#who were offended Rey was a girl or Kylo Ren cried too much or that Rey was no one | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

i-write-sometimes-blog · 4 years

Text

Rescue (Rey x Reader)

Request: Not sure if you have done anything like this before (I’m way too lazy to look😂) but maybe a fic where the reader saves Rey with the others from Starkiller Base then from Kylo? Like in the Force Awakens by anon

Words: 2,800

A/N: I had to see the movie like three times again. But here it is, very long but hope you enjoy it!!!

The room was filled with pure tension as the inner circle of the Resistance gathered around the the map table, the hologram displaying the view of the surface of the Starkiller base, discussing in an urgent and very messy strategy session.

“Okay, how do we blow it up?” said Han Solo attracting all the eyes in the room to lie on him “There’s always a was to do that”

“Han’s right” confirmed General Leia leaving a surprised face on Han.

“In order for that amount of power to be contained, the base would need some kind of thermal oscillator…” you said looking at the hologram, processing the information of the functioning of the Starkiller.

“There is one” Finn, the new guy, rushed to said, all the eyes following him as he moved around the hologram “Precinct 47. Here” he said pointing at a hexagonal structure.

“If we can destroy that oscillator it might destabilize the core and cripple the weapon” you theorized.

“...Maybe the planet” said Major Ematt.

“We’ll go in there and we’ll hit that oscillator with everything we got” Declared Poe.

“They have defensive shields that our ships cannot penetrate” The Admiral Ackbar stated.

“We disable the shields” Han immediately said as if it was an obvious thing to do “Kid, you worked there, what do you got?” he told Finn.

“I can do it” Confidently spoke the young man, you didn’t know much about him except that General Leia trusted him.

“I like this guy” Han Solo said, a smirk forming on his lips.

“I can disable the shields. But I have to be there, on the planet” Finn continued, you glanced at him for a moment, there was something in his face that seemed suspicious to you, he gave you a nervous gaze before his eyes went back to Han.

“We’ll get you there” said the old man sure of his words.

“Han, how?” Leia said unsure.

“If I told you, you wouldn’t like it”

“So we disable the shields, take out the oscillator and we blow up their big gun. All right. Let’s go” commanded Poe.

While everyone splitted you followed Finn, finally stopping him in a not frequented hall grabbing him by the arm and forcing him to face you.

“What the…”

“Finn, right?” you cut him off as he slightly nodded. “Can you really do it? Disable the shields?” you interrogated.

“Yes…” he told you, the confident tone in his voice revealing a lie. You raised an eyebrow and crossed your arms.

“Really? Fine, tell me how?”

Finn looked around scared someone would hear him before he learned to whisper his answer.

“Okay, I don’t know. But I’ll figure it out once I’m there.” he said “My friend Rey is there, I need to save her” he said sincere.

“You want to save her, then you need me” you told him. “I’m coming with you”

“Wait, why? I don’t even know you.”

“I know how to shut it down” you told him. “The shield”

“You worked…there?”

“No!” you answered almost offended by the thought of working for the First Order. “I’m a system engineer” you said as you started to walk towards the hangar, his feet following close.

“Alright” he said behind you. “So, at least I can know your name?”

“Call me Y/N” you told him.

Few minutes later you held tight to your seat as Han piloted his ship with pretty much trouble through the icy planet, crushing against trees more than once, slamming through branches until the ship crashed against the snowy, rocky ground. Not the best fly you’ve been.

“The flooding tunnels are over that ridge. We’ll get in that way” Finn announced as you hid, your bones freezing by the snow, the small blaster secure in your hands.

“What was your job when you were based here?” asked Han, he seemed to really trust Finn.

“Sanitation” murmured the guy.

“Sanitation?!” Han and you yelled at the same time darting at Finn. “Then how do you know how to disable the shields?” Han yelled close to the other man.

“I don’t” he said, his eyes looking over to you. “She knows, that’s why I brought her” Han Solo slowly watched over his shoulder and his gaze finally met yours.

“Please tell me you know how to, girl” Han told you “People are counting on us! The galaxy is counting on us…”

“Yeah, I know, Sir.” you firmly said “come on” you said already walking to the big Starkiller base.

*****

Sitting in the workstation your fingers moved through the controls searching non-stop for the shield.

"How long will this take?" said anxious Finn.

"Relax, Finn" you told him as you pressed some more buttons on the console, suddenly the panel beeped revealing the words 'Shield Disable Initiate'. "There, it's working" you told him proud of yourself.

"Solo if this works, we're not going to have much time to find Rey"

"Don't worry, kid." Han told him "we won't leave here without her"

"So how is this Rey everybody talks about?" You asked out of the blue, the curiosity invading your mind. Han smirked at you.

"As smart as you, Y/N" he said "I think you're gonna like her"

The controls beeped again 'Shield Disabled'

"The girl did it" Han grinned happily.

****

Hiding in a corner of the hall you waited next to the big wookie, Chewie. Finn trying to come up with a plan to find Rey. You kept your weapon close looking in every direction for trooper and then you spotted her climbing carefully inside the wall to the main level while Finn and Hand talked.

"Is it her?" You asked attracting their attention.

"Yeah, that's Rey" you heard Finn said before rushing through the endless and glossy halls of the base. Guiding you for a lot of corridors until you stopped in front of a rifle pointing at you.

The girl who held it, you supposed, was Rey. She looked so shocked, her eyes wide open with the sight of familiar faces, wondering if the four people before her were really there.

"Are you all right?" Han was the first one to approach, slowly guiding her to lower her weapon down.

"Yeah" she nodded

"Good"

"What happened? Did he hurt you?" Rushed to ask Finn.

"Finn. What are you doing here?" She said, by the way her eyes started to watered you could tell she was happy to see him and almost speechless.

Her gaze meeting yours for the first time, you admired her delicate face and her messy brown hair, now you knew why everyone was talking about her.

"We came back for you" you said as she stared at you confused, maybe a little surprised.

"Thank you" she murmured, her light brown eyes reaching for everyone of you.

"We don't have much time" you said.

"Escape now. Explain later" Han said and silently you follow him.

But there was no escape, as you stepped outside you caught the X-Wings flying all around, dodging and blasting the TIE fighters and the cannons. Some of them barely dodging the missiles, others without luck exploited. Your people, your friends dying in the sky as the clock kept moving and the big First Order weapon charged.

"They're in trouble" you told them "We can't leave"

"My friend here has a big bag full of explosives" Hand told you pointing at Chew. "Let's use' em"

***

After a short ride in a snow speeder Finn, Rey and you ran inside a small building, Rey reaching immediately to open a service hatch, you behind her following her actions with your gaze.

"That one" you told her pointing inside the mechanism. Her hand slipped inside and grabbed a piece of tech, easily pulling it away.

She turned to you, the distance between the two of you reduced at the metal piece she took from the machinery.

"You know your way around this tech" you told her smiling

"After years of stealing this pieces, you learn how it works" she said smiling back at you. Maker, what a beautiful smile this girl had. "I'm Rey" she told you.

"Y/N"

You kept looking into her eyes for a moment, Han was right she was so smart.

"Sorry to interrupt, we gotta get back with Han, now" Finn said irritated.

"Yeah, let's go" you said.

****

As the hatch opened your eyes caught a tall masked figure standing in the middle of catwalk that crossed the oscillator structure, the three of you got closer, holding the steel railing to look down at the man in front of this terrible man, there was Han firmly speaking to his son. You could see them, you could clearly hear this strange familiar reunion from the distance, you got to see the face of the man that terrified most of your friends, the face of Kylo Ren.

You stared speechless down at them as Han and his son talked. Then finally the younger man extended his weapon to his father. The hatch behind you suddenly shutted close, extinguishing the soft light that moments before fell in Kylo’s face. His Next move was fatal, as he ignited the dark weapon and it passed right through Han’s chest.

“No!!!” Rey yelled, her eyes already filled with tears that quickly fell from her face while you just gasped seeing the legendary Han Solo as his lifeless body fell into the big oscillator structure.

Chewie cried in agony for his friend and shot at Kylo in the side, his eyes looking in your direction as you contemplated the big explosion Chewie’s bombs blew up. Soon the structure was filled with white figures of stormtroopers blasting at you. Rey filled with pain started blasting back at them as blast hitted around her.

“Rey we have no time for this” you tell her. “Rey!” you told her but she didn’t move, she just kept blasting. In an urge to escape you wrapped your arm around her skinny waist and dragged her towards the exit, leaving the exploding oscillator behind.

“The Falcon’s this way” yelled Finn leading you to the snowy forest, running as fast as the snow and your emotions allowed it.

Until you couldn’t keep running. You slowly stopped out of breath, keeping the distance between the man in front of you. Kylo ignited his lightsaber lighting up the cold woods with a reddish light. Finn held on tight on a lightsaber you didn’t know how he got as Rey and you aimed your blasters to Ren.

“We’re not done yet” Kylo growled, is eyes full of anger glancing at Rey, who answered with pain in her voice.

“You’re a monster”

“It’s just us now, Han Solo can’t save you” Kylo said as if Finn and you weren’t even there.

Rey moved, ready to pull the trigger but with a gesture of Kylo’s hand the blaster flew out of her hand, and with another powerful move she flew back, slamming into a tree. She dropped then, her body landing hard in the cold snow.

“Rey!” you screamed in panic as you saw her body falling, such a big fear ran through your body thinking you had lost this girl, this total stranger you have just met and yet you felt so connected with, even if you have just known her for a minute you already adored her.

