"I know.", you blurted out, your face turning more and more red with each passing second. By now it was almost the same colour as the tomato sauce of your dinner.
He didn't say anything. Just looked up briefly, a wide grin on his face before shoving the next bite into his mouth. He turned his head slightly the 'what are you going to do about it, eh?' written all over it. There was no need to actually say the words out loud, which made it somewhat worse for you.
You could feel it too, his presence invading your mind, enjoying your embarrassment to the last bit. With a sigh you faced your food again and tried your best to get your mind off of the kiss from earlier. Perhaps you could find something to weird him out...mhhh...what weirded most people out? Right!
Med school. The first time you had entered the morgue, all the discussion about food while standing over an opened body. Comparing various smells to different restaurants and cuisines...the time someone had accidentally dropped a chewing gum into the abdominal cavity. Or the one girl who always touched the corpses, then forgot she had done so and scratched her face...or started chewing on the gloves.
"Did that really happen?"
You nodded and grinned, "Yes. I do not know if she just wasn't aware that she had just sliced some brains apart or if she liked the taste of formaldehyde...she could have also been a cannibal."
He blinked a few times and shook his head, "What is she doing now?"
You shrugged, "I don't know, but I highly suspect it was her underwear that was later found near the corpses after a party..."
"You are kidding."
"Nope. Sadly not. Our professor was incredibly mad."
"I can guess."
You grinned and continued eating, happy that you had finally gotten your mind off the matter from earlier. It had been one of the more entertaining times however gross it might have been. By now...what was gross even? Corpses had never really been that much of a mystery for you. For others however, it was completely different.
The first time you had walked into the morgue the others were careful, didn't want to touch them. Stayed away. It didn't matter to you, you had seen enough dead people by then. Killed enough by then.
But your colleagues? A totally different discussion. A few had quit in their first week because they couldn't handle it. You'd think that thought had passed through their head before they started studying. Apparently, it hadn't. You pitied them. They were so weak, couldn't stomach it. Got grossed out easily, almost throwing up at the thought of having to clean out the soup of half digested food, formaldehyde and half coagulated blood that had accumulated at the bottom of the abdominal cavity.
You glanced over to Kylo, he was clearly still listening to your thoughts but something else was on his mind as well.
"It doesn't affect you, does it?", you said quietly, almost whispering. You didn't want to specify what 'it' meant exactly. It could just refer to blood and gore. Broken bones sticking out of body parts, limbs bent in impossible ways or the screaming either caused. But you didn't just mean that. It was easy to get used to it. The mind is extraordinarily good at adapting to horrifying circumstances after all.
What you meant with 'it' also included the killing. Killing not done by others but by you yourself.
He didn't reply, just continued eating as if you hadn't said anything.
You watched him for a short while before continuing your thought, "I was worried about it in the beginning as well.", you paused again, wanting to see if he'd give you any kind of reaction. He didn't.
"But I don't mind it anymore... it's no different to hunting. The strong prevail and the weak go extinct...", another pause, this time shorter. Still no reaction.
"I don't understand why people judge us for it.", you emphasized the 'us' slightly. He finally looked up, "It's just natural. Evolution."
You could feel him searching through your mind again, figuring out whether or not you had spoken the truth or if you had just wanted to soothe him. If you had wanted to find some artificial connection between you two. He didn't need long to see that you hadn't lied. That you felt the same exact way whenever something horrible happened. Which was either joy or nothing at all. Worrying, normally...but not to you. Not since you had figured out that there was someone else.
He didn't say a word but from the look on his face he was more than just satisfied with your opinion on the rather delicate matter. You shoved your plate over towards him and he finished the rest of what you couldn't eat. Supporting your head with your hand, you just watched him.
"We are fit for each other, aren't we?", you eventually said, interrupting the comfortable silence between you two.
"Mhhh?", he made, swallowing down the last bit of food.
