#he could wipe the FLOOR with han solo and anyone else he wanted to okay okay thank you

[the-force-awakens]

You: I can tolerate a lot of bullshit from this fandom, but i draw the line at doubting Poe's piloting abilities

Seem about right?

THAT'S ME THAT'S ME TO A FUCKING TEE, BABEY.

I'm sorry but there is no one, no fucking one, in the GFFA that flies anything remotely close to how Poe flies. The only pilot I've ever seen that comes close is Plo Koon, aka my actual father. I love him so much.

Okay, like I'm sorry but Han is not beating this man. Han rounded down on the Kessel Run so he didn't even do it in 12 parsecs, actually. It might be true that Han is better at flying freighters, but I think we can easily say that Chewie is also doing some of the heavy lifting there as well because they're a two man team.

POE DID NOT GRADUATE FROM FLIGHT ACADEMY A YEAR EARLY, BE PUT IN CHARGE OF HIS OWN SQUADRON AND GIVEN THE RANK OF COMMANDER A YEAR OR SO AFTER THAT, AND BE PUT IN CHARGE OF THE RESISTANCE'S ONLY FLIGHT WING*, JUST FOR PEOPLE TO SLANDER HIS ABILITIES LIKE THIS!!!!!!!!

And that's not even getting me STARTED on the fact that he easily lightspeed skips (or the fact that he first did so at 17), how quickly he's able to familiarize himself with other ships in order to fly them, THE FACT THAT HE FLEW A SAIL THROUGH THE STORMS ON PHERYON WHICH HARDLY ANYONE SURVIVES DOING, or the fact that he blew up Starkiller AND survived a one man assault on a fucking Dreadnaught AND a Stardestroyer

NOBODY IS OUT FLYING HIS ASS, OKAY. THIS IS THE HILL I AM CHOOSING TO DIE ON ITS MY TOXIC TRAIT, I FULL HEARTEDLY BELIEVE HE COULD KICK EVERY PILOT IN THE GFFA'S ASS HE'S BEEN TAUGHT BY SHARA FUCKING BEY AND WEDGE ANTILLES LIKE COME ONNNNNN

*which consists of two squadrons. well originally four. but then it was two. This doesn't include the bombing squadrons btw Fossil is in charge of those.

#listen. LISTEN. #I HAD MY DOUBTS #I WAS A LITTLE BITCH ASS 16 YEAR OLD IN 2015 WHO SCOFFED WHEN OSCAR CALLED POE THE BEST PILOT IN THE GALAXY #AND YOU KNOW WHAT MY ASS GOT HUMBLED REAAAAAAAAAAAL QUICK ON TAKODANA AND I DESERVE THAT #/13/ TARGETS!!! IN ONE GO!!!!!!!!!!!! #he could wipe the FLOOR with han solo and anyone else he wanted to okay okay thank you #anyway thank you for the laugh orb fhdjfk #ask box #i-belong-to-the-stars

[dreamescapeswriting]

Moonlight and Stars ~ HJS [Request]

↱↱↱Word Count: 1.8K

↱↱↱Genre: Fluffy

↱↱↱Pairing: Han Jisung x Idol!Reader

↱↱↱A/N: Again I am really sorry about not being able to write the horror one you wanted but I hope this makes up for it sweetie!!!

It was the first time in months that Stray Kids had a real break and Han was going to use it wisely. He'd been wanting to see you in concert since he started training but he'd always been too busy or when he wasn't busy your concerts weren't on so he never could see you but finally the stars had aligned and he was able to go and see you.

"You sure you're going to be okay on your own?" Chan asked as he drove Han in the direction of the venue your concert was happening in, Han nodded at the older member he'd been looking forward to this for months he wasn't about to back out now right at the last minute. He'd gotten front row passes and he was able to go backstage to meet you after the concert was over since he was an Idol just like you were.

"Yeah, it'll be fine." He promised Chan who smiled at him softly. Han wasn't the best with crowds of people he didn't know but he was getting better at it and Chan was proud of him for doing something that was a little more out of his comfort zone than he was used to since Han was so used to being the one on the stage instead of in the crowd.

"Text me when you need picking up," Chan said as they pulled up outside the venue, it was already packed full of people lining up to see you and Han nodded sliding on his hat and mask before hopping out of the car and going to stand in the line with everyone else. Keeping his head down so no one would recognise him, he didn't want it to turn into a night for stray kids when it was a night for you. Y/n Y/l/n one of the most known solo singers in the world.

"I had a rumour that this is her last ever concert..." Han's ears picked up at the sound of it and he stepped closer to listen in to the conversation but without making it look obvious,

"Yeah I heard it too, the company she's with is dropping her?" They went into a deeper conversation but Han ignored it not wanting to listen to rumours, he was an idol so he knew what rumours were...Just rumours although sometimes they could be true so he tried to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach and focus on getting excited to see you sing.

You were a sweating panting mess up on the stage and you giggled into the microphone looking over at everyone in the crowd,

"You guys have been amazing!" You screamed into your golden microphone eyes glancing over everyone in the crowd, you couldn't believe it would be the last show you would ever do for them and you couldn't help but start to get emotional over it.

"I want a photo of us all together, shall we do it?" You asked looking over at the side of the stage where a photographer was waiting when the crowd screamed yes you got into the centre of the stage and posed for a photo with them, making plans to sit the photo on your desk at home. Han smiled as you got up from the floor and cleared your throat into the mic, he couldn't help but feel upset that the concert was ending but there was something wrong, there was something on your face that made him ache and he could tell you were upset over something,

"So there are-" You cleared your throat again as you started to tear up at the thought of addressing what you were about to address to everyone in the room,

"There are some rumours going around at the minute that I know some of you have heard." Han's heart rate picked up at the memory of what everyone was talking about outside the venue,

"And I wanted you to be the first ones to know that unfortunately those rumours are true and I am retiring from my company." The crowd literally began booing and Han stared up at you, you had tears rolling down your face as you spoke about it and he could tell it wasn't something that was your choice.

"Hi, thank you, everyone, for everything you've done for me over the years. I know there is no real way I could ever thank you so I just upped your pay a little and I hope you guys know I love you." Han heard you saying to the crew backstage, he'd gone to get a coffee for himself and you while he waited for the backstage pass to be used. The crew all left and you were alone in an empty hallway,

"You alright?" Your head snapped up to see Han Jisung from Stray Kids standing there and you almost fell over the air as you noticed him staring at you, then you realised you hadn't said anything yet.

"W-What? Me? Yeah, I'm cool. You?" Cool? Did you just say you were cool? You wanted to slap yourself across the face but Han was laughing softly and handed you a cup of iced coffee,

"Thank you, Han,"

"You know me?" You nodded at his question and giggled at his widened eyed expression he looked adorable,

"Who doesn't? Also, you happen to be in one of my favourite kpop groups." He chuckled and smiled at you suddenly forgetting everything he wanted to talk to you about until he saw a tear rolling down your cheek, out of habit he reached out and wiped it away shocking you both as you locked eyes.

"S-Sorry I just-"

"It's fine, was just a little shock." You giggled trying to ignore the spark you felt when his hand came into contact with your skin and Han tried to forget about the butterflies in his stomach.

"Are you retiring out of choice?" You stared down at the floor you weren't supposed to speak about it since you'd signed an NDA restricting you from giving out information about it and why you were being let go but Han didn't need an answer. He could tell by the look on your face that it wasn't your idea to quit,

"We could talk about it if you want...I won't tell anyone." You looked up wanting nothing more than to spill your guts to someone but you heard your name being called by a stage manager.

"I have to get to the small meet and greet...Can I take you out for a coffee and we talk about it?"

Taking him out for coffee didn't happen, you ended up getting in your car together and driving to the beach even though it was pitch black out you both decided it was a nice evening for it. Even though you'd never met Han before you had a strange feeling inside of you letting you know you could trust him with everything, and he had a sort of aura around him that made you feel relaxed and easy-going with him.

"What was the reason they gave for firing you?" Han asked as you sat on the bonnet of your car looking out at the sea. The only thing lightening up the area were streetlights and the stars which gave the setting a romantic feel but neither you nor Han cared about that,

"I wanted something they didn't, it was in my contract and I decided I didn't want something like it being taken away from me." You whispered not wanting to admit what it was but Han stared at you,

"Which was?"

"Dating. No dating until 8 years of working for them and it had been 3," You sighed sliding down from the front of your car, you kicked off your shoes and stepped down onto the sand letting it relax you as you felt it. It was the first time in years you'd been to the beach without a pack of guards around you, or photographers following you. You and Han had gotten lucky, ditching dispatch and heading straight for the beach to relax without a care in the world, as though you weren't famous.

"Eight years? Even JYP was slack and gave us three years." Han said following your lead and walking alongside you down the beach, looking at you as you tried to explain everything that the company had put you through.

"I guess I should be happy it's over but I just- I'm going to miss performing for my fans." Han nodded along and stopped you from walking by taking hold of your wrist, you stared at his hand and then up to his face.

"You don't have to stop performing though, you can move to a different platform...Start performing on Youtube and grow a fanbase there." You hadn't thought about it before, you just figured everything would be gone the moment the contract was done but Han had a point,

"Plus you can always go to other companies, plenty of people would be more than willing to let someone as talented and beautiful as you work for them."

"Beautiful? Y-You think I'm beautiful?" He nodded with a bright red blush creeping up onto his cheeks even in the low lightening you could tell he was blushing.

"Yeah, I mean- yeah, you're great and you're like- You know-" He couldn't finish a sentence because you lent over and kissed his cheek, his grip on your wrist dropped and you instantly felt bad for kissing him...He could have been dating someone, he could have just seen you as a friend or anything.

"Sorry." You whispered looking down but his fingers were on the bottom of your chin tipping your face up to look at him, he was no longer the blushing mess he was before, there was something different about him as if someone had flipped a switch and he brought your face closer to his. Closing the gap you kissed him and your arms wrapped around his neck and he moved his hand to your waist, bringing you closer to him as he kissed you. It was like your whole world was on fire the moment it happened, everything else around you melted away and it was as though it was just you two in the entire world. It wasn't until you had to come up for air that the world slowly began to seep back into your mind,

"So yeah," He said awkwardly with a chuckle behind his words, you giggled and bit down on your lip looking up at him not knowing what to say not that you'd just kissed your ultimate crush.

"I erm, can we- Will you do that again?" You asked nervously and he obliged bringing you closer to him once again connecting your lips and making out with you as you stood under the moonlight and stars.

Tagline: 

@writingdreamsnottragedies @yoongisdumplingcheeks @snowy-meowl @jooniesdarlingdimples

#stray kids #stray kids x reader #stray kids imagine #stray kids imagines #skz #skz x reader #skz imagine #skz imagines #bang chan #christopher bang #lee know #lee minho #minho #seo changbin #changbin #hwang hyunjin #hyunjin #Han Jisung #Han Jisung x reader #han x reader #jisung x reader #lee felix #felix #skz felix #kim seungmin #seungmin #yang jeongin #jeongin #I.N #skz I.N

[aliypop]

Ways To Say Goodbye

Word count :  1,439

Character Count : 7,776

Warning : Fluffy Angst

A/N: I wanted to write something dealing with anxiety  and grief 

"You know my favorite memory of Alderaan has you in it." 

"Does it?"  Leia asked, watching the smuggler beside her.

"It does.." 

"From Naboo! Senator Celfra Mabecorge and her husband Dean Clargo, along with their daughter her grace Alana Mabecorge.." The announcer then whispered the last name. Confused as to where the young princess in training was. Celfra, her mother, brought her daughter to the house of Organa to learn the most important thing, which was how to make a strong alliance with others. But the young girl had other ideas in mind.  Sitting at one of the windows was Alana, looking at the mountains and snow wishing she could disappear just like the flakes. She had remembered all the times her mother had compared her to Padme, but she never knew why. 

"You know being happy isn't getting what you want." 

"Then what is it.." Alana asked, looking at the Alderaainian girl who's beautiful dark hair flowed in the style of braids, "It's what you have," She smiled, sitting next to the Naboo native who's dark black hair was no longer in its headdress. "Princess Leia Organa .." she blushed, introducing herself. 

"Princess Alana Mabecorge.." she sighed.

"Why the sigh?" Leia asked, her hand resting in the other soon to be royals hand. Alana only closed her hand around the other as she took a deep breath, giving it a squeeze hoping that the other girl was there and wouldn't let go.  "It's just I don't know what I want.." she laid her head on Leia's shoulder. " Hey, it's okay, I'm here." Leia smiled nervously, not knowing exactly where to put her hand. "You can tell me how you feel." she then began to look at the beautiful features of the Naboo girl. Her eyes were just as beautiful and vibrant as a sunset.  