Finn ran to her side as concerned as you. With rage in your body you blasted against Kylo Ren, who easily dodged every intent of killing him with a swing of his saber. Annoyed with your desperate tries to kill him he gestures one more time with his hand sending you flying just like he did with Rey.

As your body hitted the hard ground you felt the agony in your body as your vision blurred slowly, the last thing you saw was Rey lying on the ground before the dizziness in your head closed your eyes.

The cold were freezing your bones as your eyes fluttered slowly open, your body aching as you tried to stand up.

“Rey…” were the first words that let your lips as you saw the empty ground space she was just before you fell unconscious. Your eyes looking desperate for her but the only thing you found was Finn’s body. “No, no, no…” you whispered under your breath as you approached to the guy, his back was completely hurt and by the look of it you could tell this was Kylo’s work. You turned him around and concerned placed your ear against his chest. There was a heartbeat, that was all you needed to hear. “I’ll go back for you, Finn, hold on” you told him even though you knew he was unconscious.

Then you grabbed a blaster and started running away through the frozen forest, you needed to find Rey.

The sounds of lightsaber crashing against each other guided you to them, Kylo and Rey fighting merciless lighting the night with the colors of their dangerous weapons, both panting and growling out of anger as the swing their laser swords, you were beyond impressed with her fighting skills, she was a natural with that lightsaber. Rey was having a bit of trouble handling the big man as he held his red saber very close to her.

“You need a teacher” you heard him said. “I can teach you the ways of the force”

“The force” she said and stopped for a moment, the determined she lashed out to him attacking until she turned the weapon making him fall back groaning in pain, the blood already flowing over his face, but that didn’t make him stop, he was immediately on his feet again rushing towards Rey.

“No!” you scream pulling the trigger blasting right at Kylo in his freshly hurted shoulder, he dropped the saber yelling in pain as you got closer to Rey.

"Y/N" she murmured as she saw you, surprised and relieved.

“Come on” you told her already pulling her to the opposite direction.

The ground shook under your feet, cracking before it broke leaving a big space between you and the big bad guy. You pushed Rey to keep going, running close to each other.

Finn was still unconscious, barely holding on to life when you arrived, both Rey and you suffering for the state of your friend. The planet was breaking under your feet, you knew this could happen and you were willing to die if that meant the Resistance would stand. Meeting Rey’s gaze you were sure she also knew there was no escape now. So you took her hand, warm compared with the cold temperature of the forest, unsure at first but then she entangled her fingers with yours and gave un a soft smile as the tears ran down her face.

The forest lighted up with a mysterious was as the engines blew a bit of snow over to you, watching over your shoulder you caught the Millenial Falcon flying very low, as it got closer to you as you saw the ship piloted by Chewie and you smiled at Rey, there was hope in her eyes, more than you have seen in a long time.

After helping Chewie carry Finn to the ship, you sat next to Rey inside the cockpit watching how well she knew this old ship. And finally you were off the Starkiller base that collapsed behind you. It was time to go back home.

“Y/N” Rey said in the middle of the fly.

“Yep?” you said looking into her eyes, a bit red by all the tears that left her eyes.

“I didn’t have time to tell you before” she said and you gave her a confused look “back in the woods… I don’t know what I would have done if you haven’t arrived”

“You would have kicked his ass, I’m sure.” you told her trying your best to cheer her up. She chuckled for a moment before she raised her voice again.

“Thank you, Y/N” she said as if no one ever had done such thing for her, the tears forming again in her eyes. You reached for her hand, giving it a small squeeze.

“Anytime” you told her, a smile finally taking over her lips as the Falcon continued in its way to the Resistance base.

For once everything seemed right, the Starkiller base was gone which meant many planets even systems were safe, the Resistance had won this fight that would be sure not the last but guaranteed a moment of peace, a breath for all of you. And you also had new friends, total strangers that meant a lot to you now, especially this girl sitting beside you with her bright smile and messy air, you were deeply grateful to find her.

66 notes · View notes

waypathfinder · 5 years

Text

Crimson Lane - Chapter 18 - Reckoning

Moodboard by @ashtyntaytertot

Beta’d by @kathknight and @ashtyntaytertot

Links

Tumblr Master Post

Archive of our Own (from the start)

Archive of our Own (chapter)

Fanfiction.net

Chapter Text

He's like nobody else in the world. When I am with him, it's like I'm split in half. Part of me is on fire, going crazy if I'm not touching him. The other half is calm and peaceful, just perfectly content, knowing he is the one for me.

-Unknown

Coruscating sunlight speared through the iron bars of the brothel window as Phasma opened the rich velvet curtains, disturbing swarms of dust left dancing in the dim morning light.

The brothel had a certain smell to it in the morning, a mix of burnt-out incense, disinfectant and sex. The first two odours came and went as the day went on, but the latter was constant, a heady layer of latex, lubricant and body fluids.

She blinked warily against the offending sunlight. She was tired; so damn tired of all of it.

Snoke had left her worn and more than a little bruised last night. Shed worked with him for two solid hours, putting up with the way his fingers trembled with rage each time he yanked her by the hair, that glow of repressed sadistic desire flashing in his cold eyes.

Eventually, the viagra had faded and Snoke’s hatred took a less physical form.

That evening, he’d sat up in bed, still wearing his dull gold robe.

“That fucking little shit thinks he can cross me with that whore!” His wrinkled lips continued to move long after the words finished.

Phasma rolled up her stockings, trying not to let them run beneath her long red nails, careful not to say a word. Snoke continued.

“And that little bitch, you know what I will do to her.”

Phasma nodded, eyelids lowered.

Yes, she knew. She knew all too well.

“And to think I took him in. Treated him as my protégé . He could have had everything, but now—” Snoke paused, catching his breath— “I’ll make sure he has nothing left.”

She nodded again, this time wiping a tissue between her legs.

Snoke’s eyes narrowed at her. “Did I tell you to clean that up?”

Phasma’s hands froze in place, gritting her teeth behind a forced smile. “I can leave it, if you insist.”

Snoke grabbed her blond hair, his iron knuckles grinding into her scalp. “Yes, I want you to leave it. You’re my bitch, you can smell like me all day.”

She lifted her chin, as much as was possible with him pinning her there.

“Certainly, Mr Snoke,” she choked.

He pulled her back to his chest, reaching over her until she could see the hairs of his nose and smell the stench of day-old tobacco on his breath.

“Where are you trying to run away to anyway?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Phasma replied, her eyes watering the more he dug sharp knuckles into her scalp.

“Good,” he groaned, caressing her cheeks. “Because I have a job for you.”

She fisted the sheets, fighting the instinct to rip herself from his hold. “Yes?”

Snoke let her go and she pulled away from him, careful not to rub her scalp or show any kind of discontentment over his treatment.

“I want you to change the bookings for tonight. Rey is not longer Kylo’s client. Give her to Hux instead.”

“What about Kylo?”

“Fuck Kylo,” Snoke snapped. “He’s finished here.”

“He won’t like to share. He’s grown attached to her.”

“Indeed, he has.” Snoke stroked his chin, the movement too slow and calculating. Phasma shivered. Fear had always been a part of the job, but something in the way Snoke smirked as he stared off into the distance, gave her a terrible sense of premonition.

This was not going to go the way Kylo had planned.

“Hux can have her for two hours. Then book her in with Seth. That sick bastard will enjoy grazing on Kylo’s leftovers.”

Phasma swallowed. “Seth, okay. Is that all?”

“Then me.”

Phasma could barely breathe, she knew what this meant, she pressed her hands together, trying to hide the way they trembled.

“What do you need for it?” Her voice wavered with a sharp inclination at the end. She needed to regain her mask.

“Waist harness, ropes, the usual assortment of knives. Lots of towels, plastic sheets, and don’t forget a body bag. We don’t want that shit getting everywhere like last time.”

A Judas Cradle, she realised, feeling like her body had filled with ice cubes. She was going to throw up. He’d done this once before to the last Master of the Knights of Ren. Before Kylo. Before many of them. To think she had been with Snoke for all these years, but why wouldn’t she be? He had saved her from the streets when she was young, he had been kind to her, favouring her above everyone else. She had privileges and was trusted with secrets. No one else had that.

But Rey… That stupid girl. She was a child.

“What if someone finds out?”

“They won’t, she’s a street rat with no family. Nobody will miss it.”

It. The word was not lost on her. Is that what he thought of her ? How she’d thought she was somehow special. He viewed street trash all the same.

“What’s your problem?” Snoke scoffed. “Don’t tell me you’re going fucking soft now?”

“I don’t understand why you’re going after her. Kylo’s the one who's pissed you off.”

“Kylo!” Snoke roared, coming to stand. “Kylo!” he shouted again, this time forced a pause, calming himself with a shaking breath before speaking quietly. “Kylo was mine. She stole him from me. If you are like my daughter, Phasma, he was my son.”

Phasma stood, wrapping a sage robe around her body. “Either way, he won’t let you anywhere near her.”

“He won’t be alive to stop it.”

“You wouldn’t—” She didn’t care. But this…

This was madness.

Snoke walked to the door, peering back at her with an unbalanced snarl.

“Kylo Ren is not part of our family anymore.”

“I’ll make you a deal.” The silver flash of Kylo’s car keys caught in the sunlight as Rey eyed them hungrily.

“No.”

She tried not to laugh. “Hear me out.”

