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acourtofsnakes · 3 years

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Jetii'kad - Rogue, Chapter 22| The Mandalorian x Force Sensitive! Reader

GIF by @di-kut

Summary: Your training with Ahsoka moves on to new, exciting levels and a comms call with Din threatens to shatter the peace of the last few weeks.

Warnings: Not too many in this actually. Swearing - I don’t think there is, but I’ll pop it on just in case, injury, falling, me making things up about Jedi training

Word Count: 5k+

A/N: Oh, dear.

Rogue| The Mandalorian x Force Sensitive! Reader (f) Taglist: @snipskixandbeskar @weirdowithnobeardo @the-bottom-of-the-abyss @jackgrzs @sarahjkl82-blog @boomtownboy @goldielocks2004 @seninjakitey @what-iwish-you-knew @queenofthefaceless @rosiefridayrogersunday @greeneyedblondie44 @itsnottilly @welcometothepedroverse @xgoldenjenny @mamacitapascal @heyitsjaybird @amyk-37 @greatcircle79

Permanent Taglist: @greeneyedblondie44 @mamacitapascal @mypedrom @undiscovered-misunderstood @kaylee-krystal

Mando’a Translation: Jetii’kad - Lightsaber; Literally: Sword of the Jedi

Another couple of weeks had passed, and things were still going incredibly well.

You were flying through your training, and Ahsoka was continually impressed with you. There were still days where your past threatened to choke you, but Ahsoka was there to help you work it through.

Din had taken to going on small hints that took him away for a few days at a time. He was comfortable and satisfied that the pair of you and the kids were safe here - and happy.

Ahsoka had previously had some trouble with the town, but that had been resolved now and she still chose to reside here on Corvus peacefully whilst looking for things herself.

So, Din had gone off after getting a comms message from Greef about some small bounty missions.

He’d been uncharacteristically like a mother hen the first time he left. You’d had to practically throw him in the Crest and send it into the sky yourself. He’d also checked in every night and morning, making sure everyone was okay and you weren’t pushing yourself too hard.

It didn’t bother you, his worrying or checking in. If anything, it just filled you with a blissfully sweet warmth that wrapped around your heart and soul.

You hadn’t had anyone do such things in… far longer than you could remember.

And maybe because you were equally as worried about him.

Oh, to be in love.

You did miss him when he was gone, there was no denying that.

He had been by your side almost every single day since he picked you up on Sorgan, and to not have him there was a bit of a shock. You found yourself turning around to say something to him... only he wasn’t there. It wasn’t just the conversation either, it was the little things.

Like the brush of his hand over your lower back or hand, his shoulder bumping against yours as you walked, him flanking you like a broad, metallic guard.

Even just the sound of his laughter or the soft clink of beskar as he moved.

It felt like he had taken a limb with him, leaving you unbalanced and off-centre.

Although had you been truly on your own, it would have been a hell of a lot worse. But there were a few things in particular that made it easier. Training, the kids and Ahsoka of course, but mainly... the next thing you had moved onto.

Lightsaber training.

You hadn’t expected to even get near the training sabers - poles of the same size and near weight of lightsabers, used to get acquainted with the momentum and movements - for months. But Ahsoka had informed you a couple days ago that she truly believed you were ready so soon. Like you were born for this.

You were ecstatic, beside yourself with glee when you told Din over your comms call that night that you’d be starting. The man had been so proud of you, complimenting you the whole call until the praise turned his voice to a lower pitch, that honey rasp that heated your blood and your call had turned into a very different kind of praise and reward until the early hours of the morning.

All the stars above, this man would be the death of you one day.

Ahsoka had pretended not to notice the lingering flush on your cheeks the next morning as she set you to work with the poles, explaining the basics of grip and balance.

At first, you were rather clumsy. Your weapons of choice were either a bow, daggers or long knives. At the most, you’d sometimes practised with Din’s beskar spear, but a saber would be a length between your longest knife and Din’s spear.

Hence why you spent the first day with the training pole slipping out of your hands, nearly taking off your foot at one point.

However, you kept going, determined to prove that Ahsoka’s pride and instincts about you hadn’t been wrong.

That your own steadily growing belief in yourself hadn’t been wrong either.

After your nightly calls with Din, you took yourself off to the edge of the clearing, practicing your saber movements.

You worked through the drills Ahsoka gave you in the day, spinning and whirling until you could move across the floor of the clearing silently, whipping the training pole through the air like an extension of your arm.

You knew a real one would take more practice, more care and precision but this was a good start – you were proud of yourself, actually.

There was only one thing bothering you and you hadn’t told Din or Ahsoka.

See, there was this… feeling inside you. A small, swirling darkness that sat in your chest.

It wasn’t the same as the heavy cloud that sometimes lowered over your mood and mind… No, this was a different kind of darkness.

This darkness yearned for… destruction. Devastation.

To bring down pain and fury on all of those that hurt you. To tear apart their lives the way yours had been torn. But not just your life, but the people that had hurt Din and Grogu.

Those who had made Ahsoka choose to banish herself.

And it scared you because, well… you had wanted those things for a long, long time. From back when your powers were once again dormant, and you often hesitated between knocking a hunter out – or killing them. And when that dark cloud had first emerged, it gave you the power to butcher those who dared come after you.

That was the first time your bounty price has risen. Word got out that you were taking down elite members of the Guild, Stormtroopers, high ranking noble fighters from far off planets.

The scared little girl with no family had given way to a deadly assassin who would strike with the speed of a serpent and had the venom of one too.