"I just want to be me."

"You left me for a long time, you know.."  Leia laughed, watching as Alana laughed with her. The two were sitting in the falcon. Both Chewie and C3PO were in an intense game while Alana and Leia talked.

 "You know it's okay to grieve.." 

"I  don't know what you mean.." Leia glared as she then tried to laugh it off. 

 "Alderaan. You've been so busy trying to pretend everything's okay; it just made me wonder .."  She then looked down, " Youn ever got to say goodbye to your parents... "Alana then looked away, as Leia had tried not to shed a tear, let alone think about how she no longer had a home to return to

When she had gotten the news, there was a numbness that had hit her. Leia wouldn't speak about it but would only keep herself busy, such as focusing on others to make sure they were okay, before even herself. But the one thing she was doing was denying that she had ever even seen the planet blow into pieces. Sometimes she would even wake Han and Chewie up from her screams at night from nightmares of recounting the day it all happened.  

 "You wouldn't understand!"  Leia shouted in an outburst. "I'm a princess; I couldn't do my duty to save them!"

"I do understand.. " she mumbled. 

"How.." 

"I watched Anakin nearly try to massacre my mother, on top of that dealt with your mother, our senator dying!" Alana said, hot tears coming down her face. "I was so small and so young...  I remembered the wailing in the streets as they drove Padme's body through the city.." she then began to tremble.  A lump in her throat forming. " I never got to say goodbye or.. grieve because my mother begged us to flea."  Leia held onto Alana as she began to listen, 

"When Alderaan blew up... I didn't know what to do.." Leia said, shaking her head as the memories only crept back, " If I could have been there if I were more prepared!" she hit her fist on the table next to her as her head hung low and tears began to fall from her face to the floor.  She could feel herself falling apart as she then looked up at Alana.  

"How did you ever grieve the loss of a leader.." 

"The same way you did, I never had a chance to... " Alana chuckled in between tears. "When Padme died, my mother sent me to learn how to be just like her.."  she then sighed, " A diplomat."

"Any tips.." 

" Remember the bad memories, and cherish the good."  

"Like what." 

"Like the day you met Han." She held Leia close to her, "Or the birth of Ben!" Alana added as she rubbed her stomach. "Or our first kiss." Leia cuddled Alana, her arms now wrapped around her waist. The smuggler only nodded, wiping the tear-stained cheeks of the princess off her face as she then leaned over to kiss her soft lips, Although grieving was something that everybody needed to stop and do she that it was something that didn't exactly go away. Sometimes when Leia didn't think anyone had noticed, both Alana and Han knew that she was somewhere crying over what had happened. A few years had past and standing in front of both Leia and Alana was a semi-wounded Yela. And just like that, the feelings rose again. The last time she had felt like this was when she had divorced Han and separated from Alana. But now, to see the little girl the three once raised in pain from the very breath; she created hurt her worse than Alderaan. 

"I can do this... Uncle Luke taught me everything." Yela said, holding onto her side. 

"You are not to step foot on that base ever again!" Leia looked at the young girl as she then turned her back on her.  Yela backed away, wanting to run. She had no one else to turn to, 

"General Organa, that was uncalled for."

"I would hold my tongue if I were you, Commander Solo.." Leia looked at her ex-wife like an angered Wookie who had lost.  "Yela is grieving the loss of her brother, " Alana grumbled, slamming her helmet on the table. 

"Yela would at least like the support of her second mother, damn it!" Alana then looked away, "Han and I respected your decision when you became apart of Senate. Just like you understood when I was the queen of Naboo,"  pacing back and forth was Leia, who had only wanted what was best for Yela.   

"She doesn't understand what she's up against!"  

"Luke taught her well, just as he did Grogu and Ben, and even me!" she argued back. 

"Kylo is dangerous! "

"So was Vader, and I watched him nearly slice the throat of my mother with her mother's saber! my saber now, to be exact." 

"You don't get it !" 

"I do ..  you're scared, and Han and I are too." she sighed, "When we held Ben, none of us knew this would happen..." Alana whispered, "He and Yela used to fight over ships," 

"Han promised Ben would get the Falcon."

"And Yela would get the Corellian Fury." the two said in unison. Poe and Finn were on the comms signaling that captain  Solo had made her departure to the base.

Hours had passed, and Yela had returned expect instead of her ship. It was the Millennium Falcon with a worried Chewie and an even more worried Yela.

 "Mom... Mother  Daddy's hurt.." Yela said, her helmet in hand,  while her other ushered them into the ship. Both Leia and Alana ran in the two by both his sides. "It's nice to see you two getting along." he chuckled as he then coughed. "Han ... stay with us we can fix this.." Leia said as Yela helped her mom to heal him.

  "I've got my favorite girls around me. Why would I want to leave." he winked. 

Alana only laughed, " Do you ever shut up, Solo." 

"Depends on the situation of the mission Mrs. Solo," Han said as he closed his eyes slowly. " Besides, I promised to stay alive for Yela and Ben," he whispered as his eyes closed. There was a moment of silence and nothing else, as Leia and Alana had both sat there to mourn. They remembered both the good and, then. They felt him fidget. 

"Han, don't you ever do that!" Alana jolted at him with all her energy, pulling Leia ontop as the three then laughed. 

Yela had then smiled as she and Ben stood by the door. 

"Hey, guess what, Banta fart is back!" 

"Haha, laugh it nerf herder," Ben growled.

#leia organa #alana mabecorge #Han Solo #yela solo #star wars #star wars oc #star wars fanfiction #star wars fandom #naboo #alderaan #fanfiction

[scav-eng-er]

“If Nothing Else, We Have This.” TROS Alternate Ending Part 2/?

okay..so I’m very tired and literally re-wrote the beginning so many times and I’m very tired lol (it’s almost 1 am) But here is the second part of my Alternate TROS Ending! I have an outline for part 3 already and MY REYLO HEART IS SCREAMING. Please be aware that I tried to give Leia the best of the best, so if there is something you guys think I could edit, please let me know. I really hope you guys like this and I am sending hugs and kisses to @reylo-trash-4ever and @mojona1999 because you two are my sweet reylomates and beans and ily <3.

Update: Im so sorry i forgot the first part if anyone needs the link lol sorry im a wreck. 

Part 1:  https://scav-eng-er.tumblr.com/post/190171393259/if-nothing-else-we-have-this-tros-alternate

“Any news from Poe and his team?” 

“Nothing yet General.” 

A wave of worry flushed over General Organa as she watched the makeshift screen blink rapidly. Tiny dots, indicating Poe’s X-wing and the rest of his ships, hovered around the grid, pinpointing their locations out in the battle. Occasionally, a red dot would disappear and across the base, another screen with the profile of the pilot would burn red with large letters titled: Connection failed. The chaos ensued back at the main base and was just as hectic as the actual battlefield. Commands were announced or yelled through holo-coms and com-links while groups from the skies and land asked what the next plan of attack was. More pilots ran around the princess, prepping their fuel tanks and testing their blasters, oblivious to see the exhaustion in her eyes. Technicians gave last minute check-ups on weapons and hurried back  and forth along the forest floor. Lieutenant Connix continued to give orders, her brows furrowed, her eyes flickering back and forth between the many screens. Leia sensed it, both sides were tired. The resistance were on their knees, using their last push of hope to try and defeat Palpatine. But she also sensed doubt in the First Order. In Ben. 

He was confused, hurt and torn. Pulled in different directions. This unknowing in him had already impacted the First Order and their so-called impenetrable power. When she felt him begin to question everything, just a few hours ago, she had finally felt more hope spark in her heart. She felt the heat of his saber as it impaled her son, Rey didn’t miss. Her heart soared when the refreshing feeling of Rey’s life force healed Ben’s wound. Yes, there was still hope. But was it enough?

Would this be enough to finally end it all? 

A sudden pain erupted from Leia’s chest. Sucking in a gasp, she quietly sat on a boulder, hiding her pain from scurrying pilots as they prepped for another take-off, soon to assist wounded comrades at Exegol. Her body was cold, and she felt weak, defeated…dead. Something had happened to Ben, her Ben. Her hand shook as she covered her mouth to prevent the whimpers of her sobs escape. Blinking back tears, and with the last reasonable idea she could think of, she reached out. Out to the one person she knew could help.

“Luke.” She whispered. 

He appeared to her, glowing brighter in the sun. His transparency, in no way hid his happiness to see his sister, aged with time from living her life. Even after all these years, Luke could see how youthful Leia was, her smile was timeless and her strength spanned generations. It inspired those who were now part of the resistance. He had told himself a million times how he wished she had continued her studies. Perhaps the galaxy would’ve turned out different, less pain, less hate. She would’ve saved Ben before Palpatine had even tried to touch him, preventing the world from becoming what it was now.

Yet, here they were, on the precipice of an ending war. The battle happening galaxies away that would determine the outcome of their family, resting on the shoulders of his nephew, her son. 

“It’s time.” Leia stated, her voice calm and strong despite the streaks of tears down her rosy cheeks. She was prepared, ready for this day. Luke sensed it too. He knew just how far a mother would go to save her son. He said nothing, but kneeled down and like so many times before, placed a sweet kiss on his sister’s forehead. Leia closed her eyes, not seeing the few tears making their way down Luke’s cheeks. 

And just as quiet as he arrived, he was gone. 

For the first time, in a very long time, Leia felt at peace. She stood up, no pain in her heart, no worries on her mind. The princess gazed at the base around her. Everything moved in slow motion. The sounds of people and engines droned out. Leia took a step into the sun. It was warm against her skin, as she remembered her life. 

Han, her loving, brave, handsome, and annoyingly-arrogant husband. He had filled her life with laughs, tears and love as they stuck together. He was at peace, she knew that. He had never been upset with Ben, he just missed his son. Their son.

Ben. Her only child who was caught in something so much greater than him. He was used and played with, torn and pulled apart until there was nothing left. Leia knew deep down, her baby Ben was there, waiting. The same Ben who wanted to be a Jedi, who wanted to come with her to meetings and visit as many galaxies as he could. The biggest thing Leia missed was how much he needed her. Ben would never admit to how many times he crawled into her bed after a nightmare, or how he pretended to not miss her when she was away. As a teenager, she saw him pull away, trying to be tough, and hide how scared he was, or that he needed help. She could never forgive herself for ignoring how he practically begged for her in his eyes, as the cold, grimy hands of the Dark Side gripped him by the shoulders. But now, Leia felt like she could still save her son, from everything. She could prove to him how much she loved him. 