You laughed, "I don't mean the fact that you always eat my food. I mean...The only ones that can harm you are other force users. Or let's say, effectively harm you. They are the ones that are dangerous to you. One on one.", you paused. He put down the fork, "I can get rid of those. It is literally what I am most effective against. Yeah, okay I can shoot quite well over long range. But I was made to eliminate force sensitives."
"What do you mean?"
"We are symbiotes! I can kill what can harm you and you protect me from the rest. Which is...if I'm honest. Far more than what I can do, but there is one threat you have trouble fighting against...no offense here, I just mean it hypothetically speaking. But against that threat I'm perfect! We were practically made for each other!"
Kylo looked at you briefly before he leaned forward and kissed you. He moved his head back slightly, grinning widely at your flustered expression.
"We were....in more ways than one."
He laughed loudly as you, once again, started blushing.
"24!", Rosie's cheerful voice was mildly distorted by the intercom. It was a bit more husky, then again...you could have just woken her up. Life in space wasn't really coordinated by sunsets or sunrises, "I'll let you in, one second.", she added. The speaker next to her door made a clicking sound and less than thirty seconds later the doors themselves slid open.
"I brought you something.", you said and held up a bottle of wine. You personally didn't really like drinking, but Rosie did. She was still pulling down the edges of the sweatshirt she had just put on as you already made your way inside, "I promised we'd have a talk. So here I am."
"That's...that's lovely 24 but I have work tomorrow...", she said, reluctantly following you inside.
"Oh right.", you pulled out your data pad and swiped through a few menus, "Now you don't. Don't worry, you'll still get paid and it won't deduct from your holidays."
She stared at you, her eyes wide open, "What."
"Don't ask.", you said, putting the wine on the countertop and leaning against it, "Life has been...quite something..."
She nodded and got herself a cup of coffee out of the fridge. You stared at her. Eyes widened in disgust.
"What...is that...", you pointed at the white mug, filled with cold brown soup.
"Hey, don't judge me...you're the one that woke me up...", she grinned widely and sat down on the sofa, patting the place next to her, "Come. Sit! I've got so much to tell you!"
"Likewise."
It was decently interesting. One or the other affair, gossip about who supported X research paper and why...mistrust and anger here and there...nothing of great importance. At least you were up to date again.
Rosie and Escyle were still incredibly close. Apparently you had been lucky to even meet her at her own apartment and not his. It was somewhat disappointing, you still couldn't really stand him after all. Why she liked him so much you didn't understand.
"Any way...I saw you a while ago with that new...knight. It's a woman, isn't it?", she asked, leaning forward and pulling her legs up to her chest.
You laughed and scratched your head, "Yes."
She stared at you, as if she was expecting you to continue. To elaborate on a rather simple question she had asked. Yes, the Knight was indeed a woman. There was no need to make you this uncomfortable...you instinctively averted your gaze, moving it away until it landed on the only other thing in the room that could possibly attract your attention. The speakers that continuously played music in the background.
She had switched it on earlier, playing whatever she was listening to currently. Rosie's taste of music was about as diverse as her friend group. You were pretty sure that whenever someone suggested something, she'd listen to it. Enjoy it, even. There was hardly any genre she didn't listen to on the regular. You on the other hand...didn't really listen to music much. When would you? There wasn't really much time to spend on exploring what your actual taste of music was like.
Rosie sighed, interrupting your trail of thought and pulling you back into reality, "I know it's you."
If she'd have shot you in the head it probably would have surprised you less. It felt as if your heart had suddenly stopped beating. It picked up the pace, desperately trying to make up for the few beats it had skipped and now threatened to jump out of your chest.
"W-w-what."
You turned your head towards her, unsure of how to react to what she just had said. Was it a joke? Had someone told her? Was it gossip? Too many possibilities. That it had just been a wild guess could be ruled out from her facial expression.
"The Supreme Leader got me to take care of you after your mission.", she smiled. It wasn't a proper smile, she almost seemed disappointed in you somehow. Hurt.
You looked back down and grabbed the glass of whine sitting on the coffee table. It might have been Rosie's but you definitely needed it more now. This could be a major security breach.
