A Lesson to Learn

Chapter 12

Hux shook his head gently, his demon heart aching for the desperate man so obviously in love before him. "No, I don't think so. She acts like you're still going to come back one day, complaining about your absence while ignoring the obvious possibility of just freeing you herself." He paused and collected his thoughts before pressing on cautiously, "These feelings are kind of intense, aren't they? I don't think I've ever seen you give a second glance to the opposite sex, or same sex for that matter. Are you sure she isn't just a pretty face...?"

Kylo snarled at the implication, his eyes snapping to meet the icy blue of his brother-in-law as he bared his teeth. "Stand down, Hux. It will be in your best interest to not anger your King further, and I don't like for a minute whatever you're implying. You obviously don't know what you're talking about."

Hux leaned back, his hands coming out before him in a passive motion as he bowed his head, waiting for Kylo to regain his composure. Kylo may have been out of the game for a while, but he was still a force to be reckoned with and Hux didn't feel like limping home to Lilith tonight missing a limb or two. "That's fair," he acknowledged, head still bowed in submission. "But you have to at least tell her about the bond. Maybe not about your status yet. But it seems unfair that you have such a direct link to her feelings while you're unreadable to her, and not to mention that you could be doing so much more for her if she was aware of your... capabilities."

Kylo looked the lesser demon up and down, pleased that he had submitted so quickly. He gets to go home in one piece tonight, Kylo thought smugly. He considered Hux's words and nodded thoughtfully. Kylo of all people had already contemplated his position and knew that he would have to tell Rey sooner rather than later at least about the bond. If not for Hux's first reason, then certainly for his second. Kylo wanted to give Rey the world but he knew he'd be unable to until she fully confessed all of her desires to him and wished them a reality. Then he would be able to work with her needs and commands to bring her whatever she wanted. He would spoil his princess rotten, even if she begged him to stop. Until then he could only work with whatever the bond supplied him with which was often vague and muddled, even if the emotions were strong at times.

But a part of him was still very much afraid of the rejection he could face if she found out about the ring and the bond. What if she hated everything he was? What if she ran away from the monster he was capable of becoming? He'd never show that side of him to her, but it was there, lurking at the surface. That same monster that had reeled at Hux's accusations, begging to remove his head clean off. It's not like that would kill Hux, anyway. It took a lot to kill a demon, and a beheading definitely wasn't enough. He would simply have taken some time to recover, to sit back and think about his disobedience and disrespect to his ruler. The monster reared its ugly head once more, delighted at the thought, and Kylo pushed it down.

"I know. I want to tell her everything - share everything - about our bond, about me, about us. I do." Kylo started, hesitating to voice his concerns. "But if she leaves me for it I don't think I'd ever recover. She's ruined me for anyone else and I haven't even fully had her yet."

Hux hummed in response, thanking Leia that his own mate was of demon kind and therefore none of this was necessary. Some demons would sometimes attempt to court mortals, and it didn't always work out in their favor. Occasionally a low ranking demon would be allowed to stay with their partner if they relinquished their immortality and any powers they had gained, but that sort of treatment was out of the realm of possibility for Kylo and his royal status. "I guess you could wait a bit... At least until she loves you. You'll really be testing your relationship then, though, and there's a big chance she won't forgive you for lying throughout the relationship."

Kylo growled but didn't reprimand Hux for his honesty. He was only telling the truth and sharing out of concern for his King, his brother-in-law, his friend. Kylo knew that it wouldn't be easy, but he'd rather chance her wrath once he was convinced she loved him than scare her away before he got a chance to experience her love. He was selfish that way, he guessed.

The two demons settled into easier conversations after that, Hux finally affirming Kylo's earlier suspicions that he was the one to create and proliferate the idea of Black Friday (much to Kylo's amusement), Kylo opening up his tough exterior and telling Hux a bit about the enchanting mortal that had him wrapped around her little finger - if only for the singular pleasure of getting to talk and gush about his girl. Nothing made him happier than thinking about or talking about his Rey. They would just have to workout in the end, there was no other way. He and Rey were endgame (as the millennials were want to call it), he was sure of it. He would make sure of it. She would just have to understand, take him for all he was and is and would be. Kylo would let her mold him into whatever she wanted, and if that made him less of a demon or a bad ruler then so be it.

Kylo was so captivated by his thoughts and the company of his in-law (who he ultimately reluctantly confessed to having missed) that for a few moments he didn't notice the time passing by or his phone going off under the pillow where he had been napping. So caught up in his feelings for Rey and voicing them out loud, that he wasn't aware that a few minutes away the object of his affections was silently wondering what she had done wrong to garner the silent treatment from her usually more than attentive boyfriend while equally battling her anxieties to stop doubting his devotion (if you could even call it that only, officially officially, a day in) and to think logically (even when her heart wanted to burst).