Author's Note: Sorry for the delay of the update. I try to update on Wednesdays but writing this week for me was difficult, just not really in a writing mood. :( I hope everyone is at least pleased with the chapter. My readers are still the best Reylos out there.
*inspired by 'Broken' by lovelytheband*
"Is something troubling you Princess? I mean.... General?" The golden protocol droid C3-PO asked of Leia Organa, the leader of the Resistance.
"It's nothing, Threepio." Leia lied to the droid.
"Very well." C3-PO said, bowing his mechanical head. The droid shuffled away and Leia hung her head, sighing.
She looked up at the swirling hologram of the galaxy that was projected above a circular table. The projection was dotted with planets and stars, accompanied by a neon orange trail traced across the wide birth of the map. A flashing red dot indicated the location of Luke Skywalker, her brother. Despite what the map said, he was not there.
She had sent her best pilot, a gentleman by the name of Poe Dameron, to the island of Ahch-To to retrieve Luke. But all scans for the last Jedi turned up empty. There was nothing but native life and the caretakers of the sacred island.
"Where are you Luke?" She whispered to the map, her sad brown eyes scanning the projection.
A tall figure approached her from behind.
"You were up early." The deep voice said to her. Leia hung her head again before turning around to speak to her husband.
"I felt him." Leia told Han, glancing up at his tired face before turning back to the map.
"Luke? Have you found where he is?"
"No Han...." Leia said, shaking her head. "Ben."
Han stiffened at the mention of the name.
"That's not possible Leia." Han said, shaking his head as well. She turned again to face him.
"I know what I felt." Leia said firmly to Han. His face fell into a deep frown.
"There's too much Vader in him." Han said to her, just as firmly.
"This was different!" Leia said in a hushed tone. "He was... ecstatic."
Han snorted.
"Probably murdered another village." Han muttered.
"Han!" Leia scolded. Han rolled his eyes in response. Leia began to pace around the table.
"Usually his Force signature is very faint."
Han made a face.
"You know I still don't understand that crap."
Leia shot her husband a look from across the projection. He gave her an unapologetic shrug.
"I'm just saying...." He told her.
"If he's greatly upset, sometimes..... Sometimes I can feel it.... But this.... This was completely different...."
"Maybe the First Order found Luke." Han offered his wife a half hearted suggestion for the phenomenon she swore she had experienced.
"No..." Leia shook her head again. "They would have announced it to the whole galaxy by now if that was the case."
She pursed her lips as she stared out at the blue hologram, her husband trying to pretend that he wasn't worried as he gazed back at her from across the table.
"Han...." Leia said slowly. Her eyebrows furrowed a little bit. "Do you think it's a girl?"
Han sputtered.
"A girl, Leia? Does it snow on Tattooine? It's not a girl."
"But what about what the young man from the Falcon said? The stowaway? He was a Stormtrooper - correct?" She asked Han. Han shrugged.
The man in question was a young lad who went by the name of Finn. He had escaped from Unkar Plutt during the shoot out at Niima Outpost. Following the death of Unkar, he had been hiding inside the Millennium Falcon on Jakku when it was stolen by members of the Guavian Death Gang.
The Guavians were in possession of Poe Damerons missing droid, BB-8, and they departed Jakku to try to claim the bounty on the droid from the First Order. It was then that the freighter was spotted by Han and his trusted Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca. The end result wasn't pretty but Han and Chewie were able to gain back their beloved ship from the Guavians - with BB-8 and Finn the stowaway in tow.
"I think so, yeah." Han said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"He said the First Order was trying to exchange him for a girl owned by that Unkar Plutt. The one who had your ship."
"So?"
"What would the First Order want with a simple girl from Jakku?"
"No one wants a simple girl from Jakku." Han scoffed.
"Han, this is serious!" Leia scolded again. "The girl was taken by the First Order, we know that much. What if.... What if she has something to do with all this?"
"I don't know what you mean." Han lied, not liking where his wife was going with this.
"Han.... What if... what if he loves her?"
Han gave one loud and hearty laugh.
"Loves her?!?" He said. "Who could love THAT?" Han shouted. He had one hand on his hip and the other gestured far off. Leia frowned, eyes narrowing at Han.
"I love him. He is my son. OUR son! I will always love that boy."
Han just shook his head.
"You're crazy." He told her as he turned away.
"I have HOPE." Leia said sternly. "There is light in him, whether you want to believe that or not."
She continued walking around the table back to Han.
"I want him home." She confessed to Han, wrapping her arms around his tall frame. He obliged and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
"I do too." He slowly admitted softly.
"Bring him home." She pleaded to her husband. Han rubbed Leias back as he held her, his chin resting on top of her head.
"I'll try."
ooooo
Following lunch, Kylo was due to be seen for removal of his stitches. Upon arrival at the medical wing, Rey noticed the room he had been treated in previously was blocked off for construction. Troopers were installing new metal paneling and a new patients chair was being wheeled in the room.
"Gods, what happened?" Rey wondered aloud as they walked past. She glanced up at Kylo, a hint of guilt on his face.
"What did you do?" She asked him as they entered a different examination room.
"It was an accident." He lied as he turned and sat on the examination table. She made a face at him as two tiny medical droids buzzed over and began to pick at his face. He tried to remain stoic as the stitches were peeled away but he would occasionally flinch.
Rey stood back, arms folded as she watched the scarred flesh of his face being revealed. She felt deep guilt. The scar was quite prominent on his pale face. She did this. She had hurt him. Every time she looks at him, she would be reminded of what he did for her.
"Is it really that bad?" Kylo asked, breaking her thoughts. She rapidly blinked. She hadn't realized how concentrated her face had been as she had been caught up in her emotions. She gave him a quick smile.