Kylo folded his arms in an attempt to look menacing. She knew this look , she had seen it on him more times that not, but now it was endearing.

“First one to the bottom of the steps gets to drive the Upsilion.”

There was a flicker at the corner of Kylo’s mouth and a brightness to his eyes, even though he was clearly trying to remain stern.

“How about I drive the Upsilion, since it is my car.”

“Well,” Rey said, pulling him close by the lapels of his jacket. “ Technically , it’s leased. So it’s not really your car, and…”

She yanked the keys so hard they pulled through his fingers and into her hand. She was ready to run when her whole body jolted back, the solid barrier of his arm wrapping around her waist, her feet dangling a couple of inches from the ground.

“Nice try, sweetheart,” he whispered into her ear as he snatched the keys back from her, tossing her behind him, gently enough that she landed on her feet, but with enough force to give her a moment of unbalance.

In a whirl of black, the door slammed closed in front of her and he was gone. Rey didn’t hesitate. She charged through, catching sight of his tall frame moving down the stairs. She could even hear him laughing as he clomped down every step, and Rey felt a light flitter in her chest at the sound.

“Hey Ben!” she cried out. It was enough to make him pause.

She jumped, slamming roughly against his back and grabbing hold of his shoulders, her legs wrapped around his waist. He stumbled, grabbing hold of the railing with one hand, holding his keys in a death grip, despite Rey’s repeated attempts to pull them free.

“Give it up, Solo!” She laughed, sending nimble fingers scrambling to tickle and jab him, but instead of letting go, he sent his arms back to grab hold of her thighs and ran down the stairs.

Rey shrieked and squealed as he bolted down the stairs, both of them erupting in uncontrollable laughter on the landing.

H released her, and she slid off his back, unable to grab her breath between her laughter.

“You’re crazy, you know that!?” he said, between gasping breaths.

She placed her hands on his shoulders. “Crazy for you, maybe.”

Then her fingers began to slide down his arm, in slow massaging swirls. Kylo groaned and pressed her against the wall.

“ Maybe , is it?”

Rey shrugged with an irrepressible smile. “Maybe.”

“I’ll give you maybe !” He lowered his head down to kiss her, but instead, she reached up on her tippy-toes, meeting him with an equally passionate kiss.

There was a groan and a cough behind them. They both jumped at the same time, turning around to see Phasma glaring at them. She was dressed in everyday clothes: black slacks, silver knitted jumper and her hair was, as ever, austerely slicked back.

Rey felt her cheeks grow hot at the thought of someone watching them and slipped behind Kylo.

Phasma rolled her eyes as she worked through the planner.

“Snoke will be here soon,” she deadpanned, not even bothering to look up at them.

“He’s on the highway.”

Rey stiffened, accidentally letting out a degenerate whimper. Phasma’s tired eyes glanced up at her at that moment, and something faltered in her steely gaze and she looked… lost.

Rey’s heart pounded at the thought of Snoke bursting through the door and she began tugging at the back of Kylo’s shirt to go. And still, Phasma was staring. A shiver slipped down Rey’s spine, almost like Phasma knew something… Something bad.

“You alright, Phas?” Ben asked, his voice surprisingly gentle.

Phasma’s lips tightened into a bitter smile. “It’s been a long night.”

“Get some rest, hey,” Kylo said. “You know he never goes more than two nights in a row.”

“Yeah, I know.” Phasma nodded and proceeded to tear a piece of paper out of the planner, holding it out to them. “Kylo. Snoke left you this message.”

Kylo took the paper, opening the scrunched ball and reading it quietly. Once finished, he peered up at Phasma and said a quiet, “thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” she said, resuming her pose, bent over the planner, moving bookings around.

Rey raised her eyebrows as he returned to her, holding the motley piece of lined paper up for her to see.

Don’t come back.

Once they were on the street, Kylo threw her the keys.

“Here, you earned it.”

“You bet I did.” Rey beamed, pulling the lanyard around her neck. “Hey, did you think Phasma seemed a little …”

“Nice?”

Rey stifled a laugh. “Yeah.”

“Snoke works her pretty hard. How would you be?”

In a flash, Rey imagined opening up herself for that decrepit murderer. “It’s horrible.”

Kylo shrugged, as though to say, ‘it’s just how things were here’.

And perhaps it was, but it seemed to Rey no money in the world would ever be worth sleeping with Snoke. She sidled up next to Kylo, his keys heavy around her neck, pressing into her chest uncomfortably.

“What do you think the note meant?”

Kylo looked away from her, hands in his pockets. “It was a warning.”

“From Snoke?”

“Phasma.” He stopped walking, his large frame cutting a divide in the path, people spilled on either side of them; normal people, with normal lives. Worry etched in the pucker of skin between his eyebrows, the way his brows were low and his eyes fixed on the way back to the brothel, gaze bearing through the thick grey walls.

“What is it?”

“If Phasma’s warning us not to come back, she must have a very good reason for it. She doesn’t stick her neck out for anyone.”

Rey too looked back at the gloss red brothel door, tucked within the black walls of the building, innocuous and quaint in the morning sun. The hairs at the back of her neck began to rise, and she couldn’t shake the unsettled way Phasma had looked at her. It was nothing more than paranoia, but still … she couldn’t help shaking the feeling there was something more to it …

They hastened away from the shady path where the brothels of Crimson Lane spilled out onto the street, towards a section where the buildings were lower, allowing sunlight to reach their faces.

Kylo powered through the Autumn leaves, laying thick on the ground. They scattered on the pavement, like the forgotten ashes of summer, clumps of them in rotting piles alongside half-squished cigarette butts and pigeon poo.

Rey lagged behind Kylo, looking at the boarded windows squeezed between trendy open-wall cafes, serving smashed avocado sandwiches and matcha lattes. The whole area was a contradiction unto itself; dark, stagnant alleyways lined with overflowing bins and broken glass, decorated with ornate, iron castwork verandas, and hanging plants in rainbow pots.

At the end of the laneway, a young man with silver hair strummed away on his guitar, singing John Denver ballads, dipping his flat cap whenever someone tossed him a coin, a rushed

“thank you” between his lines.

Kylo waited for her to catch up. “What are you doing?”

Rey shrugged, as if waking from a dream. “It’s kind of beautiful in a way. Don’t you think?”

“In the way that half the buildings are condemned and the street smells like a proliferation of rats and exhaust fumes?”

She swatted him playfully on the shoulder. “No, in the way it’s never truly one thing.”

A tawny-skinned woman with wiry hair and missing teeth pushed past them, slurring raised words into her mobile phone, “My fucking neighbour and their fucking cat!”

Their eyes met and Kylo wrapped his arm around her waist and, pressing her close to his side as they continued to walk to the car.

Neither said a word and Rey fought hard to hold back the smile that was threatening to make her look like an over-excited school girl. It was such a little thing; the act of walking down the street, arm-in-arm, with another. People did it all the time.

But not her. And being with him like this, amidst the beggars on the corners and Gucci-wearing fashionistas in the cafe, it seemed to her like a snapshot in time that she might look back on one day and remember the moment when she meant something to somebody.

Come let me love you,

Let me give my life to you

Let me drown in your laughter

Let me die in your arms

Let me lay down beside you

They strolled past the busker as Kylo left a $50 in his guitar case and Rey squeezed him a little tighter.

“Wow, thank you!” he called out after them and Kylo waved his hand at him, mumbling a simple, “don’t mention it.”

They reached his car and she turned around to face him, removing the keys.

“You can drive.”

He raised a single eyebrow at her.

“That way I can jump out if you start hooning again.”

“You’re something of a smart arse, you know that?”

His warm, slender fingers traced around her waist onto her bottom, sliding his hands into her back pocket and out again. Rey was barely paying attention, Phasma had mentioned that Snoke was on the highway, not more than 20 minutes away.

When she turned back to Kylo, he was holding out the the blank screen of her dead phone.

“I thought you looked everywhere for this?”

“I did!” she argued, trying to grab at it.

“Everywhere, except for your jeans pocket?”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God, Snoke didn’t have it, or anyone else for that matter.”

“I want to take you to breakfast. How about that new cafe that opened by the bus stop at the bottom of the hill?”

Rey bit her lip, once more, darting her eyes up and down the street.

“I think we should disappear for a while, don’t you?”

“I’m open to that.” Kylo leaned in to her, his voice thready in the way that threatened to destroy her. “Why don’t you come back to my place?”

Rey felt the weight of his gaze pressing down on her with everything those dark eyes promised. She could imagine “his place”, some skyrise apartment in the centre of town with matching furniture and minimalist decor. Her shoe box of a home wouldn’t hold a candle to it, and yet, that was where she really wanted to bring him, as though letting him in her space was accepting that she was folding him into her life.

Plus, she didn’t want to know how rich he was, she had her suspicions, but wealth was something that had intimidated her after growing up with a lifetime of nothing.

“How about you come to mine instead?” she asked, kissing him on the tip of his long nose. “I desperately want to get out of these clothes.”

“Oh, yes?”

“And into some fresh ones.” She nudged him again and he lowered his head, kissing her chastely.

How she wanted to melt in his arms, to throw caution to the wind and kiss him with the passion that constantly yanked at her. It was not enough, to stand here on the street; hugging, kissing. It would never be enough.

But somebody could be watching, and it wasn’t safe to stay here.

She stiffened in his arms, pulling back with a tense smile. “Can we…?” She nodded her head to the door and Kylo moved to let her in.

She squeezed into the restrictive red leather of the chair, thinking about the last time he had taken her for a drive.

