Forget Me Not (Kylo Ren Story)

Noise

Leia fell silent allowing Poe to digest the information. Athena was a Force user, who was raised by the Organa-Solo family, trained by the legendary Luke Skywalker, and in love with the grandson of Darth Vader... It was a lot to absorb. "When I found Athena a year later on Hosnian begging to join the Resistance, something calling her to it, she had no memory of anything. I couldn't bear to tell her. I couldn't give her the pain of it all, so I kept silent to protect her." Poe exhaled deeply running a hand through his messy curls. "It seems you really care for her Leia, but how could you let her stay with Ren? Why would you give him a heads up? Don't even try to deny it, I know you did." Poe stood from his seat, growing frustrated. The General only looked up to him with a challenging expression. "Yes Poe, why would I let the one thing my son truly loves, the person he thought was dead all these years stay with him? If there's a chance he could change, put an end to this war, then it's Athena! She's the key!" Shaking his head dismissively, Poe moved towards the door hearing more than enough. The door shot open and Poe stepped out, a question eating away at his mind. He roughly grabbed ahold of the door frame turning back to face the General. "You would sacrifice her to end this?" Leia shakingly stood from the table facing the Wing Commander. "She's in no danger. They're safe somewhere far from the First Order, but this is the endgame Dameron. Sometimes you have to forfeit the Queen to win." Poe shook his head in defiance, "I will find her with or without your help."

Warm sunlight infiltrated the large bedroom waking Athena. A soft moan slipped from her chapped lips as she stretched out, a satisfying pop coming from her hips. Her left hand sprawled out, patting the empty space next to her. Athena's eyes fluttered open at that, finding no sign of anyone in the room. She pushed the silk sheet off of her and got out of bed, her bare feet cold against the floor. Rubbing her eyes, Athena caught sight of the dresser filled with picture frames face down. Curiously she shuffled over, peering over her shoulder to confirm she truly was alone before picking up one. The frame was a sleek black and it stood apart from the others, less dust collecting on top of it. She could even make out large fingerprints from where it had been picked up countless times. She knew the hologram, of course she did, she had placed it here after all.

Ben had just returned from his private lesson with Master Luke, when he saw the young Padawan wading in the lake near their future home. "What are you doing?" Ben shouted over to her. "What does it look like?" Athena giggled swimming over to the edge. Ben met her at the edge looking down at the radiant girl. She was practically glowing with the sun glistening off the beads of water that were scattered across her smooth skin. "How was your training?" she smiled tilting her head up to see his grimacing face. "It was good. Master Luke was insightful as always." Athena could see the worry behind his eyes, knowing there was more to the story, but she knew when he was ready he would talk... "Come here" she hummed pushing herself up on the edge. Ben leaned in mindlessly, feeling her breath fan over his face. With her right hand still dripping, she moved Ben's dark hair out of his face placing her hand there instead. Ben sighed in content leaning into her hand more and more until a huge splash was heard. Wiping water out of her eyes, Athena looked to her side seeing a wet Ben with dripping hair covering his face. Athena laughed swimming over to the sulking boy. She pushed the hair out of his face, only to reveal Ben's plump bottom lip jutted out. Athena giggled pressing a quick wet kiss to his pout. "Did someone fall in?" She smirked watching the corners of Ben's mouth twitch up. "No..." He mumbled deepening his frown, "You pulled me in!" Athena gasped, "I did no such thing!" Ben grabbed ahold of her torso and pulled her into him. She wiggled trying to escape his tight grasp but she was laughing too hard. Ben smiled at her, breaking his facade. He leaned in pressing his cold lips to hers. Every doubt, every concern, every temptation, washed away at the feeling of his love in his embrace. They broke apart and Ben could not wipe the look of amazement off his face, "I love you my wife." Athena only smiled wider. "I love you more."

Athena's eyes focused back on the hologram before her. It was a small snippet of a wet Ben kissing her equally wet cheek. She could feel the happiness radiating out of the hologram. She could feel the sweltering love her younger self had felt at the exact moment. The hologram also capturing a rare sighting of their wedding rings hanging from their necks. They had been young and naive and now she was married to the Supreme Leader... Would she ever be able to accept that?