She loved how much Ben needed his mother as a child, and now he needed her more than ever. The general’s world went black as she collapsed to the forest floor.

~~~~

Rey played with the hem of Ben’s shirt, the fabric wet with sweat, dirt and blood. He smelled like earth, and Rey realized she had never been this close to know that he smelled so..intoxicating. Every breath she took was so soothing, she couldn’t help but lean in closer. Ben’s eyes never left her, and Rey’s cheeks reddened at how beautiful he made her feel. The comfort in his arms was new, yet felt so familiar that she never wanted to leave. His thumb circled her arm as he held her, and goosebumps scattered down her body.

“So..long..” Rey mumbled, annoyed by how long they had tried to cover it up, or deny just how powerful their feelings for each other really were. This..connection was created before either of them were even born. This attachment and need to be near each other, to be together finally had an explanation behind it. Rey believed this would be the one and only thing she could actually thank their grandparents for. The two mens intertwined fates had curled and twisted. Hate, deceit, years of pain and darkness came to an end with her and Ben, here and now. So yes, she could thank them, for giving her Ben. 

Ben hummed in agreement, “Who knew we could be so..” he trailed off.

“Dumb?” Rey stated.

“I was going to say stubborn!” Ben couldn’t help but laugh, before engulfing her lips once again. Every time Ben kissed her, Rey felt like a bad memory was wiped away. Bit by bit, she was losing more details about her life of Jakku. She already couldn’t remember some scars she got as a child, or the names of rival scavengers who occasionally tried to gang up on her. It felt like he was taking away her pain and grief, replacing it with passionate kisses and featherlight touches she hoped she would never forget. 

They held each other for a few more moments in sweet, silent bliss before Rey interrupted with the lingering statement.

“We have to go back.” 

Ben sighed, “Or we could go…just…leave.” 

There was nothing more Ben wanted to then to just be with Rey. They could anything or nothing and he would be happy. If she wanted to boss him around on the falcon? He would do it without hesitation. If she wanted to settle in the greenest galaxy and continue her training? He would make her stronger than him. 

But the resistance? He would not just be away from Rey, but behind bars, in chains, with every other soul on the planet, maybe the galaxy, wanting him dead. 

“Ben,” She sounded serious, though her voice was quiet. “We’ll figure something out.” She continued to play with his hair. The black, damp curls twisted in her finger and she wondered what he would look like with braids. 

“Leia will help us, reduce your sentence. Banishment to another planet is better than life imprisonment right?” 

Hearing his mother’s name made his heart sink. Could she even look him in the eye? Would she cry? Scream at him? Forgive him? Ben had hurt her so much, he would understand however she reacted. He undoubtedly deserved it. Even so, he wanted to see her, to hear her voice. He pulled Rey’s hand to his lips, giving a heartfelt kiss before nodding.

Her heart beat rapidly in hope. Ben was going home. He was going to see his mother, going to see Chewie…but he would also see the resistance, including Finn, Poe and Rose. Rey didn’t care. She would do anything to prove just how alive Ben Solo was, with the pieces of Kylo Ren dying long ago. 

“Just..no matter what happens, you’ll come back to me right?” He mumbled into her fingers, almost afraid to let go. 

Rey smiled so hard, she could almost laugh. She stood up and pulled him with her, her hands never letting go. Even as he towered over her, he looked worried, his eyes trailing up and down her body, making sure she was still alright, still alive. Rey pulled his attention to her warm eyes.

“Nothing could keep me away. Not even death.” She declared. Standing on her toes, Rey wrapped her arms around Ben as she pulled him to her lips. He felt comfort in her embrace, like she would truly never leave him. Even when he would eventually be pulled from her grasp and thrown in a cell, he knew she would fight for him as hard as she could. They would be separated, of course, by distance, guards, and maybe even Leia. But he could wait, he had been waiting for her his whole life anyway. So many had passed through his life in fleeting increments, he could hardly remember any faces, knowing they would all be there one moment, and gone the next. Rey was solid, sturdy, and there for him, with him. At the end of all this, Ben finally felt like he could belong somewhere, in her arms. 

The two pulled apart when the noise of battle erupted the from the skies and shook the ground beneath their feet. They ran back to the surface, forgetting the pain they had just endured, ready to take on the next adventure together. 

Rey burst through the stars in the X-wing, Ben seated behind her. They danced among the falling debris as it crashed back onto Exegol. He watched as Palpatines undead fleet fell, returning to their graves. Feeling his darkness fall with them, a small smile grew as he said goodbye to the shadows that had trapped him in. Feeling light as a feather, Ben settled into his seat. His eyelids were heavy, and he suddenly felt so tired that he just couldn’t stay awake. As he felt himself drift to sleep, he could vaguely hear the voices and shouts from Rey’s helmet comlink, screams of victory as everyone announced the First Order had officially fallen. 

#reylo #ben solo #rey #kylo ren #rey x ben solo #rey x kylo ren #reylo fanfic #tros #scavenger writes #I actually am not proud of this #but im so tired im sorry :(

[chipper9906]

The Best Laid Plans- Chapter 5: A Reflection Of Herself

Link To Chapter 1

Pairings: Kylo Ren/Rey, Ben Solo/Rey

Rating: General Audiences

Word Count: 12,060

WARNINGS: Violence, Mentions of Blood

Status: Multi Chapter Fic- In Progress

Chapter Preview: 

“Is that so?” Rey’s words were breathy, the simple act of talking too much when trekking in this heat. “If it’s so vital to them, then why haven’t you told anyone in the First Order about it? I mean, they’re excavating the planet for it, right? Why not tell them about this cave?”

Kylo stopped so unexpectedly in his tracks that, if she weren’t paying enough attention, she would have walked straight into the back of him. Confused, and slightly worried, Rey took a small step back, giving back the space that had been taken from his sudden stop. Considering she’s used to how Kylo doesn’t usually show much expression on his face, it was surprising how unnerving it was when she could only read the back of him. Kylo extinguished his saber, holding it limply by his side as he slowly turned around to face her, his eyes drifting up and down her form before rising up to her face to lock eyes with her.

“Because there are things in this Galaxy that are too beautiful to be damaged.”

In the pause after his words, a sudden chill ran up her spine. Not because of his words, no, but because of a realization; it was quiet. Not just quiet, but silent.

“What is it?” Kylo asked, having seen the panicked look on her face. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you hear that?”

Kylo furrowed his brow, cocking his head a little as he took a moment to listen closer.

“Hear…what? I don’t hear anything.”

“Exactly. The birds have gone silent. Somethings wrong.”

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Chapter 5: A Reflection Of Herself

Her night had certainly not been one of rest.

It should have been easier to fall asleep after he had, and, considering the bone-deep exhaustion she had been feeling, she was quite surprised that she had not fallen into a deep slumber seconds after Ben had fallen asleep himself. And yet, she found herself staring at his slumbering form for much too long, willing for sleep to come and take her away. She would be lying to herself if she said she wasn’t nervous about their upcoming task; So many things could go wrong, and no amount of preparation will ensure her safety, not when she’s heading right into enemy territory- territory that’s technically controlled by the very man that’s sneaking her in.

When she did finally let sleep take her, it wasn’t a peaceful sleep. She did not dream of pleasant things; of the warmth of her friends embrace, of Han’s quick wit, of Leia’s mothering care, of the thrill of wielding a saber for the first time. No, her dreams were shadowy and sinister, of the disastrous possibilities the next day held, of terrible acts of betrayal and mistrust.

Which is why, perhaps, awakening from such dreams to see Kylo Ren peering down at her did not help in the slightest.

She could only imagine the look of sheer panic she saw on his face was one she was mirroring right back at him. In her groggy state of mind, she had reached out for her staff without a second thought, the solid weight of the metal handle a comforting presence in her hand against what her morning brain had perceived to be a threat. Ben was, thankfully, smart enough to leap away from her side before he could receive any potential concussions, splaying his hands in front of him when the wild, defensive look in her eyes remained.

“Calm down, it’s just me.” Kylo attempts to reassure her, slowly lowering his hands back down once it seemed like she wasn’t going to take a swing at him. “I didn’t mean to startle you-“

“Then what were you trying to do?” Rey snapped at him, dropping her staff down by her beside and exhaling heavily in relief as the short spike of adrenaline in her system begun to wear away. “I mean seriously, what was that? Were you watching me sleep?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kylo deflected with a frown. “You woke me up.”

“I woke you up? How could I possibly-“

“You were calling out to me in your sleep.” Kylo cut her off. “You were forcing your way into my dreams, reaching out for me over- Whatever it is that connects us. At some point, you started calling out loud, and it woke me up. I could sense your distress as you slept and I… I was trying to do what I could to help.”

“…What do you mean?”

“I…” Kylo begun, seemingly shrinking down on himself at the question. “I thought that, maybe… Maybe if I reached out to you too, answered your calls while you slept that, perhaps… It…It might soothe you. I fear I made it worse, since, well-“ Kylo gestured a hand at her pale, sweat-drenched form. “In my defense, it isn’t something I’ve exactly done before.”

“It’s the thought that counts, I suppose…” Rey mumbled as she pushed herself out of bed, rubbing a hand across her face in an attempt to wipe away the last dregs of drowsiness clinging to her. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather you didn’t do something like that again.”

To her surprise, the frown that seems permanently etched onto his face only seemed to deepen at that. Kylo managed to quickly wrangle in whatever emotion he had briefly let slip, returning to his neutral expression with a clear of his throat and the straightening of his posture.

“I’d suggest you get yourself ready; we have a long journey ahead of us and we’ve eaten up too much of the morning hours already.” Kylo’s suggestion was more of an order than anything, and she would have made such a remark if he wasn’t already heading for the exit of her old home, the fluttering end of his cape the last thing she saw of him as he slipped out of view.

Rey agitatedly swept her staff up off the floor with a frustrated groan, racing around the AT-AT that was baking in the steadily increasing temperature of the morning hours of Jakku to collect what little possessions she had packed to take with her.

“Maybe one day you’ll settle on which personality you want to show to me. That’ll be a nice day…”

* * *

Kylo’s shuttle looked every bit as menacing up close as it did when she spotted it from afar. She didn’t exactly have memories of this ship, except for the fact that she knew this was the ship that he had taken her onto after forcing her into sleep against her will. So, for that reason, she couldn’t help but feel a little bit anxious as she stepped aboard.

Kylo placed his helmet atop the ship's console before dropping himself down into the pilot's seat. He gave her a side glance when she appeared in his field of vision, standing somewhat awkwardly by the seat next to him as she took a good look at the ship's interior.

“Sit wherever you’re comfortable,” Kylo advised, turning his attention back to the console and firing the ship's engines to life. “It’ll take some time to get there.”

“You ever going to tell me the name of this planet?” Rey asked as she slipped into the seat next to him. It unsettled her, when she wasn’t in control of a ship, unable to dictate where she’ll end up. Even if she isn’t the one in control, the closer she was to the controls, the better she felt.

“And let you pass that information onto the Resistance?” Kylo asked in a dead-pan tone, briefly taking his attention away from the steadily shrinking ground in front of them to raise an eyebrow at her. “Nice try.”

“Well, what can you tell me about this planet?” Rey inquired as she yanked her bag around her body. Flipping the top open, she reaches a hand in and searches around until she feels the smooth leather of her holster. “I’d at least like to know what I’m walking into.”

“Nothing you shouldn’t be able to handle. Planets covered in flora mostly, oceans are rather small but we won’t have to worry about them.”

“Anything I should be worried about?”

“So long as we keep a low profile, we should be okay. The place we’re headed to, no one else knows about it, so we shouldn’t have to worry about running into any patrols. The foliage should help keep us covered, so if we’re lucky, no over-head ships should pick us up.”

“Any wildlife?”

“I’ve only seen a few reports that mentioned any potentially dangerous wildlife; most we’ve seen are a few small serpents that have snuck inside the bases we’ve set up. I’ve only been here once, and I didn’t see anything in that time.”

“That doesn’t mean there’s nothing else out there.” Rey mumbled, her focus diverted to her hands as she struggled to clasp her holster around her waist, fingers fumbling across the single strap that would tighten the holster.

“No, but that’s all the knowledge I have on this planet's fauna. There’s nothing we can do but be cautious. Although, there is one thing I had plenty of experience with while I was out here.”

“What?”

“Storms,” Kylo said with a grimace. “They don’t usually hit until the evenings, but when they do… They’re unlike any storm I’ve encountered before; The rain falls so heavy you can barely see in front of you, and the lightning… It would be a beautiful thing to see if you weren’t right in the middle of it. It struck multiple times, I was surrounded by it. You could feel the electricity in the air, feel as it was about to strike you…”

“How did you avoid getting hit?”

“I searched for the closest shelter I could find, which ended up being a rather dingy looking cave. I fell into it really- it was so well hidden within the rock wall. The second I entered that place… I knew it wasn’t just myself that guided me here. The power radiating from deep down within that cavern, I could tell this place was something special, something more than just somewhere to shelter from the storm.”