Kylo got into the driver’s seat and slid his hand across her thigh. He turned the engine on, and removed his wandering hand from her thigh to grip the gear stick, muscles tensing in his forearm just the way she liked.

“I’m starting to wish it was an automatic now,” he grumbled.

Rey laughed. “Here, let me.” She slid her hand across his thigh. Beneath the material of his trousers, she could feel the messy swirls of his leg hair, and the hardness of his thigh.

Rock hard . She tracked along the lines of his quadriceps. He must work out, or was it just the physical nature of his work? She grimaced, trying not to think of that last part. As her fingers wandered, the material of his trousers shifted and when she looked up his cheeks and ears were red.

What power she had over him. She moved her fingers again, fascinated, closer now between his legs and the movement came again in bounding pulses.

“Are you quite finished?” Kylo asked at last, though he couldn’t hide the deep darkness that bloomed in his eyes.

Rey felt the blood rise up into her cheeks also, and nodded. “For now.”Then cringed with how forward that sounded. What in God’s name was this man doing to her?

He revved the engine twice and Rey rolled her eyes. But then the engine cut suddenly.

“Get down!” he yelled.

A black Chrysler limousine rounded the corner, moving slowly in their direction, windows so heavily tinted it was like looking into a night without stars.

Rey’s body jolted with a sickening pulse at the realisation that Snoke was looming towards them.

“Quick, get down and I’ll cover you. He can’t see you here.”

Rey yanked her belt off and pushed the seat back as far as it would go, squeezing her body between the glove compartment and the floor. As soon as she was down, her view was obscured by a heavy wool coat that Kylo had thrown over her head, his rushed fingers spreading it over the top of her to make sure every part was covered.

“Fuck, fuck,” he muttered and she could hear the fear in his voice. She only hoped it didn’t show on his face.

She heard the electric window going down and Kylo’s gentle hand patted her head, whispering for her not to say a word.

There was a slow scrunch of tyres pulling up next to them…

And then, silence.

Rey squeezed her eyes shut, skin wet with the humidity of her breath trapped under the heavy coat.

“Where are you going?” Snoke’s voice was low, barely audible above the traffic, but carefully controlled, like he wanted Kylo to strain to hear him.

“Breakfast. I’ll be back in thirty.”

Rey strained to hear them. There was a distant horn blasting from far down the road, the low, breathy sound of busy commuter roads, and lastly the staccato tapping of a pedestrian crossing.

But from Snoke there was nothing.

Just pointed and purposeful silence.

“Do you want me to get you something?” Kylo asked, his voice too unsteady.

“Where’s your whore?”

Rey’s heart pounded harder than ever, sweat trickling down from her hairline. He knows she’s here. She thought of Phasma, the note, the sorry-looking, guarded expression on her face, the closest thing to pity she had ever shown.

“Rey’s back in the room,” Kylo answered quickly. His voice was masked now, devoid of any fear or emotion. “I’m finished with her. Fuck her yourself if you want.”

Rey cringed. She knew he was saying it to get him to leave, but still…

“That’s awfully generous of you?”

“My treat.”

Rey squeezed her eyes shut, trying to unhear his words. The way she was being treated as a commodity, nothing more than a sex toy for them to share. Digging her fingers into her forearms, she pleaded to God that Snoke would leave already.

“Does she know yet?” Snoke asked.

Rey froze at the question, struggling to breathe in her dark cocoon.

Does she know what?

The leather creaked where Kylo was sitting. Uncomfortable . She could picture him, knuckles blanched at the steering wheel, the slightest flicker of anguish ticking beneath his eye.

“She knows,” he answered quietly.

“Huh,” Snoke responded. “And still, she fucks you?”

“I don’t want to rush you, but Rey was about to head out. If you want to catch her before she goes, then you better hurry up.”

“We can’t have that, can we?” Rey could hear the smile in Snoke’s voice, those yellow-tarnished teeth, flashes of gold. A disgusting image of a man. “Very well. Be back here in thirty.”

Finally, the outside noises of the city abruptly fell away into silence as the window wound up again.

The memory of the conversation seemed to disappear into a vacuum, muffled and running away from her as she tried to grasp hold of it, replaying the words in her mind.

What did she know?

Her calves were burning and she was so damn hot, she began to move —

“Not yet,” Kylo hissed.

Rey waited for him to do or say something, but instead, they sat in silence, broken only by the sound of Kylo’s shaking breath — In out, in out, in out .

Does she know?

...

Does she know?

...

Does she?

...

After all this time, has she always known?

The Upsilion engine started again, followed by the ticking of the indicator lever and the car pulled out. Once he had turned a couple of corners and finished along a stretch of road, Kylo let out a relieved sigh.

“It’s safe now.”

Rey threw the jacket off and into the back seat, wiping the mix of condensation and sweat off her face. Slowly, she moved back into her chair, unable to focus on anything other than him. Kylo kept his eyes on the road, expression grim.

She did not return her hand to his thigh.

And still it was so quiet, the air so heavy with words left unsaid. He drove, weaving through traffic, speeding like he had the first time, eyes so focused and fixed on the task at hand.

It all seemed too pointed, too purposeful.

She swallowed, her throat cracked with dryness.

“Kylo?”

He breathed out through his nose, fingers gripping the wheel even tighter than before.

“ Kylo ?” she said a little louder, this time touching his arm.

He yanked a hard left on the steering wheel and the car swerved, forcing Rey to grasp hold of the roof handle. With a sharp stop, he had pulled into the gutter.

“Ask me,” he said.

Rey’s mouth dropped in shock. Just like that?

He turned to her, eyes red-rimmed and tired. “Ask me anything Rey. I will answer it.”

Anything?

She barely knew what to say.

“No more, secrets. Not with you.” He turned to her again, lips trembling. “ Ask me! ”

Was it you?

The words surfaced, like a stray whisper rising up in her mind like a poisonous fog. It wasn’t the first time they had come. It wouldn’t be the last, but…

She couldn’t. Not now.

A single tear crept down her cheek.

“Why me?” Her voice croaked, throat dry as sandpaper.

His hand dropped to her knee, his fingers warm and sweaty, lips parting as he took a deep breath before answering her.

But she stopped him before he could speak. “I mean...”

How could she stop her voice from shaking?

He waited, looking at her as though he were waiting for the axe to fall.

“You could have had any girls, on any of the nights. Yet, you chose me. Every night.” Rey shook her head, as though trying to answer the puzzle in her mind. ”Why was I different? I mean, we didn’t really even sleep together until last night.”

“ Technically …”

“Don’t avoid the question. There was a reason you chose me. I want to know why.”

“To keep you safe,” he whispered, blinking quickly.

She raised her eyebrows, sceptically.

“And because I wanted you and couldn’t stand the thought of anyone else being with you.”

She placed a hand over his knee, and he grasped hold of it, caressing it.

“Because this thing, whatever it is we have, has overtaken me…”

She looked out the window, to the crowds of people passing by, going about their lives. A smile was blooming on her lips. She tried to repress it.

“Because you’re so passionate and strong, and …”

She snorted. “Okay, I get the picture.”

“Has anyone ever mentioned you’re terrible at receiving compliments?”

She looked down at her lap, concentrating on the vintage finish of her jeans. It was fading, and the threading was growing thin. She would have to replace them. “Is that the only reason?”

His lips moved; moist and plush.

“Yes,” he said at last.

Rey breathed a sigh of relief.

It wasn’t him. She buried the questions rising up inside her heart, shoving them down like the stray hateful thoughts they were.

She smiled, pushing his hand away. But he stole it within his hand and rushed in to kiss her.

His lips met hers again; gentle, chaste... honest.

He pulled away less than an inch, allowing his thumb to stroke her cheek. “Because I…”

Her heart stopped; waiting, fearing, hoping…

“Don’t say it,” she answered, breathless. “We barely know each other.”

Her eyes filled with tears. He couldn’t.

“Rey,” he whispered, pressing his forehead into her own.

“I don’t deserve it. I’m nobody.”

He kissed a tear, that lopsided half-smile of his, hesitating with the words that held to his lips.

“You’re everything to me.”

She turned away, heart pounding too hard, mind rushing with a thousand thoughts as his lips praised her neck and jaw.

“I’m falling in love with you. I can’t control it.”

“Ben,” she whispered. “It’s too soon.”

She felt the words hot against her face. “I shouldn’t have said—”

“No,” she stopped him short, fingers reaching into his own. “I feel the same.”

Her body gave into his with demanding, desiring, hungry, lascivious kisses. Bodies pressed, fingers searching, pulling, tearing, pulses firing, the rise of lust pulling them closer and harder together, aching for more.

Those rogue questions subsided, like the hint of a mirage disappearing in the morning light.

Was it even there? Had she ever doubted him?

“Let’s go home,” Rey panted, pawing at his chest.

“You don’t need to tell me twice.” Kylo sped out onto the road, window down, the cold air hitting their faces. Without a word, he drove faster than he had ever driven before.

One, two, three, four, five…

The last one stuck. Rey shoved the key hard into the lock, wriggling it in the secret way only she knew how.

“Will you hurry up and open the door,” Kylo growled, nipping at her neck in a furious rush.

“Give me a minute,” she chided. “There are six locks on this door, and each one needs a special kind of wriggle and pressure to open.”

“Speaking of which…” He gestured to the locks, with a lost look on his face. “Why?”

Rey smiled sheepishly, shrugging her shoulders.

