A Lesson to Learn

Chapter 22

***

Kylo could feel the tension in Rey's body through his physical hold around her and through the ring, a tightness in her muscles that didn't go away until her breathing evened out and sleep lulled her into a more relaxed state.

He felt guilty. Stressed. Unsure. One thing Kylo Ren did know is that he was lucky to be back in Rey's arms and he wasn't giving that up for anything. He had already had the thought of begging his mother to become mortal - just so he wouldn't have to be separated from Rey again.

Kylo had lived a long time. An eternity. Since the beginning of time. And yet he had never experienced a relationship, true joy, as he did whenever he was around Rey. How could he ever go back? Immortality and a kingdom meant nothing to him now. What would be the point of living forever if you were unhappy? If your life was just... mediocre? Just going through the steps, endless motions with no meaning and no reprieve in sight?

No, Kylo couldn't even fathom it. Even being separated until Rey's death would be too long. Too long when he finally knew what Hux and Lillith had, what movies only ever dreamed of, what some sorry souls went their whole lives without.

Kylo tightened his arms around Rey's sleeping frame, curling up around her as best he could. Tomorrow he would summon Hux. They would figure this out, he and Rey, together. No more lies and no more hiding.

***

Rey woke up sweaty and disoriented. She blinked awake, groggy and confused as to when she had bought a heated weighted blanket and whether they were really supposed to weigh this much. She craned her neck, trying to get a good look at this mysterious covering, finding Kylo instead, sprawled out on top of her, his arms around her waist and his cheek stuck to her belly, drool collecting amidst the snores.

Rey smiled at the sight of her lumbering giant, wrestling a hand free from under his weight and propping herself up on her elbows, extending a hand out to rake her fingers through his hair, putting the messy waves back into place. Kylo twitched but didn't wake, securing his hold on her instead, his tree trunk limbs snaking around her and reinforcing their grip. She tugged at his ear next and then at his raven locks, trying to wake him up gently and playfully, but the slumbering boulder didn't move.

"Kylo, please, I need to pee," Rey protested, trying to wiggle away without success as Kylo just grumbled in response. "You're pressing on my bladder and I drank a lot of water yesterday!"

Kylo barely moved. Mr. I-don't-need-sleep, my ass , Rey thought bitterly, he's out like a rock!, resorting to pinching the back of his arm in order to escape her warm and suffocating prison. Finally, Kylo's eyes fluttered open and he grunted, looking around at his surroundings in confusion.

She pushed at him again, determined to free herself, but Kylo just looked at her, lovestruck and dazed in his sleepy haze and pinned her down, crawling up her body and puckering his lips for a kiss, believing that, surely, this is what he had been woken up for. Cuddles.

Rey rolled her eyes, pushing his face away and earning a sleepy scowl. "No, Kylo. I. Need. To. Pee. You can have kisses later," she whined, finally breaking free when Kylo tried to reposition himself beside her. "Oh, thank goodness!"

Rey made her way out of the bed, running to the bathroom to relieve herself. Finally. That was something she hadn't missed in their little stint apart - being able to move freely in the middle of the night. Kylo always found a way to wrap his limbs around her, imprisoning her until he also woke up, which was usually later than she did.

Rey finished up and washed her hands, finding Kylo already rolled over and snoring again, cuddled around a pillow. Not at all the scary image that Rey would have associated with the devil. How could all of human history have gotten it so wrong?