Kylo released his grip on the ship's controls, leaning over the console and tapping his fingers across its surface, flicking a silver switch above his head before turning to face her.

“And that’s where we’re headed to right now-“ Kylo’s words tapered off as he caught sight of the weapon attached to her hip, his mouth suddenly turning dry. “-What is that?”

“What’s what?” Rey’s brow arched in confusion, glancing down at herself to try and figure out what had gained his attention. “My holster?”

“I meant more the weapon that it's holding.” Kylo noted dryly, nodding to the blaster sat snuggly within its hold. “That’s my father's weapon, isn’t it?”

“Oh, you’re finally going to start calling him your father now, are you?”

“Don’t avoid the question.” Kylo deflected with a dark scowl, narrowing his eyes dangerously at her. “Where did you get it?”

“He gave it to me.” Rey defended herself, pulling the blaster out of his holster to hold close to her. “Like you, he didn’t think I could protect myself with just my staff, so he gave it to me.”

“He just…gave it to you?”

“Yes. I was going to give it back to him- blasters aren’t really my thing- but… I never got the chance.”

Kylo lowered his eyes to the floor, suddenly finding himself unable to meet her gaze. With an annoyed huff, he turned back around to face the stars that were streaming past them, watching the streaks of lights that warped overhead.

“I’m surprised you didn’t recognize it.” Rey noted after a few unbearable seconds of silence. “After all, I have shot at you with it before. Twice, actually.”

Kylo huffed again, though whether this time it was one of exasperation or one of laughter, she couldn’t tell. Judging by the silence that followed, the conversation seemed to have come to an end. With an awkward clear of her throat, Rey joined Kylo in gazing out the front of the ship, content with watching the Galaxy fly past.

“I learned how to shoot with that blaster.” Kylo was the one to break the silence this time. “We used a stun blaster first- didn’t want to risk me accidentally shooting something I wasn’t meant to. Chewie, he- He would set up these targets for me, made of rocks.”

There was almost a wistful look on Kylo’s face as he reminisced, just a hint of a smile twitching at his lips, his eyes glazed over as he found himself lost on his own memories.

“Chewie taught you how to shoot?” Rey spoke softly, not wanting to startle him out of whatever trance he seemed to have fallen into.

“Taught me how to fly a speeder, too. I had a few close calls the first time I tried, but… He was persistent that I learned. I wanted to learn how to pilot a ship like… Like Han did. Said I needed to learn how to fly a speeder before I got anywhere near the cockpit of a ship.”

“I’m surprised Han didn’t teach you.”

“Mom probably would have killed him if she found out he was teaching me how to shoot. When he saw how well I was doing with the stun blaster, he let me start training with that one.” Kylo pointed a finger towards the weapon in her hands. “Not as powerful as his heavy blaster, but lethal enough. Had a safety switch too- something I’m sure helped appease mother as well. I had to give it back to him once I was sent away to my Uncle.”

Rey pulled the blaster out from its pouch, holding it in her hands which were rested atop her lap. The silver gleam of its metal body reflected the various lights of the ship they were sat in, it's metal well-polished after a good clean. She may not know much about using a blaster, but she at least knows that a clean, looked after blaster is a blaster that will never fail you.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you shoot a blaster.” Rey pondered as she looked down at the blaster in her lap. “Were you any good?”

“I could hit the target.” Kylo replied indifferently, shrugging his shoulders. “Which is more than I can say for your skills.”

“Hey!” Rey protested. “I managed to hit a good few of your men!”

“Didn’t manage to hit me.”

“You were deflecting them with your saber! They were still on target-”

“-I distinctly remember seeing some bolts flying past me into the trees.”

“I was running away from you, it’s not like I could take the time to aim! Wouldn’t have mattered much anyway, if you just kept deflecting them.”

“Well, it was that or let myself get shot. Although, I’m sure you’d be glad if I had let the latter happen.”

“Well, I… I wouldn’t say glad.”

“Oh? What would you say?”

“I’d say it would probably have made life easier for me, but… easier is boring.” Rey responded, glancing at Kylo out of the corner of her eye. “Besides, I prefer a challenge.”

* * *

Despite how much Rey had insisted she wouldn’t be able to sleep in his ship, there were many times in their long journey that she found herself drifting off. It seemed that the comfortable seats of his shuttle and the fact that she hadn’t got much sleep last night were really having an impact on her ability to stay awake.

Rey was jolted out of her sleepy state by a crackling sound emitting from the ship's intercom. Kylo immediately straightened to attention at the sound, leaning away from the console and closer to her to whisper in her direction. “We’re approaching our destination. It seems my troops have detected us.”

“Unknown Ship, you are entering into Restricted Space. This planet is strictly off-limit to non-personnel of the First Order. Turn around, or identify yourself, or we will be forced to fire upon you.”

Even though she knew she was currently sat inside Kylo Ren’s ship, she still felt a sharp spike of fear run through her, as if they somehow knew she was in here. It was an irrational thought, she knew that full well, but living the life she had, it had taught her that the best way to survive was to expect the worst of a situation, and make sure you’re prepared for it. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get a word out, Kylo had raised a finger to his lips. While usually she would not accept such orders from him, the urgency she saw in his expression was enough for her mouth to slam shut. Once he felt assured she would not speak, Kylo let his finger slip away from his lips and turned back to the console, leaning closer to the intercom and pressing his finger down onto the button.

“It would do you well to identify your Leaders ship, trooper,” Kylo spoke smoothly into the intercom, his tone sending as much as a threat as his words ever could. “I can think of just a few of the many… repercussions you may face from the First Order after firing upon your leader. If I don’t get to you first, that is.”

“My apologies, Supreme Leader,” The man’s voice had lost most of its superiority, a few warbles away from becoming a trembling mess. “We were not expecting a visit from you today.”

“Snoke may have been a lot more lax in checking up on his trooper's work, but I prefer to be a bit more thorough. No use checking up on you when you know I’m coming. This way, I can see how you’ve truly been doing- And then I can assess your usefulness from that.”

“Of course, Supreme Leader. Welcome.”

With that, the intercom crackled once more, and the ship returned to silence. Kylo released his hold on the intercoms button, moving his hands back over to the console of the ship and messing with a few buttons, taking the ship out of auto-pilot as he grabbed hold of its controls.

“Easy as that.” Kylo turned his head to speak to her, though kept his eyes trained on the windshield of his ship. “And as he said: Welcome.”

It never ceased to amaze Rey the vastly different planets that existed out here. Having lived most of her life on a dry and sand-covered planet, the thought of a planet existing that was covered in plants, lush and full of life, seemed impossible. It was possible, but being stuck in that place… In that state of mind, it was nothing more than a dream. This one looked quite similar to Takonda, and she was sure she had the same expression of wonder and amazement planted on her face as when she laid eyes on Takonda for the first time, aboard the Falcon. The planet was nothing more than a green orb from this distance, barely able to see the small patches of blue that dotted its surface. Rey pushed herself out of her seat, leaning over the console and closer to the thick glass of the windshield, the only barrier between her and the un-survivable cold of space, desperate to get a closer look.

“You might want to sit back down,” Kylo’s voice broke her out of the moment, bringing her sharply back to reality. “I’m starting the descent.”

Rey fell back down into her seat, watching as the small green orb grew bigger and bigger, until it was all she could see. The hazy gray clouds covering the planet split apart as they broke through the planet’s atmosphere, an endless landscape of brilliantly vivid green staring back at her, cresting up the planets mountainous landscape. It seemed that, unless there was an ocean in the way, every square inch of the planet’s surface had become overrun by flora. The stretch of green that made up the ground rapidly rose to meet them as Kylo pushed the shuttle further down, until they were close enough that Rey could make out the tops of the tall, swaying trees that rushed past them.

“There’s no landing pads here- as you can imagine. No landing sites either.” Kylo told her as he decreased some of the engine's output, slowing the ship down.

“Where are you planning to land then? It doesn’t seem like there’s anywhere to safely put this thing down.”

“There is a landing pad near a base, nearly a day’s walk away from where we’re headed. Obviously, using that is unwise, since we’re trying to prevent my troopers from spotting you. Once I had returned from my trek last time, I knew this was a place I was going to return to- So I cleared a small area to land. Shouldn’t be too big as to attract the attention of my troops, but big enough that we won’t have to worry about damaging ourselves upon landing.”

“You cleared an area of forest all by yourself? With what?”

Kylo answered his question by tapping at his saber by his side.

“It took me a while to find a good area- Most of the trees have too thick of a trunk you see, wouldn’t be able to slice through without starting some fires that I wouldn’t be able to extinguish. Fortunately, I found an area that mostly consisted of very thin, but very long, trunks. They were easy to bring down.”

“And you remember where this place is?”

Suddenly, the ship gave a giant lurch, and Rey found herself pinned to her seat as the ship slowed in the air dramatically. She felt her stomach sink as the ship began to drop down rapidly, a feeling similar to being in free-fall. She heard the whirring of gears as the ship's landing gear dropped down, moments before she feels the reassuring ‘thud’ of the ship reaching ground safely.

“Yes, I’d say I do,” Kylo said with a tone that hinted he was barely holding in his cocky smile. After a few more taps on his console, the ship's engines powered down, and Kylo rose from his seat, reaching out to snag his helmet from the console before he took a few steps behind her, disappearing from her line of sight. “Come on, we’ve still got a small walk ahead of us.”

Rey gave him a small glare as she too got up from her seat, turning to see the back of him as he stood waiting by the ship's open ramp, nothing more than a black silhouette against the bright light of the planets sun spilling into the ship. She walked over to his side, very nearly tripping over his cape that was whipping against his legs from the breeze that filtered in up the ramp. Even from here, she could feel the heat of the planet wrapping itself around her. Heat was something she was used to, but this was nothing like the heat of Jakku. Jakku was a dry heat, one that left your lungs feeling scratchy and your mouth so dry that it was as if you had swallowed its sands dunes. This planet's heat was almost wet, the air so dense with it that was sure she was breathing in warm water and not air. She was so unaccustomed to it that she almost felt like she was suffocating, like she was in no way getting enough oxygen to function properly.

Kylo looked unaffected by the planet's condition. Perhaps he had already become accustomed to it in his visits. Or, maybe he was just very good at hiding it, as he is many other things.  After a few moments, Kylo attached his helmet to his side, resting securely on a clip that was on his belt.

“Are you ready?”

‘No.’ That’s what she was thinking, at least, but it wasn’t something she could ever say out loud. After all, she’d already come all this way. She may be fearing not only what’s to come, but what could happen on the way there, but with all this effort put into reaching here, not just by her but by the man standing next to her, turning back now just isn’t an option.

“Let’s go.”

* * *

Every now and then, Rey took a moment to take in the absolute beauty of this planet. Whilst the treetops provided a decent amount of shade from the burning sun above them, there were still a few beams of sunlight peering through the thick wall of leaves, accentuating the gorgeous colors that surrounded them. Whilst it was true that most of what she saw was various shades of green, there were a few bursts of color all around, many different species of exotic-looking flowers trailing up the ridiculously tall trees they were navigating their way past. It was very peaceful, not much to hear but the shuffling of leaves pushed by the gentle breeze that was too warm to do much in terms of cooling her off, and the beautiful songs of the flying creatures that flew over-head, some brave enough to swoop right past the two of them.

Rey’s sure she’d be able to appreciate it even more if she didn’t feel like she was about to drop dead from the heat. She had lost track of how long they had been walking for now. All she does know is that it feels like her skin is melting off her body in this awful heat. The burning pain on the bottom of her feet makes it feel as if she’s managed to rub away the soles of her shoes, the sensitive skin within rubbed raw. Sweat was steadily collecting within her boots, which only served to worsen the friction burn as she walks. A part of her wanted to give in and ask Kylo how much further it was until they reached this cave of his, but a larger part of her refused to do so, not wanting to give away any signs that this long trek was affecting her more than it seemed.

Especially since, in the brief moments she glances over to him, his long strides meaning she’s practically having to jog to keep up with him, the only sign she gets that he’s suffering as much as she is by the glistening sheen of sweat covering his skin, a few drops occasionally rolling down the bridge of his nose. She can only imagine the amount of sweat building up in the big, dark, bulky combat boots he wears, still stomping along the dirt path with his usual forcefulness, as if each step isn’t bringing him intense pain, occasionally swinging his saber in front of him to slice through any vines that stopped their advance.

Still, he hasn’t said a thing about the intense heat. Kylo hasn’t said much, really, which she assumes is because he’s focusing on remembering the way to the cave. The idea that perhaps he doesn’t remember the way, and is too stubborn to admit he’s lost, does briefly flutter past her thoughts, but she’d rather not test his patience by bringing it up right now, especially if this heat has him feeling as agitated as she feels. She doesn’t know how he does it, walking about in this insane heat, covered in layers of nothing but heavy, thick, black clothing. The cloak seems completely unnecessary at this point, and she’s sure it would be such a relief to take it off. And yet, it remains.