Because she didn’t like to sleep alone, because being anywhere, alone, in the night, brought back memories that left her screaming in her sleep and seeing demons in the day.

But instead...

“I’m protective of my stuff.” The words came out far more off-handed than she intended, how could they not? Considering what lay behind them. “I may not have much, but what I do have, I treasure.”

He nodded and his face distorted into that uncomfortable scowl, the one that looked like he had swallowed something bitter. But he didn’t press the subject and if he suspected she wasn’t telling him the whole truth, he wasn’t going to pursue it now.

“I understand. I’m protective of my things too, but—” he slid a hand beneath her jumper, curling around her back and pulling her close to him— “if I knew you lived in Fort Knox, I would have made you come to mine.”

She stifled a laugh and shoved him back with her arse, an invitation obviously, because he pulled her hips back into his and took her earlobe into his mouth, sucking it between his teeth as he groaned.

A cascade of shivers travelled from Rey’s neck to her toes and she opened that damn door faster than she’d ever done before. The lock clicked and she pushed her shoulder against the door, giving the lower edge a sharp kick where it always jarred.

They spilled through the doorway, arms grappling each other, stumbling against the door frame, and knocking a side table over in a rush of messy kisses.

Their breaths came in heaves, fingers in a flurry of pulling and ripping until they were in their underwear. Rey covered Kylo’s chest in passionate kisses, tongue swirling over every plateau and valley of his torso. She barely breathed, attacking him like their world was about to end.

And who knew, maybe it was? How much longer could they realistically have before something went wrong?

She felt a stone-like weight in her gut at the thought, at the inevitable truth that all of this was racing towards a climax she had no control over.

Kylo pressed her against the wall, grinding his erection against her panties, his crooked fangs grazing across her lips as she wrapped her legs around his waist, squeezing, reciprocating the movement, scratching her nails through his hair as he panted animalistic moans by her ear.

Not enough. Never enough.

“Bed!” she gasped and the world spun around her and she gripped him tighter with her thighs until he threw her on top of it. She tumbled onto the mattress, her head bouncing on the hard base with an “oof”.

Unlike the brothel, her mattress was not plush and pillowy, instead, the bed barely held their weight.

“Careful!” she hissed as he climbed on top of her, the mattress creaking with the pressure of his hands and knees. It reminded her of their first night, how predatory he’d seemed, like a panther stalking its prey.

There was that part of him still. Like his body was just a shell that held back an avalanche of passion and urgency. It was there in the way his eyes bore too intently into hers, the way his fingers held her so tight, just past the point of comfort. A man starved of love and touch. He probably didn’t even know how much his body craved it.

His lips crushed against hers, and the dark, insatiable hunger in his eyes thrilled her. Her silk panties slipped down her legs, and she kicked them away. Out of the corner of her eye they flew past the kitchen and landed in the trash can. It would have made her laugh out loud, but she was too hungry for this to stop.

“Good,” he grunted into her ear and fiddled with her bra until she lost patience and sat up, swatting his hand away and removing it herself.

His eyes widened at the sight of her naked body across from him, unable to hide in the shadow here. He reached his hand out tentatively to her breast, but she caught it and pulled him down.

And then it was her turn, mounted on top of him, the material of his boxer shorts pressing into her, thin and silky, a touch damp.

Not enough.

“Let’s get rid of these.” Kylo’s eyebrows raised and he looked as though he was about to say something when she yanked his boxers down, careful as she moved around his erection, staring up at her; velvety, pink and pulsing. With a devilish glance, she pressed a kiss to the head and it bounded at her touch. She looked up at him through the messy curtains of hair, relishing in the pure ecstasy on his face.

“More?” she purred.

He nodded, the muscles in his neck moving as he swallowed. Her tongue slid around him, tasting of warmth and sex. His flesh prickled in goosebumps as she licked him.

She made him shiver and groan. Pride brought a smile to her face. His desire made her feel powerful, in control of her life, where she’d previously had none.

But then he rolled her over onto her back, clutching hips between his thighs as long, slender fingers searched between her legs, demanding arousal. She writhed and gasped, her eyes closed, focused on the mounting pleasure spiraling out of control within her.

It was too much.

She struggled to move away from his pleasuring strokes, attempting to roll him over. He finally yielded and she straddled her legs over him, stroking his cock with the slick warmth of her body.

“You like to be on top,” he said through a smirk.

“You remembered!”

“Of course I do. And you may remember, so do I—” He tried to pull her down again, but at that moment, she guided him into her, enjoying the width stretching her open. She looked down at his half-lidded eyes, glossy with desire, roaming from her face, down to her breasts, fixating on them with heady pupils, mesmerised as she stretched and stroked him with the rhythm of her dance.

She gave him a squeeze between her legs, and he groaned like a tamed beast.

“Still want it your way?”

He pressed his hands over her breasts, massaging them with a boyish smile.

“I suppose this is okay.”

Pleasure bloomed in her, she felt it curling in fiery blushes across her chest and cheeks. The sensation was calm enough to disarm her and she closed her eyes as if in prayer, losing herself to the feel of him inside her and the light touch of his right hand trailing down the entirety of her abdomen like a gentle vine, toying with the line of her pubic hair.

Rey’s stomach muscles squeezed with anticipation. But he just teased her, never allowing his fingers to wander where she most wanted them.

“Touch me,” she whispered, leaning down to kiss him on the lips. “ Please .”

He did as she asked, worshipping her womanhood with slow and reverent strokes. She felt like a goddess, in her home of light. There were no shaded windows or heavy curtains here; sunlight speared in through every window. There was no hiding in the sun. She leaned over him again, tasting his lips with hers, dipping her tongue beneath the sweet sheets of his. It didn’t take long for the tension to build, with every roll of her body, the muscles burned and beneath her, Kylo was moaning with adoring whispers.

“God, Rey,” he muttered, eyelids closing as a wave of pleasure threatened to toss him into wild release. His firm hand grabbed her arse, pressing her body hard against his.

He tried to resume his attention to her, but Rey smiled every time he got distracted. She thrust fast against him, setting the rhythm with the grip of his hand guiding her speed.

“Shit, Rey, it’s… fuck, I‘m gonna…”

She was ruining him — and she loved it.

He pressed his thumb clumsily against her clit and she chased her orgasm, mindless and needy, mad with desire to bring him to climax.

His hips slapped into her and she gripped hold of his shoulders, on the edge of the precipice and unable to hold back her own cries.

He froze, face concentrating, almost contorted in pain.

“Are you close?” he grunted.

“Yes,” she cried out, breathy and desperate.

The pressure of his fingers worked harder, clumsier, mindless and almost detrimental in their urgency, but she didn’t need them now, the rush of the orgasm was past the point of no return and her muscles ratcheted tightly until her walls clamped around him, her face pulling with that ultimate tightness, the last barrier before euphoria.

She crashed, her body limp and wet, collapsing on top of him, hardly noticing the way he pulled her beneath him, pounding away the last inch of restraint. With blissful calm, she focused on his face, beautiful in its sweat-glistening yearning, his eyes squeezed tight and lips pressed together as his own tension broke. With a sudden pull back, she felt the familiar warm trickle of his seed spill onto her body and his hot breath heaved into her neck.

She grasped his head, threading her fingers through his thick hair. Even though she still pulsed from her own release, and she was spent and satiated, her body ached to claim him again, already mourning the loss of him inside her.

For a long time, they were silent, speaking in nothing but slowing breaths.

“Ben.” Rey tugged at him. “Are you okay?”

His answer was a low, gurgling moan and she giggled.

“Are you dead?”

“I think so,” he groaned into her neck, his body hot and sweaty, weighing heavy on top of her.

“It’s so fucking hard to pull out of you.”

“Maybe we should slow down next time, you know, use a condom?”

A petulant muffle. “Don’t want to. I like the way you feel.”

She laughed, rolling him off her a little to get out from underneath his overbearing body. “Well, we better start using them or who knows, we’ll have a little Ben running around and you’ll run a mile!”

He moved his head to face her, almost annoyed. “No, I wouldn’t.”

“I was just joking.”

“I will never run from you,” he said, looking at her with such earnest sincerity that Rey had no choice but to believe him.

Her lips toyed with a shy smile. She could have answered “me neither”, or “same”, or anything, but in the glow of their lovemaking, her mind was muddled, foggy and lethargic.

And perhaps there was something stopping her from promising the same. It crept up on her: that toxic smoky shadow, tall shrouded figures, dark voices, violent hands. She held him tighter, eyes squeezed shut, holding onto this moment, the last glow of sunlight slipping beneath the bed of a crimson sky.

Her body was a traitor; she’d discovered that the night they’d first met, but how much more had her mind betrayed her? Gaslighting her with questions, then gouging away the doubt with some overconfident assurance that, no matter what flittering thoughts ate away at her, this one truth remained.

He was not her enemy.

So, why did she fight it now?

“Here.” She grabbed a box of tissues by her bed because that was easier than searching for the answers to her questions. “You made a mess.”

She grabbed some for herself, wiping away the remnants of their lovemaking, trying to change the direction of the thoughts in her mind.

“So, this is my home.” Rey rested her head on the flat of his chest. “What do you think?”

