Her Protector

Kylo's Confession

Kylo stood up and paced the floor. Rey sat quietly. She had never seen Kylo so disconcerted, it was unnerving.

'Just give me a minute.' He said.

Rey felt awful about her little escapade. How could she have been so selfish? She thought she would be punishing Kylo, instead she had forced him into telling her something about himself that he obviously wasn't ready to share. She sat in silence. She has caused enough trouble.

After a few moments, kylo collected himself and sat down next to Rey.

'I was never very close to my father, and we always had a difficult relationship. I was closer to my grandfather, I emulated him. He was a General in the military. I wanted to follow in his footsteps so badly. He was a firm, tough leader but he was never hard on me.' Kylo smiled slightly, then the smile disappeared. 'Of course my father didn't approve, he told me it was because I would get hurt, I chose to believe it was because he thought I wasn't good enough and that belief twisted our relationship. I enlisted against his wishes, and we didn't speak for quite sometime.'

Kylo paused and Rey took his hands in hers and squeezed them slightly. He smiled briefly at her and continued,

After my injury, I was discharged and I felt so ashamed. I felt like I didn't have a right to be there, for sometime I felt like I should have died on that battle field.'

Rey felt tears prick at her eyes.

'My father barely spoke to me, even after my grandfather died, which was a devastating blow for me. We kept to safe topics like the weather and what type of tyres I should put on the truck. When I started working security, he didn't seen to have an opinion but I think, now, that he was proud of me in his own way. I was good at my job and I was quickly assigned to the Mayors detail.'

Kylo squeezed her hands gently, as if gathering his strength.

'One day, we were assigned to a routine parade, you know the ones, wave at the crowd, give a speech, kiss some babies. I had become complacent I guess, but it was difficult to believe a small town mayor would be the victim of an assassination attempt. What I didn't know was this particular mayor was having affair with a mob bosses daughter. A hit was organised. His days were marked. Except I spotted the shooter in the crowd that day. I intercepted him and tried to disarm him. Instead, I threw off his trajectory and the bullet meant for the mayor, shot off into the crowd. The mayor didn't die that day, but my father did. He had come to see me, I know it, and see me he did, as he lay dying in my arms.

Kylo looked at Rey, his eyes were desperately sad,

'I couldn't save him Rey and I have to carry that burden everyday. I won't let you meet the same fate, that burden wouldn't weigh me down. It would break me.'

Rey's cheeks were wet with tears. She threw her arms around Kylo.

'I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking. I won't put myself in danger again. If I'd known.....'

Kylo held her tightly and buried his face in her shoulder. Rey pulled away and held his face in her hands,

'You're not to blame for your father's death Kylo.'

'Yes I am.'

'No you're not! How can you think that?'

'If I'd been stronger, if I'd managed to disarm the shooter, i could have saved him, I just......wasn't enough.'

'Don't say that.'

'It's true.'

'Not to me.'

Kylo kissed her gently, 'so this doesn't change anything between us?'

'It does.'

Kylo stilled.

'I will love you more now. You need it.' She kissed his forehead, 'When it comes to you Kylo, I'm all in.'

'I love you Rey.'

'I know.'