However, as time goes on, and with it the ache in her feet worsens, and the scratchy dry feeling in her throat increases, Rey finds that her patience only lessens. He had said that this was a short walk, and while she doesn’t know what Kylo’s definition of short is, this is definitely not it. Not even close.

“Are you sure we’re on the right path?” Rey used her staff to flick away a piece of vine that had rebounded at her off Kylo as he pushed through. “This all seems very… Untouched.”

“It’s been a while since I was here, most of the vegetation has regrown,” Kylo replied, grunting as he cuts through a particularly thick vine that had refused to bend away. “Trust me, I’ll never forget how to find my way to this place. I’d never forgive myself if I did.”

“Sounds like this place is important to you.”

“That’s because it is. Planets that are rich with naturally occurring Kyber Veins are incredibly rare, especially now that Illum is… not available. It’s a vital resource to the First Order.”

“Is that so?” Rey’s words were breathy, the simple act of talking too much when trekking in this heat. “If it’s so vital to them, then why haven’t you told anyone in the First Order about it? I mean, they’re excavating the planet for it, right? Why not tell them about this cave?”

Kylo stopped so unexpectedly in his tracks that, if she weren’t paying enough attention, she would have walked straight into the back of him. Confused, and slightly worried, Rey took a small step back, giving back the space that had been taken from his sudden stop. Considering she’s used to how Kylo doesn’t usually show much expression on his face, it was surprising how unnerving it was when she could only read the back of him. Kylo extinguished his saber, holding it limply by his side as he slowly turned around to face her, his eyes drifting up and down her form before rising up to her face to lock eyes with her.

“Because there are things in this Galaxy that are too beautiful to be damaged.”

In the pause after his words, a sudden chill ran up her spine. Not because of his words, no, but because of a realization; it was quiet. Not just quiet, but silent.

“What is it?” Kylo asked, having seen the panicked look on her face. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you hear that?”

Kylo furrowed his brow, cocking his head a little as he took a moment to listen closer.

“Hear…what? I don’t hear anything.”

“Exactly. The birds have gone silent. Somethings wrong.”

Rey didn’t think he would take her words too seriously, expecting for him to brush aside her concerns as nothing more than paranoia. Instead, she sees him tense up, igniting his saber within seconds and spinning around, trying to get a glimpse of a danger that they don’t even know exists just yet. Kylo took a step back, bumping into Rey’s side, to which he instinctively puts an arm out to try and pull her behind him. Rey goes willingly, turning so that they were back to back and holding her staff out in front of her at the same time that Kylo holds his ignited saber in front of himself. The two pivot on the spot, scanning every inch of the treeline they can see.

“Do you see anything?” Rey turns her head slightly to whisper up to him, making sure to keep her eyes on what’s in front of her.

“No,” Kylo mumbled under his breath in response. “I can barely see a thing through all these plants-“

A deep, guttural sounding growl froze the two of them. The cold chill Rey had been feeling peaked at the sound, her hands much clammier than they were before. The two of them simultaneously turn in the direction of the sound, in no way able to anticipate what it is they were about to confront.

Out from the shade of the trees came a large, sleek beast, very nearly the same height as them. It moved slow and low to the ground, it’s four muscular legs propelling it smoothly forward, prowling towards them. It was covered in fine fur, its color a brown so dark, Rey almost mistook it as black. The sun glinted off its fur as it moved, an odd iridescence pattern appearing, spots of blue appearing as it was exposed to the light. Its head resembled one of a lizard; long pointed snout that cracked open to reveal rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth. Sitting within its mouth was a slender, navy-colored tongue which flicked about in its mouth as it released yet another one of its low growls. The creature came to a stop as its beady, yellow eyes swiveled around to focus on them, it's diamond-shaped pupils dilating, it’s nostrils flaring, catching their scent.

Kylo spun his saber around in his hand, the saber emitting a crackled hum at the movement. The creatures growls increased in volume at the sight, sensing the danger and power within the object in his hands. The creature began its crawl once more, sluggishly moving its heavy mass to circle them, inching steadily closer as it did so.

“Keep behind me,” Kylo ordered in a low, quiet tone, not taking his eyes off the creature for even a second. “I’ll do my best to distract it. Once it’s focused on me, you make a run for it.”

“What?” Rey hissed. “I’m not leaving you to fight this thing off on your own!”

“You don’t have a weapon. Just that blaster,” Kylo shot back in an equally harsh tone. “This isn’t up for discussion. Go!”

“No! We don’t know how powerful this thing is, it could kill you!”

“For Kriffs-sake, Rey! Why can't you just do as I ask-“

Kylo was cut off as the creature unexpectedly leaped through the air, showing much more agility then it had previously. Kylo barely had enough time to react, shoving Rey to the side and twisting away, slashing his saber through the creature’s side. The hit barely glanced the creature, which gave a rough growl as the saber burnt through its flesh. It reacted to the pain by swiping out an arm, catching Kylo off guard. The power of the hit swept Kylo off his feet, sending him hurtling through the air into the depths of the forest, landing somewhere out of Rey’s sight with a painful sounding ‘thud’.

“BEN!” Rey yelled out after him, uneasiness settling within her when she gets no response. 

The creature turned its furious gaze onto Rey at her yell, having become enraged and defensive from the injury Kylo had inflicted. It only gives a small snarl in warning before charging towards her, swiping its sharp claws across the ground as it gets closer. Rey brings up her staff to swipe the creature in the side of the head, sending the creature staggering to the side from the hit. It shakes its head side to side, something akin to a mix of a growl and a hiss vibrating from its chest as it dived towards her with its jaws open wide. Rey shoved her staff in the direction of the creature, the top of it catching the roof of the creature’s mouth. The beast tried to snap its mouth shut, only to be greeted by the bottom of her staff. The creature hissed in anguish, but Rey could feel it biting down harder and harder, felt her staff shake in her hands under the immense pressure. With a loud crack, the staff snapped in two, and Rey threw herself to the ground, moments before the creature's sharp teeth snapped together where her head once was.

She rolls as she lands, bouncing back up to her feet. Before the creature can recover, she yanks her blaster out of her holster, pressing down on the trigger. She only realizes that the blaster isn’t firing because the safety is still on once the creature pounces, its heavy weight pushing her to the ground. It’s nothing but adrenaline and instinct fuelling her actions as she holds the creature by the neck, the only thing keeping its snapping teeth from sinking into the soft flesh of her neck. Its rancid breath washed over her as its snout moves closer and closer, her trembling arms unable to hold the beast at bay for long.

She hears the sound of something gliding through the leaves and dirt of the forest floor until it gently hits her side. Just as the creature rears back, ready for its final blow, Rey grabs hold of the object by her side. Her hands wrap around the familiar hilt of Kylo’s saber and, as the creature strikes, she ignites the saber.

Kylo somewhat stumbles to his feet, his vision still blurry from the hit to his head, the slight trickle of blood running down the side of his face the end result of such a hit. Through the fogginess of his vision he’s just about able to make out the shape of the creature resting atop Rey, both bodies still on the forest floor.

“Rey?” Kylo tries to ignore the icy grip of fear that clung to his heart at the sight, his uncoordinated movements resulting in more of a staggering shuffle in her direction.

The fear releases its grip at the sight of Rey pushing the creature off to the side, revealing the smoldering hole that had been pierced through its chest, his saber still ignited in her hands. He lets out a small breath of relief, wiping his hands across his face, waiting for everything to stop spinning around him.

Rey grimaces as she pushes herself up to sit, glancing down at the saber in her hand to see it still ignited, swiping the ignition switch down to extinguish its blades. Something black appears in the corner of her vision, and she glances up to see Kylo’s glove-clad hand, which she gladly takes, leaning on him as she pulls herself up to stand. Kylo wobbles at the extra weight, and Rey shoots out a hand to stop him from keening over, grabbing hold of his arm.

“Are you okay?” She asks him, eyes drawn to the sluggishly bleeding wound on his head.

“I’ll be fine.” Kylo brushes her off, despite the jelly feeling in his legs. “I’ve dealt with worse.”

“We should really take care of that.” Rey insisted, furrowing her brow anxiously at the wound.

“I said I’m fine.” Kylo snapped, trying to tug his arm out of her vice grip. Instead of letting go, Rey tugs him towards a fallen trunk, pushing him down to sit. Just the fact that she’s so easily able to push him around only serves to prove her point that he is not fine, but that doesn’t stop him from weakly glaring up at her.

Rey pulls open the top of her bag, pulling out a small canteen of water and a few bundles of cloth and gauze, most of them homemade from spare bits of cloth she was able to cut from old clothing of hers, Luke’s and (when they finally gave in) the keepers of Ahch-To.

“We’d be better off with some Bacta-patches,” Rey tells him as she uncaps the canteen, placing a piece of cloth at the lip of the bottle and pouring out some water, soaking the material. “But we’ll have to make do with this.”

Kylo doesn’t say anything in response as she lifts the cloth to his face, wiping as gently as she can across the wound. Kylo can’t help but flinch at the touch, doing his best to hide his wince at the sharp burst of pain.

“Sorry,” Rey whispers in apology, clearing away the blood that had smeared across his forehead. The cloth quickly becomes coated in red, to which she wets another piece of cloth, continuing to wipe away the blood that continued to slowly leak from his head.

“This might hurt a bit,” Rey warns him as she takes a bundle of cloth in her hands and pressing it to the wound, putting as much pressure as she dares. Kylo’s breath hitches as his eyes flutter shut, holding his breath for a moment before releasing it slowly, keeping his eyes shut as he works through the pain.

After a few minutes, Rey pulls the bundle of cloths away from his head, relieved to see the bleeding had all but stopped. She gently grabs hold of the sides of his face, pulling him closer to take a better look at the injury. Kylo’s eyes open at the touch, gazing up at her as she assesses his wound.

“I don’t think you’ll need any stitches,” Kylo feels her breath fan across his face as she speaks. “We should probably keep it covered though, just to be sure.”

Kylo makes no complaints as she turns away to unroll the gauze, pushing his hair out of the way as she wraps the gauze around his head as tight as she can without hurting him. She finishes tying the ends of the gauze in a knot to secure it, her eyes dropping down to see Kylo’s intense gaze locked on her. Her hands slowly drop from his head as she finishes the knot, finding herself unable to tear her gaze away from the intensity of his.

“Thank you,” Kylo spoke softly, his gaze briefly moving from her eyes down to her lips, before flicking back up again.

Rey snapped herself out of it, all but leaping back from him, surprised by how close they had managed to get in just a few seconds. Kylo blinks owlishly for a few seconds before clearing his throat, glancing down at the log he was sat on and picking up the discarded and bloodies bits of cloth. With a few kicks of his feet, he had created a large enough hole to drop the piece of cloth into, kicking some dirt and leaves back on top to cover them. Rey placed the canteen back into her bag, picking up his saber from beside her and glancing up to see Kylo staring up at the sky. Rey looked up to see what he was staring at, noticing that through the cover of trees, she could make out the sun, which was already reaching its highest point in the sky.

“We uh… We should get going.” Rey stammered out, looking away from the sky and awkwardly holding his lightsaber out to him. Kylo doesn’t say a word in response as he scoops the saber back up, only solemnly nods at her and clips the saber back to his belt, turning on his heel and pushing through the forest once again. Rey watches his retreating form for a few seconds, unable to explain why the humming warmth she felt within her chest when she gazed into her eyes seemed to be growing colder the further he walked away from her.

“What just happened?”

* * *

Rey had all but sunk into her thoughts, mostly as a way to distract herself from the ache she felt throughout her entire body at being pinned down by that creature. She imagined Kylo was in a similar boat right now. That wound did look rather painful, and the hazy look she had seen in his eyes, along with his somewhat sluggish movements, didn’t do much to boost her confidence in his wellbeing. As she walks, she glances down to the two halves of her staff in her hands, feeling a pang of sadness for its demise. That weapon had been by her side nearly her entire life, protecting her from all manners of relentless scavengers and other trespassers.

She’s about to take another step forward when her path is blocked by Kylo’s arm, stretched out in front of her to stop her from moving any further. He’s not looking at her, rather he’s staring at a section of a cliff wall that’s adorned by hanging vines and creeping plants extending up and around the cracked rocks. He drops his hand away, sweeping over to the solid face of rock and placing a hand palm forward on its surface. Rey’s about to ask him what he’s trying to do when he takes a step to the side, grabbing hold of a clump of hanging vines and tugging them harshly down, ripping them away. This forms a small black hole, and Kylo continues to pull away more and more of the vegetation until eventually, there’s a hole large enough for them to squeeze through.

“This is it.” Kylo breathes, grabbing the side of the tough, thick vines, grunting with the effort as he pulls it to the side, widening the hole just a bit more for her to enter through.

“Are you coming with me?” Rey asked as she peering into the un-ending darkness within, a small bubble of anxiety forming at the idea of making her way through this cave all by herself.