She looked around the room, seeing with fresh eyes the little compensations she had made in poverty. Her furniture; a couple of old pallets, sanded back and painted shabby chic, with recycled bean bag covers in velvet grey, reshaped and sewn into oversized cushions. The walls were bright with splashes of colour, a calendar photo reimagined into a wall print, featuring white sands, aquamarine water and long-tail boats covered in banners of coloured scarves. Another print, this time pulled from a travel brochure, the rainbow mountains of Peru, grossly photoshopped into more vibrant colours. All of them, a little dream, a promise to herself, a vision of what freedom might look like.

His hand disappeared beneath the bed, feeling around.

“The bed’s made of pallets too,” she told him quietly and refusing to meet his eyes. “You can get them for free at the hardware shop.”

His lips pressed onto her forehead and he squeezed her tighter.

“You’re amazing. You made all of this?”

“It’s not that hard. There are videos on YouTube.”

“Well, I have a confession to make. I can’t make anything.”

“You make money,” she said cheekily. “You don’t need to.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Umm, I don’t know, the car.” She raised her fingers as though she were counting. “The clothes, your accent, the watch, and the fact that you don’t seem to mind paying me an exorbitant hourly rate every night to not have sex.”

“We’re making up for it now, aren’t we?”

“I hardly consider this a paid visit.”

“Thank God for that. You were close to bankrupting me.”

“Somehow I doubt that.”

“It was a punt, I bought a few too many bitcoins a couple of years ago.”

“And now you’re a gazillionaire?”

“Not quite.” He yawned, stretching his pallid arms out and linking his fingers behind his neck.

“So, what now?”

“I’m going to jump in the shower. Feel free to grab some breakfast. There’s baked beans and bread in the kitchen.”

“Baked beans,” Kylo muttered. “Breakfast of kings.”

“You bet it is. Make yourself comfortable.”

He snuggled back into the bed, oversized lump that he was, feet dangling off the edge, arms spreadeagled.

“I’ll wait for you,” he yawned.

Rey grabbed her towel, hanging over the back of a chair and then picked up her jeans, searching through the back pockets until she found her phone. She pressed the home button. Unsurprisingly, it was still dead. On her way to the bathroom, she plugged it in by the bedroom and then left, eager to wash the sweat from her body.

When she looked back at Kylo, his breathing had deepened, blinking slowly. Rey smiled. He was so vulnerable like this, falling asleep like an overtired child. With one last look back, she left him to sleep.

Twenty minutes later, Rey vigorously rubbed her hair with the towel as she looked in the mirror, examining the soft hickey marks running along her neck. She pressed a finger to the largest one; it blanched white at her touch. They weren’t bad enough to cover up, and some could be mistaken for shadows if the light was dim.

She traced her finger idly around them, like stepping stones to her lips. She wondered if he had fared any better. Pulling on her jeans and an off-the-shoulder lemon knit, she ran her fingers through the wet tangles as her phone sprung to life in the next room.

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding .

The tinny sound played on repeat. Almost running out of the room, she rushed over to silence it, but there was no need. Kylo was fast asleep, oblivious to the chorus of incoming notifications. Flicking it to “do not disturb”, she slipped it into her pocket, ignoring the constant stream of buzzing vibrations. He had curled over on his side now, lips half-buried into the pillow, dark lashes dusting the top of his cheeks. Little puffs of air escaped his lips with every exhale. His hair had fallen across his eyes, causing them to twitch. Her finger glided beneath the lock of hair, brushing it from his eye. She tilted her head, admiring the way he could look both young and old at the same time.

She would have curled up next to him, kissing his shoulder, tracing the few sparse hairs that were on his chest, but her phone was on constant vibrate now, indicating that someone was calling.

Regretfully, she kissed his forehead and left the room.

She had a small balcony, if one could call it that. A small one-by-one metre slab of concrete that the builders forgot to cut away. Around the edges was a lime green railing, cracked and rusted. It came up high, above her belly button, giving the sensation that she was in a cage.

The air outside was surprisingly warm for a mid-Winters day and the sun showered her face with heat and light as she pulled out her phone just as the last ring finished.

Poe Dameron

12 Missed Calls

Twelve? She scrolled down the feed on her lock screen.

Finn

6 Missed Calls

321

You have 8 new voicemails.

And then the messages began arriving.

Poe Dameron

We need to talk. Pronto!

Poe Dameron

It’s important. Pick up your phone.

Poe Dameron

Rey. Where are you?

Finn:

Hey, peanut. You around?

Finn:

Rey?

Finn:

Poe is losing his shit here. Call me. I’m starting to get worried.

One after the other, they came. Rey held the phone out in front of her. A strained feeling at the pit of her stomach squeezed tighter with every new ding.

She had forgotten, or at least pushed aside this part of her life. The mission Poe had tasked her with and what it all meant… the blood. The blood had been all over his hands last night. She hadn’t pressed it. He wouldn’t tell.

She knew, she knew, fuck, she knew what it all meant.

And then her phone rang.

Poe Dameron

Answer / Decline.

Dread trickled down her spine. All she could do was stare at it. Like this was the call that would tear her world apart. Unsure she would even hear him over the pounding of her own heartbeat, she pressed answer and closed her eyes. The brightness of the sun disappeared into a burnt red, light barging through her skin and to her retina.

“Hello?”

“Damn it, Rey!” He was shouting. “Where the hell have you been? Are you safe?”

“I’m f-fine. My phone was out of battery.”

“Shit, Rey. I thought — Look.” He paused, and she heard him taking a steadying breath, but when he spoke it still sounded like his voice was on the verge of breaking apart. “Lor’s dead.”

Rey moved her mouth; no words came out of it. Even though she was outside in the sun, the cracked walls of her apartment building seemed to close around her and the sun changed from something light and life-giving to a blazing flame, bearing down on her. Her body caved in, huddled around the phone.

“A fucking bullet through his brain,” he said, emotion spilling into his words. “They left him lying in his own blood.”

She couldn’t breathe. Her hand reached for the railing, clutching hold, beyond the world seemed to fall away.

“We didn’t even get the USB drive. It’s all lost. The whole fucking story is finished. We’ve got nothing!”

Silence.

“Well, say something!” he shouted. “Did you know about any of this?”

“He’s dead,” she whispered, at last, the words barely forming a sound.

“You need to get out of there Rey. It’s not safe for you.”

She no longer had a heartbeat, in place of it was a bass drum. It boomed with deafening beats; erratic and painful. She felt as though it stopped and started again with a wrench thump. She looked back into her apartment; Kylo was still sleeping. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes. It was all crumbling down.

“Rey, are you there?”

“I’m here.” Her voice wavered, and all the time she saw the blood, imaging it spiralling down the drain of their bathroom, the blood of an innocent man.

“I also ran the account number you’ve been paying your debt into. It’s Snoke’s. He’s been playing you from the start. That’s why he pulled you in. I fucking knew it, Rey. When you told me about the night you were attacked, I knew straight away that was Kylo Ren. It had his signature all over it. I didn’t want to say anything until I was a hundred percent sure…”

The world was collapsing, the street below, spiralling into an endless abyss.

It was him. It was him. It was him. It was him.

Her mind was broken, the words raced around her like stupid circling birds out of some Saturday morning cartoon. If only she could breathe. She clutched her abdomen, pressing on it, trying to force air into her lungs.

“You can’t go back there, Rey. Where are you now? We’ll come and get you.”

It was him. All this time. He knew.

The tears were rising, an overflowing weir, threatening to spill down in a flood of grief.

“Rey? Tell me where you are.”

“I’m here.” She sputtered out the words. “My apartment. Finn knows.”

“Stay right there. We’ll be there in a couple of minutes. Okay?”

It was him. He had dragged her through her apartment, forced her on the ground, threatening her with steel blades. The thoughts ran through her like a knife down her gut.

Breathe, she needed to breathe.

“Rey. Did you hear me? We’re coming, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” she stammered. “Okay.”

Blindly, her finger pressed on “end call” and every sound fell away. With shaking hands, she returned the phone to her pocket and stared out at the horizon. It was broken by the cityscape, like a mouth of cracked teeth, peering into the sky at different heights, grey, worn and rotten. Since when had the city become so bleak? The sky was speckled with pigeons, “rats of the sky” Jess would have called them. Vermin. And always the heat; scalding, irrepressible burning rays, they made her feel sick, the waves of nausea washing over her in sickly waves of hot and cold.

Just needed to breathe.

She forced her lips to open, a strained whisper of breath sucked in, and another, and another, until they were rushing, one racing in after the other. She cupped a hand over her mouth, trying to slow the breathing, trying to see through the tears, and always, Kylo lay, silent and unknowing. She could see him through the glass, the hint of a smile fresh on his lips.

Her lover.

Her murderer.

Her liar.

Her worst nightmare.

Time passed. Slow or fast, she wasn’t sure, but when she looked up again, the sun had crept higher in the sky and there was a fresh breeze blowing in from the east. She blinked the tears away, wiping her face clean. She wrangled her breathing into something passing for normal and prepared to go inside.

If anyone cares to reblog I shall love you forever @ashtyntaytertot @kathknight @house-crylo @houseplaidam @peetaspikelets @loveofescapism @reylofanficclub

#crimson lane #reylo #reylo au #save ben solo #reylo fan fic #reylo fan fic rec #reylo fan fiction #angst #angst with a happy ending

61 notes · View notes

delia-pavorum · 6 years

Note

59.“Why are you hiding behind me? What did you do this time?”

Thanks for the prompt, anon! This one took an angst-y turn and was initially inspired by @cosmo-gonika‘s speculation re: Ep IX and a potential Reylo baby. Then, it all spun out of control with the Reddit “leaks” and further speculation and, anyway, this is what you get when my brain explodes.

