Exposed. || swritess_

Two Completely Different Things

At least the mechanical hum of the machine would puncture the quiet morning air. Kylo grabbed a mug from his cabinet, making sure to not select the mug she used to use.

He couldn't escape her. She'd left her mark in his home. The funny thing was, he wasn't making an effort to even attempt to escape her. He left her favorite mug of his in the same place. The bottle of vanilla syrup she used for her coffee also untouched. Even the bottle of lotion she'd left here, completely undisturbed.

Nothing was stopping him from throwing all of those things in a box and getting rid of it. Even just dropping it off at her office. But he didn't. He couldn't. Because removing all these traces of her would mean that she would never be back here to use it.

The coffee maker soon began filling Kylo's mug, the aroma of fresh coffee flooding the kitchen. He wasn't sure why, but he reached for the bottle of vanilla flavoring and unscrewed the cap.

He'd intended to pour himself a bitter cup of black coffee like he always did, swallowing it solely for the caffeine it provided rather than for his own enjoyment. But he could use some form of an improvement to his daily routine.

Realizing he didn't have his watch on, he turned to the wall clock to check the time. It was still relatively early, giving him a couple of hours until he went to see her. A couple of hours to either back out or muster up some courage.

He picked up the mug that was now full and walked towards the couch in attempt to retain some normalcy. Nothing else about today would be routine, but at least sitting down and drinking his coffee would be something normal.

Not entirely, though. As he sat there, he thought about the night before, the feeling of her lips on his, her warm, bare skin underneath his fingertips. The way she looked in that dress, wearing the same pair of red heels he'd seen her in before. The same pair she'd been wearing the night she was only wearing heels.

Maybe it was the businessman in Kylo, but he really thought she should start paying rent for how much she occupied his thoughts.

But maybe Kylo was partially responsible. She kept walking into his mind and taking residence in his thoughts, but Kylo was the one holding the door open for her.

——

If someone had asked him last year or even six months ago if he would ever consider doing this, he would've laughed.

But here he was, standing in front of a door he hadn't walked through in years.

He knocked quick and abruptly before his logic could regain control of his body. Two deep inhales later, the door was swinging open and his mother was standing in front of him.

"Ben."

She spoke with tangible disbelief. She clearly hadn't expected him to actually come. Reasonable, since Kylo had gone back and forth on his decision for hours.

"Mother."

The word rolled off of his tongue and left behind an unfamiliar taste in his mouth. It sounded foreign and yet familiar all at once, like clutching an old childhood blanket years into adulthood.

Leia gave him a warm smile and opened the door further, gesturing for him to come in. He did, holding his breath as he crossed over the threshold.

He hadn't been in this house since he'd last seen his mother. It'd be coming up on five years pretty soon. Five whole years.

He followed her towards the living room and found it to look exactly how he'd remembered it. Instinctively, he shucked off his shoes before he stepped into the carpeted room, simply out of habit. His mother had always chided him for walking on the carpet with dirty shoes. His father had often made that mistake too, resulting in several scolds from Leia.