Star Wars IX- Balance Of The Force

Chapter 9 - The Kiss

Aboard the Upsilon-class command shuttle, Kylo had gone straight to the cockpit. Rey had dealt with the stormtroopers who had been on board using a simple Jedi mind control trick to make them forget what had happened and leave the ship.

He was currently sitting at the control panel searching for the tracking settings in the ship's drive system; there it was; he disabled it. He then started the takeoff procedure, and as he did so, Rey entered the cockpit. She sat in the co-pilot's seat and began to look through the controls, helping with the takeoff procedure without needing to speak to him about what was required.

"Have you disabled the tracking?" she asked without looking at him, still deftly flitting around the controls.

"Yes," he curtly responded while continuing with the procedures. They were utterly in tune with each other's commands.

"Where are we heading?"

Kylo stopped in his procedure; he had no idea. Where would be safe? He was a fugitive from the First Order, a wanted man from both sides of the War. This was a huge mistake, but it was too late now, it was all far too late.

"I don't know," he said as he started to manoeuvre the craft off the ground and into the planet's atmosphere.

"We could go to the Resistance," she offered.

He glared over at her, head dipped, "The Resistance. I wouldn't go there even if I could."

"Because they're a bunch of wretched traitors? Isn't that what you are now?" Rey responded calmly while not taking her eyes from the instrument panel in front of her.

Kylo scoffed quietly to himself, though she had a valid point. He started thinking about all the planets he knew. They needed somewhere remote, not attached to the Resistance or First Order, somewhere safe. He remembered loving Chandrila as a child, but that was Resistance and New Republic territory. Dathomir? His parents had told him they'd decided to get married there. No, Kylo didn't want to think about that. What was that other planet, beginning with D with the Jedi temple? Devaron- perfect! He looked up the planet's coordinates to put into the computer. How far away was it? Could they get there?

While the computer was dealing with the logistics, Kylo rose without a word and headed out of the cockpit. Rey paused for a moment, looking out the viewing window into the dark, watching the rain trickle over the thick glass as the shuttle rose steadily before following him. Kylo had headed down the corridor to a small room containing a bunk, his private quarters, she realised, away from the troops. He was removing his sodden clothing- belt, cowl and robe. He pulled some dry clothes from a rack on one side of the small room. She wondered to herself if she'd lain here after he'd kidnapped her on Takodana. Kylo didn't look at her but knew she was watching him from the doorway. He took some more clothes from the rack, inspected them, and then held them out to her, still not looking at her.

"They are unlikely to fit, but they are dry."

She removed her cloak and stepped towards him to take the clothes; black, of course, they were.

"Thank you," she replied as she accepted them.

He removed another layer and was then stood bare-chested in front of her. So pale. She'd seen him like this before during their bond on Ahch-To, but never in the actual physical flesh. His attitude towards her seeing his body hadn't changed. He was unembarrassed and unashamed. He was strong and broad with large, muscled arms and shoulders. What she noticed now, which she hadn't before, were all the marks and scars. She could always see the injury she'd given him; it ran from above his right eye down to his collarbone. There was a round scar on his left shoulder which, again, she was responsible for when she'd thrust Luke's saber at him. There was a scar on his ribs on the left from the bowcaster blast Chewie had shot when Han had died at Ben's hands. Rey could now see a network of what looked like little veins all across his body, a light purple; they were barely visible, but she could see them. What was that? She stood staring when a layer of black fabric covered everything and brought her back to reality. She fell forward, slightly surprised by herself, steadying herself on the doorway as she looked up and realised he was looking at her. She blushed. Well, that's embarrassing, she thought.