Hope my nonny prompter enjoys and all of you do, too!

The voices droned on around him as he allowed his mind to wander.

It was easy enough to feign interest or the barest amount of attentiveness. A well-placed nod, a cool, fixed look. He had achieved much success over the years in allowing others to believe they were in charge, while only he truly held the reins.

Yes, much success. In many areas.

He fixated on his leather clad hand, watching as it slowly curled into a fist, almost of its own volition.

Many areas. Except for the one that counted.

They called him a benevolent leader. Some even touted him as the ‘saviour of the galaxy’. Many followed willingly after seeing the benefits that would arise from doing so and appreciating that the punishments to the contrary were no longer so severe. Some even disparaged those who would think to resist – ‘Extremists’, they called them. ‘Self-serving fundamentalists.’ The Resistance had lost its rosy hue in the eyes of the people. Too fanatical now to be commonplace. Rebels in a universe where rebellion was unnecessary.

Kylo Ren sympathized, truly he did. He knew how it felt to be on the wrong side of history. To fight on the losing end of a war and, as time passed, to get further and further from your end goal. Like being swept out to sea in an undertow, powerless to fight against the raw strength of an entity so much more formidable than you.

Yes. He knew that feeling well.

He turned a baleful eye onto the standing, sermonizing form of General Hux, datacron open and projecting yet another galaxy map over the long, duraglass table. Kylo sat at the head, while other generals, admirals, and captains of the First Order occupied the other seats along the length.

Another speech, glorifying the First Order. Exalting the work they had done. Reveling in the planets they had converted. Extolling the virtues of their regime. Condemning and deriding the continued existence of the Resistance, pitiful as it was. “Not for much longer,” they promised each other. “Not for much longer.”

Kylo had to agree, but it left a sour pit in the bottom of his stomach. They didn’t know. None of them did. There was more to the Resistance than the meagre remains of a rebellion. Than the ashes of its predecessors. Something buried in its depths. Something there that mattered.

More than anything else.

As if on cue, he felt the infinitesimal shift in the air. The scattering of ions, the rippling of space and time. Sound muting, as if sucked into a vacuum.

No, he thought, even as his heart soared. Not now. His eyes surreptitiously scanned the room, though his expression divulged nothing.

Then he heard it, coming from his left, beelining towards his chair.

He resisted the urge to turn around, instead clenching his jaw until his teeth ground together and keeping his curled fists on the glass in front of him.

The noise came closer.

Suddenly, his chair titled backwards abruptly. He had to move with the motion, acting as though he were simply leaning back into a more comfortable position. He could feel the erratic thuds of scrambling and kicking feet, with the minute sound of a struggle, clear in its grunts and sharp exhales. A weight settled heavily on the back of his seat, close to the top where his head peaked over slightly. He could feel warm breath on his ear. Still, he could not risk looking behind him, even though every fibre of his being screamed at him to turn around—

“Oh, hi, papa.”

His lips twitched involuntarily.

“Hey…hi,” the little voice whispered once more.

The mechanics of the Force Bond were difficult for a four-year-old to understand fully. Even an adult could have trouble comprehending that there was a room full of people who could neither see nor hear them. The little one understood well enough that she likely would not be seen by others, but, moreso, she understood that she wasn’t allowed to be seen. That was why she tended to lower her voice, affecting a four-year-old’s understanding of a whisper (typically just a slightly quieter version of her normally boisterous tone) during the moments when she caught him with other people.

He cleared his throat and shifted slightly in his seat. He made a movement, bringing his right hand over his left shoulder like he was adjusting his cape, and furtively wiggled his pointer finger near his ear. It successfully made contact with a tiny nose and he was rewarded with a giggle. His centre of gravity shifted again with the movement of his chair and he looked down to see five little toes attached to a small foot land in his lap. The foot was attached to a leg, followed by a torso, followed by two gangly arms and a tousled head of dark black curls hiding a cherubic face, but not quite hiding the tips of two perfect, shell-like ears, slightly too big for such a tiny head.

His daughter looked up at him then and his breath caught, like it always did.

I don’t see you enough, he thought ruefully. My beautiful girl.

She looked bigger since the last time he had seen her, only a week prior. He knew it was likely impossible, but it still felt like he had missed something, that he was missing so much—

“Supreme Leader?” a nasally voice interrupted his perusal of his daughter’s freckles as she smiled up at him, dimples and gapped baby teeth prominent. She may have his ears and hair, possibly even his lanky form, but her face was purely her mother’s. Toothy, fresh, dimpled, freckled, and sweet. A ray of sunshine.

They both turned to look at Hux, who was glaring over his nose at Kylo expectantly.

“That will be all, General.” Kylo’s words held a finality to them. The man knew, very well, that he was being dismissed.

Still, he spluttered, colour raising from his neck towards his face. “But—you didn’t address my concerns regarding—”

“I said—” Kylo pointedly shifted so he sat tall in his seat and his daughter mimicked the action, glaring coolly at the general in an imitation of her father. “—we are finished here.”

Hux glowered at him, his ire emanating from his body with every second that passed. Still, a rabid cur, even barely tamed, knew its place. “Very well,” he clipped. “We will continue this discussion at a later date.” With that, he clicked the datacron closed abruptly, the room once again taking on the tepid glow of its regular lighting rather than the ethereal radiance of the holo, then turned sharply on his heel and stalked out. The others followed in short order, most unwilling to make even the briefest eye contact with him as they scattered. Once the last subordinate had left, Kylo relaxed into his seat and smiled down at the little girl in his arms, finally able to fold her up against his body and press her head into his chest. He kissed her tousled curls as he held her close.

“Hello, my girl,” he rumbled. “Why were you hiding behind me earlier? What have you gotten yourself into this time?”

“Nothing, papa, I swear it!” came the innocent reply, an angelic face belying the true nature of mischief that lurked beneath the surface.

“Eliana Reya Solo!”

As always, Kylo’s heart leapt at his daughter’s full name. Meaning ‘gift’ and ‘queen’, he found it so fitting that she should have those names; and to be named for her mother as well as her father, a symbol of the good they could do when brought together.

They had both heard the echoing voice before the body manifested. Of course, the bond had remained open and, as such, the ones who were capable of using it had access to its passageways. This meant—

Yes. There she was.

Rey appeared out of the corner of his eye like an avenging angel, striding limbs and flowing hair. Her true origin remained a mystery, but soon she was standing before him as though she were there in flesh and blood. And, for all intents and purposes, she was.

Ah, but they knew that well, didn’t they?

She frowned at the two of them, arms crossed, jaw ticking.

“Eliana,” she scolded, “you know you’re not supposed to do this.” She refused to look directly at Kylo. “It’s not safe.”

“It’s perfectly safe,” Kylo retorted, offended. As if he would let anything happen—

“It’s not,” Rey insisted, meeting his eyes for the first time, a wealth of weariness and sadness behind the hazel irises. “We still don’t know the mechanics of it all. If she gets seen somehow, or stuck, or ends up somewhere where she shouldn’t, with neither you or I there to protect her—” She broke off, shaking her head, overcome. “It’s too risky,” she said finally.

He sighed, suddenly exhausted. His daughter looked between the two of them, eyes wide.

“And also, little miss,” Rey continued, softening her tone, crouching lower to be eye-level with the little girl in Kylo’s lap, “You can’t just use your papa as an escape every time you know you’re going to get in trouble. Those staffs weren’t for you to play with. They aren’t toys.”

“I just wanted one,” came the return grumble in a little voice. “To train with you, mama.”

Rey’s expression softened further and the corners of her mouth deepened in a frown. “I know, baby. And I’m sorry I’m so busy.”

“Maybe,” Kylo spoke up, before really considering his words, “maybe she can stay here for a bit—?”

“Ben.” Rey closed her eyes on an exhale and shook her head as their daughter chirped with glee and Kylo realized his tactical error.

“Yes! Yes!” she cried, throwing her arms around her father’s neck. “Can I please? Can I stay with papa for a bit? And mama, you stay, too! And we can all stay together, in one place, the way we belong.”

Kylo’s gaze met Rey’s over their daughter’s head, his expression ravaged, Rey’s eyes already swimming with unshed tears.

“Soon, my love,” Kylo whispered against dark curls. “Soon we’ll be all together, the way we belong.” He repeated her words back to her, like a mantra.

Eliana pulled away with a pout. “That’s what you always say. Soon, soon. Soon takes too long! I’m already four-years-old, papa!”

Kylo flinched like he’d been hit by a blaster. “I know, sweetheart. I know. I’m sorry, I—” His voice cracked and Rey abruptly turned around and walked a few steps away from them. Kylo could see her shoulders shudder briefly. “I wish things could be different. Could work faster. But your mama and I, we’re trying. We’re trying to get our family together again. I promise you that. You just have to wait a bit longer.”

Eliana heaved out a sigh with the level of exasperation only a four-year-old could manage. “Fine. But only a bit longer, got it?”

Kylo let out a chuckle, even as he looked up and willed his tears to dry. “Got it, my girl. You go with your mama now, okay? I’ll come see you soon. Don’t try and come to me again, alright? Mama is right, it’s not safe enough. Let me come see you instead. Promise?”

“I promise, papa!” Eliana wrapped her small, sinewy arms around her father’s neck and kissed him on the cheek. “I love you, papa. And I miss you all the time,” she added, in the innocently gut-wrenching way only a child is capable of, wrapping her arms tighter around him and burying her face in his neck.