“Every step of the way.”

She flashed him a grateful smile, to which she got a twitch of the lips from him in response. That’s as good as a smile to her, especially when considering this is Kylo Ren. She ducks under his arm that’s still holding the rebellious vines away that are valiantly trying to return to their original position, stepping into the smothering darkness that threatened to swallow her whole. Her eyes flick about in the dark, the small stream of light making its way through the entrance barely lighting the room. She only has to exist in this uncomfortable state of being without sight for a few seconds before the room is filled with a blinding red. She winces at the sudden, unexpected burst of light, though her eyes quickly recover. She glances over to the source of the light, seeing that Kylo had ignited his saber, holding it out in front of him as a light source. The crackling sabers light gave out a similar glowing effect, its flickering light replicating the effect of a lit torch.

If she’s being honest, the place doesn’t look all that special. The cave is narrow and somewhat claustrophobic, her limited vision making it feel like the walls were closing in on them both. The ceiling is, thankfully, quite high up, and she at least doesn’t feel at risk of the ceiling collapsing atop of her.

“We’re so close…” Kylo whispers into the darkness, his voice, while quiet, amplified as it bounces off the walls that enclosed them. “I envy you, in a way. This experience is one you’ll never forget.”

Kylo began to walk forward, Rey trailing close behind. After all, he’s the one that’s been here before, and she’d much rather not get lost in this place. Without a source of light, she’d never find her way back out, and that’s a fate she wants to avoid at all costs.

“Can you only ever get one crystal?” Rey asks as they advance further and further into the cave, relieved to see that the narrow walkways were beginning to widen marginally.

“I’ve never heard of an instance where more than one crystal has called out to one of the padawans during The Gathering. That doesn’t mean you’re limited to only one, however. There have been many Force Wielders in the past that have returned to Illum to find another crystal, either for another saber, or to create a saber with more than one blade.”

“Then… what’s stopping you from getting another crystal?”

“Nothing but myself,” Kylo replied. “I don’t need another crystal. I’m more than satisfied with the saber I have, and I have no desire to construct another for myself. I could experience collecting a crystal again, yes, but I can never again experience the first time. It’s different. The feeling of rightness is one I cannot explain. You’ll know when you feel it.”

It didn’t take long for Kylo to be proven right.

Rey repeated his earlier actions, shooting out a hand and grabbing hold of his upper arm, forcing him to come to a stop. It felt like a light tickling sensation at the back of her head at first, so subtle she almost didn’t notice it. The deeper down they went into the cave, the stronger it got until eventually, it was more than just a sensation. Now, she could hear it: Unintelligible whispering, floating out from somewhere ahead of them, willing her to come closer.

“You hear it, don’t you?” Kylo asked, and if she listened close enough, she would be able to pick up the slightest tone of excitement in his voice. “It’s calling out to you, Rey. Follow it.”

Rey didn’t need Kylo to tell her this. The need to go and find the source of the whispers was so strong, the notion of doing so utterly natural, something that she has to do, the thought of not doing it simply out of the question. It felt like she wasn’t in control of her body, more like she was just a passenger, watching herself as she descends further and further down, no longer needing the gentle glow of Kylo’s saber to light the way. She could be blind for all it mattered, robbed all of her senses, in fact, and it would not matter. So long as the Force existed within her, so long as she had the privilege of being able to shape it to her will, she would find her way.

Rey didn’t feel like she had truly regained control of her body until she had reached the end of a particularly narrow tunnel, staring agape at the gigantic cavern she had stepped into. The crumbling walls of the cave were now so far apart, the cavern so wide in size, that she could barely see where it ended, especially past the odd, murky fog that floated lazily just above the damp floor. All of this was nothing compared to the ginormous, breath-taking crystals that littered the cavern, most jutting out from the walls of the cavern, others surrounding narrow columns that had been eroded away from the trickling water escaping from the ceiling. If it weren’t for the sense of calmness that had washed over her upon stepping into this place, the sight of the sharp, hanging crystals attached to the ceiling above them would likely have worried her.

But, it doesn’t. She trusts the crystals, as if they were alive, believing with her entire being that they would not hurt her.

“It really is beautiful,” Rey whispers in astonishment, spinning around to take in all that she can.

“It’s certainly something to behold, yes.” Kylo agrees. “The call, it must be stronger now. Almost unbearable, if your experience is similar to mine.”

It was exactly the same as his experience, based on the incessant tug she felt deep down inside her. It almost felt like a physical pull, like someone had wrapped around her waist and was yanking with all its might, willing her to follow wherever it leads. Rey readily gives in to the tug, to the call, letting her feet take her to where she needs to be.

It’s here.

It’s here, and its been waiting for you.

She feels it, more than she sees it. A single, small shard whose energy pulsed through the room, standing out to her like a flashlight in the dark. Her pace quickens as she lays eyes on it, needing to get there faster. She can hear the slapping sounds of her own footsteps as she advanced towards it, hears the echoing footsteps of Kylo right behind her, as he promised.

“Is this it?” Kylo asks once she comes to a stop. Her eyes were focused on only the crystal in front of her. Nothing seemed more important in the Galaxy, at least not right here in this moment.

“This is it.”

No if, no ‘I think’, no buts. This was it. She just knew.

“What are you waiting for?” She could barely hear Kylo’s voice over the relentless whispering that filled her mind. “Take what’s yours.”

Rey reaches out a hand, pinching the tip of the crystal between her thumb and her forefinger. With a flick of her wrist, the crystal cracks, snapping off from the base of the shard. She pulls the crystal into her palm, wrapping her fingers so tightly around it that the sharp edges of the crystal bite into her soft skin, close to drawing blood.

Her mind raced with the possibilities, of what color the crystal would shift into. It had been colorless when she snapped it off, a rather cloudy pale white color, almost translucent. What color would it show to her? What of herself would the crystal reflect at her?

Rey closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to ready herself. Agonizingly slowly, Rey uncurls her fingers one by one, the crystal rocking lightly in her hands. She takes another deep breath, counts to three, and opens her eyes.

The crystal had broke in half.

Two pieces now sat in her hand. Moments ago, it had been one single crystal. She knew that. Felt it as she snapped it off.

But, that wasn’t all. That wasn’t the only thing that had caught her attention. It was the color of the crystal.

Red.

The crystal was undisputedly, glaringly, red.

Her stomach dropped to her feet, dread replacing the hole it’s lack of presence had created. This… This wasn’t possible, was it? She was sure of it. Kylo had told her as much, the crystals didn’t naturally turn red. It was a process, a draining, painful one at that. So why? Why had this happened? Why did she have to be the one for this phenomenon to occur for?

“Ben?” She whispers, his name coming out as more of a tremble. “Ben, I don’t understand, I didn’t think that-“

But when she turns to address him, he’s gone. Nothing but darkness exists in the place he had once been, seemingly vanishing from existence.

“Ben?” Rey calls out, her voice echoing back to her. “Ben!”

Panic is quick to take hold. She refused to believe he had just abandoned her. It just wasn’t possible. He had been by her side seconds ago, there was no way for him to have left as quickly as he did. Nothing made sense.

You went straight to the dark…

Rey whirled around, eyes desperately searching in the darkness for the source of the sound. Its cruel whispers bounced around the room, echoing its harsh words back to her.

It offered you something you needed. And you didn’t even try to stop yourself…

No….No, not this again.

I’ve seen this raw strength only once before in Ben Solo. It didn’t scare me then. It does now…

“Stop it…” Rey whispered, eyes wide in fear as she stumbled backward, her mind beginning to play tricks on her in the dark. “Just… Stop it…”

You think you can turn him? Pathetic child…

“Shut up!” Rey snaps at the irritating voices. “Bring everything back! Bring Ben back!”

The voice shifted once more, no longer the voice of her mentor, or the being that had once ruled the First Order. The darkness had granted her request, but not in the way she wanted.

And somehow, you convinced the droid to show it to you. You. A scavenger…

“This isn’t real…” Rey whispered to herself, her attempt to reassure herself not going as planned when her own voice whispers back, “How can you be sure?”

You had no place in this story. You come from nothing. You’re nothing…

I know that when the time comes, you’ll be the one to turn. You’ll stand with me, Rey.

“I won’t!” Rey wailed. This was just a test. That’s all it was. Then, why did it feel more than that? The crystal burned in her hand, a reminder of its presence, that of which she had somehow almost forgotten about amidst all this chaos. She tightens her grip around the crystal halves, the stinging pain of their jagged edges a grateful distraction. “I’ll never go down that way. I’ll never be tempted.”

“But words are easier than actions, are they not?”

It was her own voice again. Except, this time, it did not come from her own mind. No, she heard them spoken out loud, a dull tone that made her whole body shiver in disgust. And it was coming from right behind her.

The figure was shrouded in darkness, barely see-able due to the black garments it had draped itself in. A long, thick, dark cloak that pooled around their feet, clad in military-esque black boots. Black strips of fabric wrapped around the top of the boots, leading up and joining the equally black colored leggings. The thing that caught her attention the most was an all too familiar mask covering their face, the sight of the ragged blood red lines hitting her like a punch to the gut.

For a second, she almost whispered Ben’s name. After all, who else would wear such a mask, but the man who had hidden behind it for years? But, no… No, the figure was much too feminine to be him, too petite in size, too slender. And if the voice she had heard emitting from the figure has truly been her own, then…

Her worst fears are confirmed when the figure pulls the helmet off their head, that recognizable hiss of air sending a wave of nausea through her body. The most frightening thing about it all was, perhaps, that the face that was staring back at her had barely changed. Apart from the clothing, it seemed like she was just staring into a mirror. It was herself, and she seemed like herself.

“It had been one of his most brilliant ideas,” The other Rey stated, staring fondly down at the helmet in her hands. “ ‘The Mystery of Kylo Ren.’ The unstoppable being of raw power, that would bring the Galaxy to its knees with nothing more than the swing of saber, and the wave of a hand. One Kylo Ren was terrifying enough, but… What if there were more than one? One equally as strong with the Force, one that could complement his power with their own… What being would stand a chance against both of us?”

“No.” Rey denied, unable to stand the sound of her own voice, not when it was saying such words. “I would never agree to such a thing…”

“Oh, but we did,” The other her gloated. “And I was here, once. Just as you are now. And I said the same words that you did. And I believed them as much as you do right now. But things change. People change. And the more things changed, the more I learned… All of sudden, the words I once thought were from the ramblings of a tyrannical leader started to claim some truth to them.”

“Liar.”

“You can tell yourself what you want to believe. Try and change things as much as possible. But at the end of it all, you’ll stand here, just as I am now. The Force will call out to you, ask for your guidance to teach another. Teach you. And you will do it gladly. You will tell yourself to give in to that happiness. Of what you were missing all this time…”

“Tell me whatever you want. I won’t listen to a word of it. There is only one truth, one such power that can grant us a view into the possibilities the future may hold, and that is The Force. You are nothing more than a cheap trick to sway me. The Force may show me such possibilities, but I am the one that controls my own destiny.”

“Yes.” The other her agreed, much to Rey’s surprise. “You do control your own destiny. And that thing in your hand right there? That is the piece that leads you down this road, to becoming the person you see in front of you.”

The other her slowly placed a hand behind her back, yanking away a saber that had been cleverly hidden within a holder strapped to her back. She ignited the saber, revealing two fiery blades which, to her horror, were of the same ferocious energy as Kylo’s saber, the crackling red projecting across the sharp lines of dark her’s face.

“You take those crystal pieces from this place? It will always end up back here. Back in this saber in my hands. This will always be its place.”

“I won’t give in. Not to you, not to Kylo, not to the Dark. I will never become like you. I’ll make sure that never happens. No matter what it takes.”

The smirk on dark her’s face slipped away, lips curling in disgust at her past self.

“So be it.”

Dark Rey flicked the saber in her hand, the forceful movement pushing one saber down until it locked into place, forming a two-sided staff. A satisfied smile appeared on her face at the fear that washed over Rey’s face.

The crystal pieces in Rey’s hands began to burn ferociously, hot enough that she was tempted to drop it to the floor to relieve the searing pain. The burning spread across her hand, the crystal joining and becoming… Larger? It was morphing shape, tall enough that she could wrap her hands around it. It’s smooth surface had changed, the ridges she felt under her fingers very familiar. Rey pries her eyes away from her other self long enough to glance down at the crystal in her hands.

Only, it wasn’t a crystal anymore.

It was Kylo’s saber.

Rey wasted no time, flicking the ignition switch up to his saber. It did not emit the crimson blades she was used to, instead out came a pouring of blindingly bright white light. It retained its unstable, crackling energy, casting a flickering white light all around the cavern. It’s light lit up Dark Rey’s face, and this time it was her face that had constricted in fear, though she still retained that look of disgust, now directed at the saber in Rey’s hands.

