Kylo stands awkwardly to the side as you hold your mother in a tight embrace.
She's shorter than you are; she looks like a little child next to Kylo's tall, looming figure.
She's tracing little circles with her thumb on your hand, still completely speechless. Both of you can not believe what is happening right now- it's a miracle. Both of you had been so sure that the other had been dead.
But here you are; looking into each other's eyes.
"Well," she croaks, her voice dry. You have all been quiet for too long. Even Kylo; whom you had temporarily forgotten about.
"I suppose you can come inside. I may have some bantha milk left, and some portion bread. Not enough for two, I'm afraid, I barely have enough for myself-" She lifts her eyes to look properly at Kylo, the kind smile on her face slowly diminishing, stopping mid-sentence.
"You're dressed like the leader of the First Order." She says it as though she has only just noticed this.
You feel your throat constrict, and take a step back to stand next to Kylo. You can sense his nervousness.
"Yes. Ex-leader," you say slowly, unsure as to how your mother will take it.
Lillian's hand jerks up to cover her now O-shaped mouth, unable to mask the terror in her eyes. "You're the one.." She points a shaking finger at him, and you feel Kylo look down, his heart swelling up in regret. "You're the one they call Kylo Ren?"
"Yes, but, but- Mum, he's changed. I swear it. He's helped me escape. We've been training and planning an escape for months now."
"Vega," she grabs your arm, squeezing tightly, desperately trying her best to shock some sense into you. "Even Unkar Plutt has warned us about him."
Her face changes completely then, and still grabbing onto your arm, pulls you roughly into her, stands between you and Kylo. "He's the one that took you away."
Kylo opens his mouth to interject, but you quickly step away from behind Lillian and face her, grabbing her face in your hands. "It wasn't him, it's the First Order. There's so much we have to explain to you-"
"We?" She asks, her eyes starting to glisten with tears. "Who's 'we', Vega? You and the man who took you away from me?!"
You feel your heart racing, your pulse going equally as fast. You're torn- you can feel your mother's disappointment, her hurt, and you can understand her anger at Kylo. It is the same anger you felt for him up until recently.
But you can also feel Kylo's regret. His shame at being.. Himself. You can't abandon him now. He's done bad things, true, but he was beginning to change.
Kylo's gone. And Ben has taken his place. You can feel it.
"Can Ben and I come in? We need to explain."
She hesitates for a minute, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, nibbling her lip, her eyes wide. All signs of nervousness.
Fear.
"..Ben?"
****
"So what you are telling me is," she finally whispers, mostly to herself, "is that I've finally got you back, only to be told you'll be leaving again soon?"
You set down the now-empty glass of bantha milk, wipe the blue residue on your upper lip. "Yes. We need to find his uncle." You nod towards Kylo, who's sitting awkwardly in a chair that's too small for him, with the glass still full of milk balanced on his knee.
"Luke Skywalker." Lillian drags her eyes off of Kylo, and lets them wander. "He's a symbol of hope around here. And the girl.." She plays with her piece of portion bread, flattening it out between her thumb and forefinger. "I knew the girl."
She plants her eyes back on Kylo as she says the last word. "Rey. You tried to have her killed."
You sigh and bury your head in your hands.
She just won't accept that the person sitting in front of her isn't Kylo Ren. Now you know where you get your hard-headedness.
"I believed that because she refused my offer of being my apprentice, she would have been a threat to the people I thought I was loyal to." He isn't even looking her in the eyes as he says this. "I believed she was bad, and what I, along with Snoke, had been doing, was right. I realise now that that wasn't- and never will be- the case."
Lillian mulls over this, pulling her knees into her chest on the wooden chair. She places her chin on her knee, and you realise just how much she resembles you whenever you used to sit down in your room to contemplate the troubles you had on the Finalizer.
You cast a look at Kylo, but he's staring at his glass. You telepathically urge him to look at you, and he does. His eyes are so tired, so full of hurt.
All you want to do is hold him in your arms, play with his hair until he falls asleep. But you can't do it in front of your mother. She probably will never forgive him for what he has done.
"Regardless of what I think over all this," Lillian starts, standing up and straightening out her trousers, "I think we can all agree that you need a long sleep in a comfortable bed, my little Vega. It's getting late, and who knows what torture chambers you had to sleep in wherever those monsters were holding you captive."