He choked back a sob and hugged her back tightly, closing his eyes and breathing in her scent. His baby. His sweet girl. Getting bigger each day – and him, not around to see it. Just like his father before him. A shudder ran through his entire body with the effort to keep from breaking down.

He felt a gentle, but firm hand on his shoulder. Slowly he looked up to catch Rey’s watery eyes with his own.

She gave him a small, sad smile. Soon.

He nodded, not sure if either of them really believed it. Kissing his daughter a final time on one of her perfect ears, he relinquished his hold on her.

Rey hoisted her into her own arms and moved back as the little girl steadied herself in her mother’s hold.

“Bye, papa,” she said glumly, resting her head on Rey’s shoulder.

“Bye, my girl,” he rasped, touching his fingers to his lips. “My girls.” He looked at Rey.

Her lips quivered and she looked away.

“Be safe,” he whispered, looking at her pleadingly.

She nodded. “Always.” She glanced down at her daughter, then around the room, as though someone was waiting to burst out of the shadows and catch them unawares. Finally, she looked up at Kylo.

He knew that look.

He stood as she met him in two strides and he wrapped his arms around her, around them both, and Rey tangled one hand into his hair and they held their daughter between them as their lips met in a scorching kiss, tongues stroking, teeth clacking, tasting like joy and sorrow and heartbreak and hope.

And over too soon.

Kylo allowed Rey to pull back and she settled back down to the flats of her feet. He stole one more kiss, a soft one, this one conveying security and familiarity, a “see you soon” or a “goodnight”. The little comforts that they had yet to be afforded, but that they hoped, someday, they could look forward to.

Adjusting Eliana in her arms once more, she took a few stumbling steps back and closed her eyes. Kylo knew she was preparing to close the bond, knew that she had some power in controlling it, just as he did now.

“I love you,” he blurted out, before she could disappear. “I miss you. God, I miss you.”

Her eyes snapped open as twin tears streaked down her cheeks in unison.

And then they were gone.

now what? –> see all my prompt fills | fic master post | ask me anything

217 notes · View notes

ssaalexblake · 6 years

Text

obligatory post viewing the last jedi comment/laterblog/thought dump SPOILERS,

SPOILERS do not read FUCKING MAJOR LAST JEDI SPOILERS look away

honestly it’s a good job billie lourd looks more like debbie reynolds than carrie b/c it’d confuse people otherwise

also.... why is Hux so funny??? he is such a loser, he’s supposed to be this big scary bad guy but he’s like... the whump bait for the bad guys. I laughed almost every time he was on screen b/c he was so pathetic it reached levels of genuine funny. I don’t often see the comic relief guy be the fuck awful one.

BUT POE THO WITH THAT I’M HOLDING FOR HUX SASS i love him so much

and bb8′s methods of fixing shit are worryingly like mine AKA pray for the best, hope it doesn’t catch fire

i love general leia organa

ALSO CANONICAL MOVIE USAGE OF THE FORCE FUCKBOYS, ON SCREEN DEMONSTRATION OF PHYSICAL FORCE ABILITIES FROM GENERAL LEIA ORGANA, NO MORE DENYING IT B/C HER SENSING LUKE ISN’T ENOUGH FOR YOU

get fucked fuck boys

laura dern has a really long neck and i never noticed before

finn’s leaking suit was so lol worthy is2g

also highkey poe is super in love with finn still jjust so u know

at the end of the movie poe and rey drink han’s leftover liquor b/c they missed hitting that

R O S E

Rose not hesitating to stun Finn’s ass

Rose who lost her sister in a run suggested by Poe and didn’t hold it against him

Rose who got to cry and CARE and stand for something, Rose who carried on without stopping because her sister died for this and she will carry on, she /will/.

Rose who wouldn’t let Finn die, because there are unavoidable sacrifices, and he wouldn’t be one of them

i fucking love Rose

LUKE FUCKING SKYWALKER MAKING TUMBLR CRACK POSTS COME TRUE 2017 like seriously HE FUCKING PITCHED THE LIGHSABER OVER HIS SHOULDER LIKE THAT CRACK COMIC

i fucking died

and my lordy the PORGS my sweet penuin like noodles

i love them so much

also luke has clearly inheritied some never before seen Extra(tm) ualities from Anakin b/c /// dude/// u could have done ANYTHING to catch that fish but y’all have to pitch yourself off a fucking cliff on a pointy stick and spear it

dude

not even gonna talk about the milking thing that was just as uncomfortable as they intended it to be

rey mocking his daily routine tho

REACH OUT *raises arm* *eyes roll so hard they fall off the cliff and fall into sea*

luke tickling her hand with the thing i died

Rey accidentally destroying the whole island and being judged by the lizard fish people

rey asking him to put clothes on through unexpected force visions tho highkey me he was more ripped than i’d expected and it was kinda distracting

oh and i forgot kylie being totally unwilling to shoot the bridge out bc he could sense leia. Leia knowing he was there with the finger on the trigger.

oh shit tho

do u think she knew it wasn’t him who fired??? He couldn’t do it, rando soldiers did it, but did Leia know??

I liked the way they did the kylie/rey interactions, like, filming wise?? it was good??? and also they didn’t offend my sensibilities either. I kinda like that she tried to get him to do the right thing but then was like ‘well... oh well imma fight u down instead’. Girl is practical. isn’t gonna give up what’s important for his ass.

THEY DRAGGED MONACO’S ENTIRE ASS

srsly... it’s entire goddamn ass

and people who make mint off war

tho i greatly appreciate the comment that they sell to the resistance too. It cheapens the depth of it if you imply otherwise.

‘the most depraved people in the galaxy’

*supercut to super rich people casino*

Chewie ate a porg and i cried

i cried just like the other porgs

the leia holo and the trinket and everything that made me hurt

despite anything else, Rey’s utter confidence that she can and will turn Kylie to the light again warmed me. Like yeah, you go girl, you believe you can do anything.

ok tho but Poe and purple dern (idr her name oops so purple dern she is) irritated me in a way that the narrative was so obviously framed against her and i’m fed up with stories doing that to women, forcing us to doubt them to only prove ‘look we gotcha!!! why did u think badly of the lady???’, She was never wrong, Poe kinda did do that, but narrative bias and all. But also the mutiny was hilarious b/c they were so bad at it. And leia stunning poe and 3po and Not Leia Jr immediately putting their hands up lol

and star wars is know for loud and obnoxious, and i ADORED that they used this to their advantage and had utter, complete, total silence after purple dern made her move.

BB8 was stunning the whole movie full stop

snoke was a dick and i’m still laughing that he like, got chopped in 2 and later u see his arm still on the side indicating he ended up more than 2 parts. just subtly in the bg bc this is not a high rated movie

Hux’s reaction to all of this was utterly priceless btw i was in stitches

HIGHKEY tho Finn’s showdown with Phasma. So good. So So good. like, the one blue eye. Quiet, yet ultimately powerful symbolism that didn’t need flash to make it’s point.

i loved that Ren called Rey Nobody. He called her nobody. Like, i know everybody was on team ‘rey should be a solo or skywalker!!’ but this was narratively more significant. Kylo wants to erase everything. He wants freedom from his legacy, from the past. From Snoke an Skywalker alike. He called her nobody as an insult, and to be nobody is all he wants. It’s everything he wants. It was telling. Rey has a freedom he does not and he knows it.

whoever made the red salt ground decision, like, amazing, the symbolism of the resistance being shot in the heart and the imagary of the red salt spooling out of the opening like they were bleeding out dangerously was a brilliant piece of visual storytelling.

luke and leia just

it was good enough that i’m not super bitter she didn’t smack him upside the head

in the end though, i think it was a good conclusion of Luke’s arc. It was very Kenobi, and I think Luke would have liked it that way.

i know people criticise the new ones for using the formula from the original episodes, but like, i think nowadays that has a certain amount of resonance to it itself.

Rey escaping with everybody on the falcon while the old, scraggly, lived in exile mentor fights off the big bad? it was symmetrical.

OH and when kyle issues an order, and Hux repeats it with gusto and then ren just fucking LOOKED at hux once going *dude wtf* was top tier humour

i like bad guys who are genuinely fucking terrible but also so easy to mock.

and hux’s ‘do u think u got him?’

i loved rey and Poe’s little meet cute like they’re gon be such cute friends and they’re gonna be finn’s wingmen lbr

and the movie achieved the modus operandi. A spark can start a flame. Most of them all got slaughtered, and the end of the movie was hopeful??? All that’s left is enough people to pack into the falcon and run with, but it didn’t feel like despair. It felt hopeful.

and then topping it off with a shot of the little boy looking into the horizon, talking to his friends about Luke Skywalker, and then his broom in the shadow of the sun looking like a lightsaber, resistance ring on his finger.

i’m emotional.

and a last thought, when i saw luke’s x-wing in the water, i thought the Moment would be him lifting it from the depths, like it was so long ago, but i was wrong, it will stay there forever now. It seems fitting that his jedi journey started with his ship sinking and it ended sunk for good.

#star wars spoilers #tlj spoilers #the last jedi spoilers #spoilers #episode 8 spoilers #the last jedi #like is there any more i can tag???#SPOILERS PPPL LOOK AWAY

4 notes · View notes

waypathfinder · 5 years

Text

Crimson Lane - Chapter 15 - Towards the dawn

Moodboard by @ashtyntaytertot Beta’d by @kathknight and @ashtyntaytertot