“Abomination,” Dark Rey spat at her, her fear quickly morphing to fury. “Do not try to deceit me. Kylo would never do that to his saber. He would never do such a thing.”

Rey had no idea what the other her was babbling about, but clearly, it had disturbed her deeply. From what she could see, the only thing about the saber that had changed was its color, and she would confess she knew little about a sabers color, even more so, she had never even heard of a lightsaber turning white. This was not a new saber, it was very obviously Kylo’s one. She could never mistake it. So how had the crystal within changed color? And why did it upset the vision she was shown so much?

Rey doesn’t have much time to dwell on it, for the vision in front of her charges, lightsaber raised, ready to strike. Rey swings Kylo’s saber up in retaliation, placing a foot behind her to steady herself as Dark Rey’s saber clashes with Kylo’s. The force of the hit has Dark’s Rey’s saber sliding off to the side, to which she spins and aims a blow at Rey’s side. Rey just barely manages to aim Kylo’s saber down by her side in time to catch the hit, the hit nearly pushing Kylo’s saber into her own flesh. Rey kicks out her foot, landing squarely on Dark Rey’s chest. Dark Rey stumbles back with a pained grunt, though it quickly turns to amused laughter as she spins the saber-staff from her left hand to her right, taunting Rey with a wave of her hand, gesturing her closer.

Rey doesn’t rise to the bait.

‘Don’t strike first.’ A smooth voice filters through her head, wrapping its comforting presence around her mind. ‘Let her come to you.’

“How many years into the future are you?” Rey asks her future self as she begins stepping to the side, to which Dark Rey copies, the two slowly circling one another. “To think; You have all these years of dark side training over me, and yet, you can’t beat me.”

Dark Rey does rise to the bait.

She snarls, taking a few powerful pouncing steps towards her before she uses the force to launch herself into the air, aiming the end of her staff at Rey as she falls. Rey struggles with the weight of Kylo’s saber, sluggishly swinging it into the air and knocking the staff to the side before it can impale her. Dark Rey’s feet are centimeters from touching the ground, but before she can land, Rey throws out a hand, using the Force to push her away before she can attack once more. Dark Rey uses the Force to slow down her landing, feet skidding across the rocky floor as she slows to a stop, crouching low to the ground as she lands to take in the impact of the landing, her staff held tightly behind her back. In a flash, she’s back on her feet, the staff in her hand a blur of red and black as she takes repeated swipes in Rey's direction. Rey parries, mostly instinct and muscle memory fueling her movement as she reflects the hits. Rey pushed down the staff with Kylo’s saber, pushing it further and further down until it meets the floor. The floor hisses at the contact, rock slowly melting away as the tip of the staff is forced further and further down into the ground. Dark Rey pushes the other side of the staff towards Rey’s who flinches back enough to avoid the other end of the staff from spearing her face and lifts Kylo’s saber into the air, bringing it down hard onto her future self. Dark Rey throws out a hand, catching the saber mid-air. Rey’s arms shake with the effort as she tries to resist the force pushing up on her saber, and to her surprise, see’s that she’s winning the fight as the saber inches slowly downwards. Dark Rey unexpectedly releases hold of the saber, rolling away to the side to avoid the saber slicing through her.

Rey bends back up from the strike in time to see Dark Rey holding out a hand to the wall of the cave. A harsh rumble fills the air, the floor shakes, and then, a chunk of rock is ripped right out of the wall. It hovers menacingly in the air for only a moment before it’s sailing through the air, thrown in her direction.

‘Grab it!’

Rey flicks out a hand, calling out to the Force as she imagines physically swiping the rock away. The rock all but soars away to the side, slamming into the side of the cavern with such a forceful impact that the cavern begins shaking again. Then, there’s another chunk of rock flying towards her.

This time, she grabs it.

The rock floats in front of her, a few bits crumbling away to the floor at how hard she was ‘grabbing’ it. Instead of letting the rock fall to the floor, she lets her rage get the best of her, screaming in fury as she launches the rock back at her opponent. Dark Rey dives to the ground, the rock going sailing over her head. Rey advances towards Dark Rey, taking advantage of her opponent's weakened position on the ground. She twirls Kylo’s saber in her hand until it’s pointed downwards, pulling the saber across her body and striking slantways at Dark Rey. Dark Rey only just manages to get her staff up in time, but her grip on her weapon wasn’t strong enough, and the staff is wrenched from her hands, clinking across the floor and rolling away. Rey sneers at her future self as she watches her weapon disappear into the darkness of the cavern, raising Kylo’s saber until the tip was pointed down at her head, ready to bring it down.

‘DON’T!’

The voice was so deafeningly loud now, startling her enough that she took a few stumbled steps back. Her first few steps land on solid ground, her startled retreat pushing her further and further into the suffocating darkness of the cavern. It’s only once she’s fully surrounded by the darkness, barely able to see her future self still knelt frozen on the ground, head bowed in preparation for the killing blow that her next step meets nothing but air, and then she's falling, falling down into the deep, inky pit of nothingness.

She expects the intense pain of her body meeting the hard ground before she fades into oblivion. The world around her is still dark, and she can certainly feel the solid ground under her back and her legs, laid out across the floor. Except her head is cushioned on something soft, and she is very aware of the feeling of warm, calloused hands caressing the sides of her face.

Her eyes flutter open, escaping the all-consuming blackness she had slipped into. Her vision comes into clarity, focusing on the sight of Kylo’s face leaned over her, eyes closed and face twisted in pained concentration, the edges of the bandage on his head drenched in sweat. All of a sudden, his eyes snap open, and they immediately drift down to her face. The relief on his face upon seeing her awake was palpable. He tilted his back slightly, blowing out a puff of air as he closed his eyes once more.

He looked immensely tired.

“What…” Rey gets out blearily, feeling like she had just been flattened by a speeder. A pained groan escaped her lips as she bent forward, pushing down the heat rising to her cheeks at the realization her head had been resting in Kylo’s lap. “What happened?”

“You dropped the second you touched your crystal,” Kylo answered, not moving from his knelt position on the floor. “I managed to catch you before you hit the floor.”

“Does that always happen? When you touch your crystal for the first time?”

“Not to me. I tried to wake you, but nothing was working. I had to enter your mind to find out what was happening.”

Something unpleasant coiled in Rey’s stomach at that. She had experienced Kylo searching through her mind without her permission once before. The thought of someone so easily being able to sift through her thoughts, to take whatever they want from her… It unsettled her, to say the least. Kylo seemed to sense that, the closest thing to shame she think’s she’ll ever see from him flittering across his face.

Then, it clicks in her mind. That voice. It had been so familiar, so comforting… How had she not recognized it?

“It was you, wasn’t it? The voice I heard, that was you?”

“I wasn’t sure what state you were trapped in,” Kylo answered. “I didn’t want to find out what happens if you were to lose to her.”

“That other me, she… She said I’d turn out like her if I took this crystal.”

“I heard.”

“She’s wrong.”

Kylo raised an eyebrow at her.

“You don’t sound all that confident in that.” Kylo challenged her.

The most irritating part was that he was right. All of her decisions since she had discovered her connection with the Force had been fueled by the visions the Force had shown her. The way her opinion had changed of Luke once Kylo had shown her a vision of the past, of the night Master Skywalker had considered taking his life. How that in itself had only added fuel to the fire when Kylo had reached his hand to her across the burning fire of her hut, of the agonizingly beautiful future of Ben Solo the Force had shown her the second her fingers had brushed against his, only reinforcing her decision to drop everything and go to him, to ensure that vision would become reality.

And now, her future apparently lied in the crystal she held in her hands.

They both looked down to her hand that held the crystal, her fingers clenched so tight that her knuckles were turning a milky white, straining against the thin layer of skin covering her hand. Kylo’s gaze briefly shifted up to her face; seeing the trepidation there, the hesitation to truly gaze upon the crystal for the first time.

“We can’t just sit here and stare at your hand forever,” Kylo said gently, placing his hand over hers, her small hand engulfed in his. “I’m here every step of the way, remember? We can do this together.”

Ever so delicately, Kylo tugged at her fingers. Her fingers followed the movement, uncurling under his hand. Now there was nothing blocking the crystal from the light of day but Kylo’s own hand over hers.

“Together?” Kylo said in a questioning tone, ducking his head down to meet her gaze. He wouldn’t remove his hand until she was sure she was ready.

“Together.”

Kylo’s hand slowly slipped away from her own. Rey gasped sharply at the sight of the crystal. Even Kylo took in a sharp breath as he laid eyes on the crystal. The crystal was not a deep red as the vision had shown her. It was a wonderful, shining gold crystal nestled safely in the palm of her hands. Rey looked up to Kylo, who had a similar look of astonishment on his face.

If she were to guess, that meant this didn’t happen all that often.

Right now though, she didn’t care what it meant. All she cared about was the crystal was whole, in one piece. Not cracked into two pieces as her vision had shown. It was not red, at least, not now. The vision had been wrong, and she had never felt so thankful for such a realization.

“Well, you got one thing right,” Rey said, glancing up to Kylo’s curious face with a tired laugh. “This is certainly something I’ll never forget.”

Link to Chapter 6

#reylo #reylo fanfic #reylo fanfiction #kylo ren/rey #ben solo/rey #reylo au

[whatstheproblembaby]

Fic: Triptych

@klaineharmony requested I do Javetherine Halloween fic, and when I got this idea, I couldn’t NOT. ~1380 words, PG-13 for cussing but not content.

“This is absolutely the hardest part of being in a poly relationship,” Kath said, flopping backwards onto the mattress.

The exhausted sigh she let out turned into a yelp midway through as Jack poked her in the ribs.

“This? This is the hardest part?” he said, plopping down by her right side. “We’ve told all of our parents what our relationship status was. In the middle of your family’s formal Thanksgiving dinner, no less.”

“We’ve figured out how to get all three of us to sleep comfortably in one bed,” Davey added on from where he was leaning against their dresser. “I landed on the floor so many times….”

“We’ve had full-on conversations about making sure we all feel like equal participants in this relationship, regardless of who gets to spend more time with whom,” Jack said, rubbing Kath’s thigh.

“You used ‘whom’ correctly,” Davey said. “I may swoon.”

He threw his head back and fanned himself dramatically, pretending to slump toward the floor. Kath reached up to the head of the bed, grabbed a throw pillow, and chucked it at him.

“Hey!”

“You two aren’t funny,” Kath grumbled as she sat up. “Yes, okay, technically there are harder things to coordinate in a poly relationship. But we’ve been trying to figure out a group Halloween costume for like three hours now, and we’ve gotten nowhere!”

“If you would just go with my first suggestion-”

“We are not going as Luke, Han, and Leia, Cowboy!” Kath said. “I know no one else is gonna think twice about it, but I literally wouldn’t be able to kiss Davey if he was dressed as my twin brother.”

“Oh, I’m sure one of our weird-ass friends would have a lot of questions if we went as a trio where two of the members are siblings,” Davey said, coming to sit on Kath’s other side. “Remember trying to watch Cars with Smalls?”

“I repressed everything after she started asking where baby cars come from in that universe,” Kath said as Jack shuddered. “Please don’t try to unearth those memories.”

“That’s a low blow, Dave. Fine, the Star Wars idea is out.”

“As are Cosmo, Wanda, and Timmy, for similar reasons,” Davey said.

“Someday I’ll find an excuse to dye my hair pink,” Kath said, sighing again.

“So...what do we do?” Jack asked.

The bedroom was quiet for a moment until Davey spoke up.

“Should we just not coordinate?”

“Are people in romantic relationships even allowed to do that?” Jack teased. “How will the general public know we’re all together?”

“Given that you can’t go a block without putting your hand in both Davey’s and my back pockets, I’m not too worried,” Kath said, making Davey snort.

“And since when have we ever been like most people in romantic relationships?” he asked. “Then we’d have to do something horrific like a plug and socket costume.”

“Wouldn’t it be a plug, socket, and metal fork, since there’s three of us?”

Jack guffawed as Davey pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can’t believe that’s where your brain went first.”

“I see your point, Dave,” Jack said once he’d stopped laughing. “We’re definitely not like anyone else.”

“So let’s do our own things,” Kath said, growing excited by Davey’s suggestion. “We’re not likely to accidentally promote incest or pedophilia that way, that’s for sure.”

“And you could still be Han Solo if you wanted,” Davey said. “It’s not like you need Luke and Leia for him to be recognizable.”

“The both of you are very persuasive, do you know that?”

“Oh, we’re well aware,” Kath said, nestling into Davey’s side. “How else would we be able to get you to stop painting and eat dinner with us when you’re in the zone?”

“You-”

“There’s no stopping us, Jackie,” Davey said, pulling Kath closer. “We’re a force of nature.”

Jack gaped for a minute before saying, “You were wrong, Ace. The hardest part of being in a poly relationship is realizing how whipped you are by your partners.”

“You love it,” Kath said, reaching out and taking his hand.

“Never said I didn’t.”

_________________

“Almost ready?” Jack yelled from the living room. The three of them had decided to surprise each other with their costumes before heading out to Medda’s annual Halloween bash, so he had had to get dressed at work in order to not spoil anything.