Both your mind and Kylo's flicker back to the nights you slept in Kylo's king-size bed, complete with black satin sheets and feather pillows. Can hardly be described as torture.
You catch Kylo looking at you from the corner of his eye, one corner of his lips turning up in a smile, and you can't help yourself- you burst out laughing, and he does too.
Lillian looks at the both of you confused, her head cocked to one side. Kylo stops laughing immediately, but you get up, and, still laughing, hold her in an embrace. "I'm just tired. And relieved. I don't know why I'm laughing."
"So why is he laughing?"
"He's probably tired too. He needs to rest too, mother, he's a human being just like me and you."
You read her mind as she considers asking you to send him back to wherever he came from, but she decides against this. "I only have two beds."
"I'll sleep here- or- or on the floor- honestly, it is not a problem," Kylo says hurriedly, standing up.
Seeing the genuine look on his face, Lillian feels herself soften, despite how much she did not want to do so. "No- no. You can take the bed in the back room. Vega and I can share a bed, like we did when she was little."
****
You wait until your mother's breathing slows down, her chest rising and falling in a slow, steady rhythm, her mind wiped clean from the thoughts like wrecking balls inside her head. When you're sure she's asleep, you slowly get out of bed, making sure to cover her up to her chin, and place a soft kiss on her cheek.
Quietly tiptoeing into the back room, you let your eyes adjust to the darkness before allowing yourself to quietly call out his name.
"Vega," his voice comes from the end of the bed, and you grope around in the darkness before finding his arm. You sit next to him, your backs resting against the wall.
"It's weird being called another name."
"Do you want me to call you Luna?"
"No." You take his hand in yours. "We left Kylo and Luna back on the Finalizer."
He smiles in the darkness, but you can feel his smile diminish as you lean against his shoulder.
You stay in silence for a few minutes while you play with his warm hand.
"Why are you so cold?" He asks quietly.
"I'm always cold when I'm nervous."
He sighs, and lies down, resting his head on the pillow, whilst simultaneously pulling you from your waist. Your body fits into his like a glove, his chest pressed into your back. He kisses your shoulder and then sighs, the involuntary sigh escaping through his nose.
"What's wrong?" you ask him, as his fingers find yours again.
He doesn't reply, and you're too tired to try to read his mind. You wait a few seconds, and he still doesn't answer, so you turn to face him.
"Hey. What's wrong?" You kiss his cheek, wanting him to feel comfortable. The second your lips move away from his cheek, he kisses you, his hand behind your ear, pulling you gently into him.
You straddle his hips, placing your palms flat against his chest. "Tell me?"
"It's not an easy thing to admit," he whispers, as he rubs your arms. You pin his hands down, not allowing him to move.
"Just tell me."
"I think I'm in love with you."
Your grip on his arms loosen as you process his words, and he places his hands on your thighs.
"I'm certain that this is love," he adds cautiously.
Without saying a word, you lower your face inches away from his, caressing his cheeks. He closes his eyes and tilts his head into your fingers, knowing he can never get enough of your soft touch.
"I think I'm in love with you too," you say, smiling. "I never imagined it happening, but I think it has."
You lean forward and kiss him again, your fingers brushing against his jaw.He kisses you hungrily and passionately, not even allowing himself to breathe. Your hands travel underneath his shirt, your fingers trailing across his chest muscles, feeling his heart accelerate.
You can practically feel his body melt beneath your touch, and you love it. He grabs you by the waist and flips you over, so that you're lying on your back facing him. He kisses your neck, his lips soft and wet against your warm skin.
You feel his hands roaming across your body, leaving you in a state of bliss. He stops then, and very seriously asks, "Should I stop?"
"What? Why? Stop why?" you say hurriedly and breathlessly.
"Your- your mother's in the other room."
"We won't be loud," you giggle quietly, pulling him back down for more kisses.
It would mean the world to me if you could check out my original story: The Midnight Dilemma - undercover agent, bad boy gang leader, cartel adventures, secrets, tension, enemies to lovers, etc. It's a WIP and I'd love any feedback you might have. Thank you sososoososooo much 🥺