"It makes you look quite dashing." She said.
Kylo snorted and rubbed at his cheek.
"If you say so." He said as he stood up from the chair. "You'll be having to look at it for quite some time"
"Really now?" Rey asked curiously as she trailed Kylo from the medical wing.
"Yes. Our lessons are still not complete. Snoke wants you trained as I was. The training will be arduous. A lot of time will be spent together."
"Are you expecting me to complain?" Rey asked as they entered the elevator.
"I am merely informing you of the weeks to come." He said, an amused glint in his eyes.
"Yes Master." She replied with a grin.
During dinner, Phasma approached Kylo and Rey at their table. Rey slightly distanced herself from Kylo as Phasma neared them.
"Good evening." She said to them with a professional nod of her head. She gave Rey a quick glance before turning her attention to Kylo.
"Hux has requested a meeting tomorrow morning." Phasma informed Kylo. Kylo nodded.
"Thank you." He said to her. Rey gave Phasma a smile and she gave a small half smile back.
"What do you think the meeting will be about?" Rey asked in the elevators following dinner. Kylo sighed, annoyed.
"Knowing Hux, some scheme against the Resistance. Most likely an attempt to get in Snoke's good graces again."
"Oh." Rey said as the elevator doors opened. She gave Kylo a smile as she stepped out.
"Well, I will see you in the morning, Master." She said to him.
"Where do you think you're going?" He asked her. She looked back confused.
"To my room?" She answered.
"No you're not." He said, shaking his head. "We still have lessons to discuss." He smirked.
Rey grinned and followed him towards his suite.
ooooo
Kylo unbuckled his jacket, removing and tossing it unceremoniously over the back of one of his kitchen chairs.
"Would you care for a drink?" He asked Rey as she hovered in the entry of his suite.
"Yes please." She answered.
It was still strange to be in his private quarters. She had both good and bad memories of here. The bad - when he extracted the map. The good - their first kiss.
He emerged from the kitchen, handing her a clear glass filled with a bubbly tonic.
"Lessons are over. You can relax." He told her, a hint of amusement in his tone. He walked towards his bed, setting his drink on his end table before bending down to remove his tall boots. He slid his feet into a pair of black bedroom slippers, kicking his long legs onto his bed and leaning back against his mass of black and red pillows.
Rey slowly approached his relaxed figure, taking in the sight. She had never seen him at such a leisure. He sipped his drink as she took in his room. It was mostly tidy, save for the stubborn pile of black laundry on his desk chair. She crossed in front of his bed and around to the other side opposite of where he lay. She set her drink down on the other end table of the bed before removing her black boots and climbing on the bed. She scooted across to be next to Kylo.
He lightly rubbed at the fresh scar on his face. She knelt next to him on the bed, a hand reaching out towards him. She pressed her hand against his cheek and let her fingers trace down the length of his scar. He reached up a hand to place over hers. His sad eyes bored into hers.
"I'm so sorry Kylo." She whispered to him. He gave her a small smile.
"Don't be." He said. "It makes me think of you." He told her.
She smiled at him in return.
"I still like your face." She reminded him. He smirked.
"What else do you like about me?" He asked her, sitting up straighter against the pillows. She blushed.
"I like that you're lonely. Lonely like me." She almost whispered to him, her hand trailing down from his face to rest on one of his hands. His cheek raised with a half smile at her.
"I could be lonely with you." He told her as he leaned to her.
His free hand raised to reach her face, pulling her in close to meet his lips. Her arms then snaked around his neck. He rolled to his side, pinning her underneath his muscular frame as he hovered above her, knees on either side of her hips.
The tips of his long hair tickled her cheeks. She leaned her chin up towards him as her arms around his neck tightened. She pulled herself lightly off the bed as she firmly kissed him in return. With each kiss, her lips slowly began to part, sharing in his breaths of intimacy. Her loins stirred as his tongue brushed hers, hungrily wanting to explore her sweet mouth. The deep kisses changed to tender presses against the jaw line of her neck, trailing to her collar bone. She weakly held in a moan, the reaction slipping from her parted lips.
Kylo grinned at this against her neck. Hearing the affect he had on her was thrilling to him. It made his erection throb at the front of his trousers. He shifted himself above her, becoming increasingly aware of how close she was to rubbing up against his arousal. Her hips were rising off the bed as she attempted to get closer to him.
As much as he wanted to take her, all of her, right then and there - he had to will himself to hold back. This was all too new. And not just to him - but to her as well. What they shared was something tragic, something pure, something wholesome, something sweet. Was it even possible that he could love her and she love him in return?
He pulled away from her, her arms sliding down his shoulders. She stared up at him curious.
"I hope I didn't go too far." He said to her. She smiled and shook her head.
"I've waited all day for that." She said. He lightly laughed.
"If I'm being technical, I waited nearly fifteen years for that."
She sat up in the bed.
"How old are you?" She asked, feeling embarrassed she had never thought to ask this before.
"Almost thirty." He replied. She made a face.
"What? You think that's old?" He laughed as he stood up and walked to the kitchen with his empty glass. She stood up as well and followed him.
"No, I don't think that's 'old'." She said. "You seemed younger."
"Really?" He asked her as he set his glass in his sink. "Why did you think that?"
"Well, you kind of.... You know.... Act childish...Sometimes..." She trailed off.
Kylo frowned.
"I just meant your temper." She said.
"You don't like my temper do you?" He asked her darkly, approaching her from behind the kitchen counter.
"N...No." She said as Kylo crept closer to her with narrowing eyes.
"Then I suggest you keep me happy." He said, suddenly lunging for her waist and hoisting her off the floor and over his shoulder.
Rey squealed and laughed as Kylo carried her back to the bed, hefting her back onto the sheets with a bounce.