Athena yawned as she trudged out of the door and into the hallway. The smell of something sweet flooded her nose and it carried her swiftly to the main area. Streams of sunlight greeted her, warming her to the bone. Athena smiled softly stretching her arms above her head, closing her eyes as she hummed in content. A clatter pulled her attention to kitchen. The man stood there, cheeks tinted red as he watched her. "Ben?" The name slipped out without so much as a second thought. "Oh! I'm sorry, Kylo." She corrected herself as Kylo offered her a shy smile before turning his attention back to the counter. "Good Morning." His deep voice echoed through the house, goosebumps erupting up her arms. "Morning." Athena mumbled, anxiety gnawing away at her. She knew Kylo could sense her uneasy state, but did not address it. "Are you making breakfast?" She questioned sitting down at the small white table. Kylo only nodded making another clattering sound. Athena stared at the man in front of her, feeling flustered and embarrassed. "I'm sorry about last night," She chirped up, "I'm not sure what came over me." She voiced her apology, chewing on the inside of her cheek. "Well from what you said about the noise going away as you climbed into bed with me, I'm not." Another noise sounded from behind Kylo, before he turned to face her once again. "Well I'm still sorry. I overstepped a clear boundary... a line." He sighed striding over to her seat and crouching down. His hand slowly drifted up to caress her cheek and jaw. "Glad to know this habit hasn't gone away." A small sarcastic smirk worked its way onto his face. How did he know- Athena's internal questioning was cut short by the narrowing of his eyes, a telling notion. Of course he knew her bad habits. "Athena" Kylo stood back up, his hand leaving her skin burning, awaiting their next contact. "It's impossible to overstep a line that does not exist." He turned back to whatever sweet food he was preparing. The fire burning in her cheek seemed to spread at his words. She decided to remain silent until the color disappeared from her face. Athena knew she should not feel this way, this was the enemy, but it was also the boy she had loved since the moment she laid eyes on. This was her husband, the man the Force had brought her to, the man the stars had destined for her. The person she risked her chance of becoming a Jedi to be with. Athena was still processing the whole ancestor of Qui-Gon Jinn and powerful Force user thing... This was the son of Leia Organa, the woman who swore there was still good left in him. Athena could feel it, the light and darkness fighting within him. A constant shift in the scales. Perhaps he had been seduced by Snoke which meant he could change, that he could come back to her. Is that what she wanted? Athena knew she needed to accept who she once was before she could concern herself with what the two of them were meant to be. There was a high probability that Kylo did not want to further anything anyways, it had been eleven years after all.

A plate was set down in front of Athena, derailing her deep thoughts momentarily. She examined the food before her, a wave of joy washing over her. "Are these..." Athena trailed off, watching Kylo nod, taking his seat across from her. "You remembered." She smiled picking up her fork to dig in. She took a small bite, moaning a little from the sweet flavor flooding her taste buds. Athena looked up to express her gratitude to Kylo, only to see he had not moved a muscle instead watching her with a pained expression. "What's wrong?" She pondered, eyebrows furrowing. "Of course I remembered that Strawberry Strudel was your favorite. Athena I remember everything about you. Not a day has gone by that I haven't thought of you. I thought you were dead, assumed you hated me and that was why I never saw your ghost. And now I hear you thinking that I would possibly not want you anymore. I-I..." His words stumbled over each other as his emotions poured out of his mouth. Athena's hand reached across the table grasping his tightly. This was all so wrong but she could not fight the Athena Jinn inside. She offered him a small smile, "I'm sorry that's not how I meant it." Kylo nodded stiffly, keeping his eyes down on the table. Their hands stayed intertwined as she continued. "I'm not sure what I want or where I'm supposed to go from here, but I would like your help. Despite everything, you're the only one that can. Like you once said 'you and I were written in the stars.'" Kylo's tear filled eyes raised to look at her, hope brimming inside them as well. "Of course I'll help you," He squeezed her hand, "I'll always help you." Perhaps they could save each other.