“Just a sec!” Kath called back, hearing a similar response from Davey in the bedroom. She peered in the bathroom mirror, adjusting her wig and adding one more bobby pin before stepping back to get as full a view as she could.

“Good job, Katherine,” she muttered to herself as she took in her black pleated skirt, gray sweater, and red-and-gold striped tie. The frizzy wig completed her Hermione costume perfectly, and would be much easier to deal with at the end of the night than if she’d ratted her natural hair. She grabbed her black robe off the hook on the bathroom door and swung it on as she wandered down the hall to the living room, her attention focused on getting the fastener to close right.

When she looked up and saw her partners, she started laughing so hard that she was brought to tears.

“You’re fucking kidding me,” she gasped between spurts of giggles.

“No one’s ever going to believe we didn’t plan this,” Davey choked out, holding his stomach to support his own laughter. His red wig bobbled on his head.

“If I didn’t think we were meant for each other before, this seals it,” Jack said, pulling off his round, lensless glasses to wipe his eyes. “Jesus.”

Katherine let out one last whoop of joy before pulling herself together enough to take in Jack’s and Davey’s costumes. The clothes weren’t much different from her own - gray sweaters, black slacks, and red-and-gold ties, though Jack’s was tied neater than Davey’s. Jack also had a lightning scar painted on his forehead, while Davey had added a blue sweatband to his look to keep his wig anchored.

“Going for the deep cut, I see,” Kath said, pointing at Davey.

“If it was good enough for the Starkids…,” Davey said with a shrug. “Now all I need is a Nerf sword.”

“Oh, I’m sure we can find one somewhere,” Jack said. “But seriously - after all our discussion of the Golden Trio as being too cliche for a group costume, we somehow decided individually to be them?”

“I never actually went as Hermione as a kid!” Kath said, a little defensively. “I figured I may as well make up for that now.”

“Ron deserves more appreciation,” Davey said vehemently. “Every kid wants to go as Harry or Hermione, usually, but they wouldn’t have made it through the seventh book without Ron!”

“Easy, Dave, none of us are disagreeing with you,” Jack said, holding up a placating hand. “And I figured I had the tie and sweater already - may as well just go with it.”

“Well, I’m glad you did,” Kath said. “Davey and I would look pretty silly if we showed up like this while you were dressed as Chewbacca or something.”

“You mean to tell me you wouldn’t force me to change if you two were dressed like this and I showed up in something completely different?”

“She might not, but I would,” Davey said, making Kath start laughing again. “I wouldn’t be able to handle the incohesiveness of the narrative.”

“Only an English teacher would say that,” Jack grumbled. “You’re such a stereotype, Davey.”

“Wrong: I’m a wizard,” Davey said. “And I will absolutely hex your ass if we’re late to Medda’s party and they drink all the apple cider sangria without us.”

Kath gasped. “The sangria!”

“Let’s go, then!” Jack said, gesturing toward the door dramatically. “God forbid I stand in the way of you two and your sangria.”

“Hey,” Kath said, situating herself between Jack and Davey as they headed out the door. “Happy Halloween, Harry and Ron. There’s no one else I’d rather go on a world-saving extended camping trip with.”

She pressed kisses to both of their cheeks, and her boys each wrapped an arm around her waist in return. Much as she loved that apple cider sangria, this moment was the best treat of her Halloween.

#newsies #jack kelly #davey jacobs #katherine plumber #jen does words #g: fluff

[anne-wentworth]

Something About Her

Chapter 5- This is Halloween 

Donna drags Harvey to a Halloween party.

Read on ao3

Chapter 1 2 3 and 4

One of the many things that Harvey had learned about Donna Paulsen was that she loved Halloween.

He wasn’t surprised because of...well her entire personality.

However, he wasn’t much of a fan of the holiday himself.

Donna was absolutely mortified when she found out.

“First Shakespeare now Halloween? Why am I even friends with you?” she had asked exasperatedly.

“Because of my good looks and charm,” Harvey grinned, to which Donna responded with a very undignified snort.

But because she was Donna and he was Harvey he let her convince him to go with her to some Halloween party that a friend of a friend was hosting.

Another thing he had learned about her was that she had a lot of friends.

His own friend, Jared, had laughed mercilessly at him when Harvey complained about the party during class.

“God you’re so fucked.”

Harvey hadn’t even bothered to respond because there was nothing he could say.

He was fucked.

Yet, he didn’t really care. He knew that he would happily follow Donna anywhere if she asked but it didn’t bother him one bit. After all, she was worth it.

“God you’re such a nerd,” was first thing Donna said upon laying eyes on his Han Solo getup as she opened the door.

Harvey felt every ounce of oxygen leave his body as he took in Donna in her black dress and red lipstick. Her hair was in an updo, showing off the perfect angles of her face and allowing the light to hit the glittering earrings she wore. Audrey Hepburn couldn’t have done it better herself.

“You’re a theatre kid,” he countered as soon as he found his tongue.

Donna glared at him so hard he was surprised he didn’t drop dead.

With a huff, she turned on her heel after loudly shutting the door and began walking away from her dorm, as well as him.

“Oh come on!” Harvey called out as he chased after her. “I’m sorry!”

Donna ignored him, continuing to walk at a pace that should not be possible for someone wearing heels.

“Please forgive me,” he implored, shooting her his most innocent smile.

With a sigh, she stopped, turning to face him.

“You know that Specter charm you’re always talking about is non-existent right?”

“No you’re just Donna and it doesn’t work on you because you’re a superior human being.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” Donna said as she poked his chest, the corners of her mouth quirking up.

“I know,” Harvey replied with a smirk of his own.

“You’re such an idiot.”

“You’re friends with an idiot.”

“You’re my idiot,” she said and his heart jumped out of his goddamn chest.

“Come on let’s go,” Donna added as she began walking again.

Harvey followed her with a spring in his step and a grin on his face that remained for the entirety of their journey.

Leaning against a wall, Harvey watched Donna swaying on the makeshift dance floor with a few friends as the latest Taylor Swift single blasted in the background.

She had tried to convince him to join her but he claimed that him dancing was something no one ever needed to witness. For the moment she let him be but he knew she would soon return with those pleading eyes and eventually he’d relent.

“Never thought I’d see you here.”

Harvey turned in the direction of the familiar voice and found himself staring at Poison Ivy.

“I could say the same thing,” he replied.

Sara hated Halloween more than anyone he knew.

“My girlfriend dragged me,” she nodded towards a blonde dressed as Harley Quinn who was talking to a guy in a french fry costume.

Harvey had to give him points for originality.

“What brings you here? Or should I say who?” she asked.

He pointed at Donna who was laughing loudly at something and a smile automatically graced his features.

“She’s just a friend though,” he said.

“Oh please,” Sara scoffed. “You’ve been staring at her like a creep for the past twenty minutes. If she’s just a friend then I’m Beyoncé.”

“You know if you paid this much attention in class I wouldn’t have kicked your ass at our last mock trial,” Harvey stated.

He couldn’t exactly deny that he hadn’t been staring at Donna but it hadn’t been for twenty whole minutes.

“Don’t insult me just to change the topic. Also the next time that we go up against each other I’m going to wipe the floor with your sorry ass.”

“You keep telling yourself that.”

“Fuck off Harvey.”

It crossed his mind then that he should introduce Sara to Donna. Something told him that they would get along great.

He flashed her a smile in response and she flipped him off before stalking off towards her girlfriend.

Turning his attention back towards the dance floor, he caught sight of a guy in a shitty vampire costume with a grip on Donna’s arm.

Richard.

Filled with curiosity after Donna had stumbled into his room, Harvey did a little research. And even with fake blood smeared all over his face, Harvey was able to recognize her ex.

Donna’s eyes were filled with fire as she stared him down.

Without even thinking, Harvey began making his way towards them, anger quickly coursing through his veins.

“Let me go,” Donna’s voice was dangerously low.

“I just want to talk,” Richard slurred.

“She said let her go,” Harvey stated venomously as he planted himself next to the pair.

Moving to look at Harvey, a grin spread across Richard’s face. He dropped Donna’s arm and held up his own hands in front of him in a gesture of mock surrender.

“Sorry man,” he said. “Didn’t realise she was yours now.”

Richard then looked at Donna before directing his question at her.

“So Donna, aren’t you gonna introduce me to the newest guy you’re fucking?”

Harvey was aware of Donna’s hand balled up at her side and he was pretty sure she was going to punch him.

He wanted her to punch him.

However, before he knew what was happening, his own first was colliding with her ex boyfriend’s face. Time seemed to slow down as he watched the asshole fall to the floor, real blood spurting from his nose.

Every pair of eyes in the room was suddenly glued to the three of them.

“I’m Harvey Specter,” he announced, looking down at the drunken heap who was struggling to simply sit up.

Even with the music playing, the entire room would be able to hear a pin drop. Everyone had stopped what they were doing to get a full view of the show.

“Want to get out of here?” Harvey asked softly as he switched his focus back to Donna.

He would never admit it but the multitude of attention unnerved him a bit.

“Yes,” she breathed, clasping her hand in his.

Just like that, everything was okay again.

So they quickly made their escape, fingers entwined as they ignored the stares and whispers that followed their every move because no one else mattered but them.

It wasn’t long before they found themselves in the middle of campus, a chilly autumn wind whipping their skin as the moonlight blanketed them.

“Okay that was awesome,” Donna spoke after a while. “But I gotta admit I’m a little pissed that you punched him before I could.”

A burst of laughter escaped from within Harvey.

“I’m sorry for stealing your moment,” he apologized.

“It’s okay,” she sighed. “Like I said, it was awesome so I can’t be too mad.”

Harvey smiled in response as they made their way over to one of the benches nearby.

As soon as they were sitting, Donna began pulling out all of the clips buried in her hair, letting her auburn waves tumble down her shoulders. She deposited the million bobby pins into her purse, all the while grumbling about how that damn hairstyle was giving her a headache.

“How’s your hand?” Donna inquired suddenly.

“It’s fine,” he answered.

She shot him a look before gently tugging at his wrist to bring his hand on her lap. A frown settled on her features as she took in the slightly purple bruises that were already beginning to form at his knuckles.

“It really is fine,” he said softly. “It’s not the first time I’ve punched someone.”

Donna’s eyebrows shot up.

“Care to elaborate?”

“I’ve just been in a few fights in high school,” Harvey explained. “Besides I box so there’s that.”

“You box?” she asked almost incredulously. “How did I not know that?”

“Well I haven’t in a while,” he shrugged. “I don’t usually have a lot of time once the semester picks up and school starts kicking my ass.”

“Huh.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Donna,” Harvey said as he stared at her.

“It’s kinda hot,” she eventually mumbled and Harvey blinked because he didn’t follow.

“The boxing thing,” she added.

“Really?”

This time it was his turn to raise his eyebrows.

Donna nodded.

“Huh.”

“No other girl’s ever told you that?” she asked, a trace of amusement in her tone. “I’m pretty sure it’s a universal thing.”

“It’s not exactly something that comes up in a lot of conversations,” he replied drily.

“Well now you know.”

Harvey didn’t tell her that the only girl he wanted to impress was her.

“Are you okay?” he asked abruptly. “I mean the whole Richard thing...”

As usual, he trailed off, unsure of exactly what he wanted to say. No one made him tongue tied like Donna Paulsen.

“I’m fine,” she said firmly. “He’s just kind of a jerk when he drinks. Well more so than usual.”

The frown that settled on her expression made Harvey want to find the piece of shit in question and hit him again.

“I always knew he was asshole,” she stated quietly, more to herself than him. “But he was nice to me. And because I’m stupid I fell for him. Until one day he wasn’t so nice anymore.”

“You’re not stupid,” Harvey objected.

Donna gave him a doubtful look in return.

“You’re not.”

Silence filled the space around them before she spoke again.

“He taught me that I should fall in love with someone who’s nice to everyone. At least I learned something.”

She shrugged, trying to keep her voice light but Harvey could see the hint of sadness in her eyes.

Suddenly, he rose from his seat to stand in front of her, holding out his hand.

“What are you doing?” she asked in confusion.

“We never got a chance to dance back at the party,” he answered.

“You were one who turned me down.”

“I didn’t feel like making a fool of myself in front of everyone,” he defended himself.

“And now?”

“You already know I’m a fool.”

Donna laughed in agreement before accepting his outstretched hand.

He pulled her towards him, his heart beating a thousand miles per second in his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she threw hers around his neck and the whole world stood still.

“You know this isn’t the kind of dancing that was going on at the party. And there isn’t any music-”

“Shh,” Harvey interrupted.

“Did you just shush me?”

“Mhm.”

She shot him one of her threatening looks and he flashed her a smile in reply.

“This is the cheesiest thing I’ve ever done,” she said.

“You really know how to ruin a moment don’t you?”

“Excuse you. I make moments.”

“You’re not making this one,” he quipped.

Donna huffed, filling him with amusement.

All of a sudden, she rested her head on his shoulder as her arms tightened around his neck.

Everything in him stilled.

His eyes fell shut as he buried his nose in her hair, inhaling the scent of her flowery shampoo.

This was the cheesiest thing he had ever done too.

He had become a total fucking sap but he didn’t mind at all.

Donna and Harvey swayed to the sound of the leaves rustling in the breeze as the sky looked down on them and the stars eavesdropped on their heartbeats.

It had never been easier for him to breathe.

Everything around them faded away as he lost himself in this moment.

He dreaded when it would end and they would need to say goodnight and part ways.

But for now, they existed. They were light and laughter and everything that was good in the world.

In that instant, they were perfect.

#darvey #darvey fanfiction #darvey fic #darvey au #donna x harvey #mine