"Does anyone else know?"
"No. Just me. I was the only one taking care of you as well. I had to sign some papers...", she paused, "You didn't know it was me?"
"No.", you emptied the glass fully, "I didn't ask Kylo how he made sure that no one knew..."
She nodded, "We made some excuses up...getting in Vornskr first, her losing her shit...attacking you...blablabla. Everyone just kind of thought she had hurt you."
You sighed loudly. Your heart seemed to skip another beat, this time not out of shock but out of relief. There was no breach. This was Rosie, after all...you knew she could keep secrets. She probably also did not want to end up with a lightsaber up her arse, so she most certainly wouldn't end up being a threat.
"Well I am glad someone told me now. Fuck. Why didn't anyone do that? This could have been bad!"
"Kylo Ren didn't tell you?"
You shook your head, "He didn't. When did I come back? Five days ago? It didn't come up. I also only really spent time with the Knights so it wasn't an issue..."
'Only spent time with the Knights', while it was true, you had mostly been around Kylo. Whether it was official business or not, neither one of you had wanted to leave each others' side.
She didn't say anything.
"I'm sorry for not telling you. I...confidential and stuff you know..."
She chuckled, "I mean...I really shouldn't be angry at you for not telling me. You really weren't allowed to talk about it."
"I would have if I could..."
"It's fine. No worries, 24. Or rather...Vornskr? Is that your real name? Also what powers do you have? I want to see them!", her eyes lit up and she pulled her knees a little bit closer. Similar to a small child expecting to hear a good adventure story. Perhaps it was that way for her. The Force was something not really widely known about...anymore that is. According to books it used to be common knowledge.
"I'm...I can't use the Force...I can do other things. I am like the opposite? I can hide from Force users, kill them better, easier...and Vornskr isn't my real name."
How much you could into detail, you didn't know. Then again...she was your best friend. Perhaps you should actually tell her more?
"That sounds...useless."
"Ouch.", you said with the driest voice possible. You didn't really care that she called it useless, however you still had to comment on it, "It's more useful than one would think. I can-"
The music, which by now had switched to synthwave, was interrupted by a horrible crackling sound. As if someone had played around with a broken wire. Both your heads turned over towards the speaker, trying to figure out what had happened before it continued playing.
"Well that wasn't pleasant.", you noted, still staring at it.
She shook her head, "Definitely not, if this happens again I'll get a technician. It was the first time now... Maybe they broke something when I had some problems with the fridge. They had to take away the whole wall to replace some parts...honestly, it seemed a bit much."
You narrowed your eyes slightly.
"Your fridge was broken and they had to remove the whole wall to...fix it."
"I don't understand it either, I thought it was normal?"
An uncomfortable feeling started to come over you. As if something bad was going to happen, or had already happened. As if you had overlooked something, missed it even though it was right in front of your nose.
"When?", you asked, getting up and walking over towards said wall.
"The same day you came back, I think? I called them over the next day...", she sighed, "24, it's weird, I thought so too but Escy-"
Another crackling sound, this time it ended in a high pitched shriek.
"I'll call them again. Apparently it's normal, I wasn't the only one who had fridge problems. They had to do the same in-"
The same high pitched sound came from the speaker again, getting louder. You instinctively put your hands over your ears, as did Rosie. The looming feeling of dread in your abdomen only got worse. It almost felt as if someone had kicked you in the gut.
The shrilling sound stopped but was replaced by a male voice.
"At last the work of generations is complete."
Who was that? You didn't recognize the voice but it sent shivers down your spine.
"The great error is corrected."
"What? Who is that?", Rosie asked. You could feel your skin getting goosebumps. Rosie wasn't any better, she almost started clattering with her teeth. You raised a hand up to stop her from saying anything further.
"The day of victory is at hand. The day of revenge."
There was a short pause, allowing any listener to the broadcast to take in the words. Who was that?
"The day of the Sith."
Oh.