question exactly the way she had asked it, matching her casual, yet aloof, tone as best you could. He repeats his own question, this time including the sign for rank, and you clarify the question aloud. This seems to please her, and you slowly push away any personal reactions and thoughts and become a messenger, carrying their emotions and meanings and intentions back and forth to each other.

Even though your mind is working too fast to process most of the conversation, you realize that you like Captain Phasma. It was one of those snap judgements about people that you couldn’t help making, whether you wanted to or not. Idly you wonder if she had worked with an interpreter before, because she was doing everything right. She was looking directly at him and ignoring you entirely, for starters. Some people had a constant tendency to stare at the interpreter, which bothered you to no end. You weren’t the one they were conversing with, and so you sometimes had to hint for them to actually look at the person they were talking to. She also spoke directly to him too. She didn’t bother with any of that, “Tell him I say…” or “Let him know that…” nonsense. Instead, she spoke what she meant in clear, concise phrases, which was something else you appreciated. You assumed most of this had to do with her actual demeanor and rank, but it was still something you appreciated nonetheless. Some people liked to hear themselves speak and would go on and on, repeating the same point again and again, taking a hundred words to express what they could have said in three. Captain Phasma was straight to the point, didn’t use any pretenses, and answered every question directly. It made your job so, so much easier.

Taro had been right. The conversation didn’t take that long, maybe only thirty to forty minutes at most. At the very end, Captain Phasma had said, “Please thank your interpreter for me. She did an excellent job.” However, you were still so focused on the job at hand as you signed the message back to Taro that it completely went over your head as to who she was referring to. Taro smiled and gestured to give you permission to speak. You had blinked at him in confusion before you repeated the message back to yourself in your head and put two and two together.

“Thank you,” you call after her, and you hope the message reached her as the doors snapped shut behind her.

You sink back into the chair and press your fingers into your eyes, rubbing at both eyelids in one exaggerated motion. He smiles at you as you sit back up, and you move your arms back and forth at your sides to get the blood flowing back into them. It felt like you had been asleep for the entire conversation, and were finally waking up inside yourself. It felt like you just woke up from taking a nap, but your sore muscles and fuzzy thoughts told you that you needed to take another one. It was a stressful job, both physically and mentally, and one that got a little better with time, but not much. The exhaustion of taking one language, one side of a conversation, figuring out its meaning, figuring out how to express the meaning in another language, saying it out loud with the correct tone and emotion, taking another side of the conversation, figuring out its meaning, expressing that meaning in another language, and using your hands and facial expressions to show their tone of voice was a headache to think about if you had to rationalize that this entire process took place in literal seconds. And then you did it again. Over and over again. For forty minutes straight.

Taro waits for you to collect yourself before he asks if you are good. You don’t know whether he means the assignment or if you yourself are good, so you just respond in the affirmative. He reminds you that you have six more months of this, and you shrug as if this makes no differences to you, because it really doesn’t. The whole exchange hadn’t been that bad, really, you had experienced far worse. He pats his stomach and then gestures to the door. Go get some food. You nod quickly and tell him that you’ll see him tomorrow as you stumble out into the hallway.

“Told you she was still in there,” Sadie says as you join the three of them out in the corridor.

“Let’s get a move on,” Shayne says quickly. The rest of them start walking and Shayne glances back at you. “I don’t think that silver one liked us hanging about in the hall too much.”

“Oh.” That’s all you can say, because you aren’t sure what you could say that wouldn’t break confidentiality. They know this, and don’t press you. Here in the hallway, you felt extremely exposed, and it didn’t feel right to say anything. Later in the room, with B present, you could feel free to debrief and express your thoughts and frustrations or ask for advice, such as, “Is there a sign for Starkiller base?” and, “If X comes up in conversation, should you do Y or Z?” In the privacy and safety of the group, you could safely defuse your frustration with yourself for not realizing that Captain Phasma was a woman, since your intrapersonal thoughts did affect your interpretations, consciously or not, but it was not something to dwell upon here. Not now.

Fortunately, they are all headed down to the cafeteria anyway, and you are first in line. As you emerge into the lunch room, though, you don’t see a free table. It must be a popular hour, as most of the tables are filled with Storm Troopers. “Hey girl, over here.” You see Captain Phasma gesturing to you on your far left, and you nervously walk over to her table, afraid that she might try to talk to you about what she had just discussed with Taro. That was a very strict, very big no-no. Assignments could be discussed with B and the others afterwards for the sake of learning and, yes, sometimes venting, but talking to another party about what had just transpired was a big, red, forbidden no.

Still, you find yourself thanking her as you take a seat across from her. Her silver helmet is sitting on the table next to her tray of food, and you can’t help but take the time to stare at it up close, seeing nicks and sharp indents in the armor that you can only assume are from battle. “Do you have a name, girl?”

You give it to her quickly and force your eyes away from the helmet as they go back up to meet her face. “I’m Captain Phasma,” she says, as if you didn’t remember her name before, and you nod your head quickly as you pick up your fork. She is watching you carefully, studying you, and you are not quite sure why. “So do you really not remember? We were told you probably wouldn’t.”

“Remember?” You blink at her and tilt your head to the side. Remember what? Was there something you were supposed to remember?

Captain Phasma tilts back her head and laughs, a careless, free sound. “You really don’t, do you? How bizarre.”

You’re about to ask for clarification when Sadie sits down beside you. “We really don’t,” she chimes in, moving her hands wildly about in front of her face as she talks. “All of the words and signs and movements and meanings it’s like a big whole mess up in there trying to figure out what everyone’s saying and what everyone means to say that you’re so focused on getting the words from here to there and there to here that you don’t actually have the time to really process any of it. I’m surprised I can remember my own name afterwards.”

“Captain Phasma,” she says, looking at Sadie like she’s a creature that she had never set eyes on before.

“Sadie,” she says after a long breath, introducing Shayne and Ladson as they sit down.

You are pleased to see that the conversation does not focus on interpreting or whatever was discussed in that room. Instead, Captain Phasma seems delighted to tell you all about the workings of the ship, informing you when usual meal times are and mentally handing you piles of important information that would be invaluable to know over the next six months. It is very, very appreciated, although you can’t help but notice Storm Troopers watching you out of the corner of their eyes. It’s not just you, you realize that. It’s the four of you, dressed so differently and seemingly serving no real purpose…

What Taro says comes back to you. It doesn’t matter if you serve a purpose or not, they are going to notice you anyway. Being noticed is not a choice, nor is it something you can control. He was right. Here you were, sitting at the Captain’s table, of all places. You were bound to be noticed. People were going to see you, and people might even talk about seeing you. You were noticed now, and there was nothing you could do about it.

If that was the case, the only thing you could do was put the best image of yourself out there. If people knew nothing about you, then there would be nothing for them to talk about. People couldn’t take an interest in something they knew nothing about, unless, as you would soon come to learn, they were extremely interested in why they knew nothing at all about you.

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