That same version of yourself often walked in your dreams, and lately, you felt her lingering at the shadows around your peripheral. She had risen from her long slumber, triggered perhaps by the understanding of Haran’s words, back when he had kidnapped you.

This assassin… she would recognise the horrors he had committed, the monster that prowled in his skin but… she would understand. Because the same monster prowled beneath her own skin.

Two kindred spirits who’s lives had been torn apart by monsters who refused to understand.

And last night… last night you’d awoken from a dream-like state, only to find yourself nearly a mile from the camp.

As if you were going for that hunt right away.

You’d been shaken, that lingering craving for destruction still sitting heavy in your chest as you hurried back to camp.

No.

You couldn’t tell the others at all.

“So, are you ready to move onto the next stage of your training today?” Ahsoka faced you across the clearing you often practiced in, the strange, murky haze shifting today to something closely resembling sunlight.

You nodded, trying not to look too eager as you watched her, limbs already loosened up and warmed, ready to go. “Ready.”

Ahsoka smiled a little at your eagerness, her hands clasped behind her back, “Now, this is usually something that Jedi get trained to do near the end of their learning. After they’ve mastered the essentials of the Force, honed them to use in everyday life and in battle, they have to learn the theory and history of this next part. Then extensive training and only after they’ve proved with the practice weapons that they won’t take off someone’s leg or their own arm, then they are simply just considered for this next phase.”

You began to read where she was going with this, and you had to bite your lip to contain the squeal of excitement that threatened to burst forth from your chest.

She knew this, of course.

“But, you’ve risen up through the training quicker than even I thought. And with the life you lead… I don’t see why you aren’t ready.” She moved her arms from behind her, holding out her hand.

She was holding out a tube.

A sleek, silver tube that was ever so slightly curved… it was one of her own.

She was going to let you train with one of her own lightsabers.

Your head snapped up to look at her as your breathing caught in your throat, “Ashoka… This is… I can’t use this. What if I break it?” You gripped your own elbows, forcing your hands not to be all grabby and reach for it like they so desperately yearned to.

Ahsoka chucked softly despite herself, “What did I teach you?” She still held out the saber, the hazy sun glinting off of the metal.

You thought back to all your lessons, but already knew where she was going with this, “Never doubt my Master.”

She raised an eyebrow, wiggling the tube almost teasingly, “And?”

You puffed out a breath through your cheeks, rolling your eyes, “Never doubt myself.” You shot her a look, all playful, friendly bantering… because she was right.

She grinned beautifully, a rare sight, “See. I wouldn’t let you touch this if I didn’t think you were ready. Or trust you.” Her expression softened, “You have nothing to fear from yourself, Padawan.” She used the name affectionately, remembering it from her own times of being young and unsure, eager to prove herself.

You studied her face, reading the confidence there, the understanding, and you thought of the belief in yourself that had been regrowing for a while now. Almost immediately, your shoulders relaxed, and you let go of your arms, instead reaching out for the saber. You hesitated for a brief moment, but then took it, holding it carefully and bringing it back toward your body.

As soon as you touched it, you could have sworn it thrummed with energy, a gentle pulse that sung through your blood and veins and spoke to you. It made you feel immediately… whole. Settled.

This had been what you were missing.

Ahsoka watched you, studying the was your face softened, the light growing in your eyes. Your stance had changed too, more balanced and self-assured. “Activate it.”

You looked up at her, holding your breath for a moment and you lifted the saber, taking a second to think.

All your life… had been leading to this moment, really.

As soon as you activated this saber, you were stepping into the role that had been in your blood, always. Not a Jedi, but something different.

Entirely unique.

Every trauma you had gone through, every wave of pain as you tried to restrain your true self. The stigma and fear, the admiration from those that believed and chose to help you… even if it had ended up in their own demise, despite your best efforts.

This all flashed through your mind quickly, before it cleared. Emptying of everything but the cool, flowing feeling of the Force and so, you shifted your thumb and activated it.

Glowing, white energy burst upward as the crystal was activated, pushing away the murky haze and filling the small area around you with that pure light.

Beautiful, radiant… true.

Ahsoka Tano smiled more, activating her remaining lightsaber with that pulsing hum, “And now we begin.”

The moon shone high in the murky sky, casting everything with a milky glow as you settled into your tree of choice.

It was your nightly call to Din, and you often called him whilst perched in one of the more substantial trees, so as to not disturb Ahsoka with the noise. You knew she fell asleep late and rose early, but you still wanted to be polite.

It was also more to make sure Grogu didn’t wake up – he was a little monster for not going back to sleep again. Din called in the day sometimes, to speak to Grogu but the nights… they were just for the two of you.

You watched the hologram display, which told you the call was patching through.

Your model of the comms watch didn’t allow for video calls, but its sound quality was crystal clear, almost as if you were standing right next to Din.

You almost hadn’t been able to wait for your call tonight, to tell him all about your day learning.

The training had gone… really, really well.

Ahsoka had shown you the basics of handling the saber so you wouldn’t slice through your toes, how to move with the glowing beacon of energy and use it most effectively.

It was different to the training spears, but it was a concept you grasped quickly.

Your past training and skill in combat came in useful, for you were already light and nimble on your feet.

The pair of you had trained over and over, until you were both dancing across the clearing, spinning and leaping around each other, aided by the Force and lighter than the air itself.

It was a spectacular light show for the kids, who were cheering – or meowing – in delight throughout the whole thing.

And, at the end, when you were both panting and a little flushed, Ahsoka had dropped to a knee in front of you, inclining her head in a soft bow, “It’s an honour to fight with you, and teach you.”

Ahsoka Tano… praising you. Feeling honoured by you.

By the Maker and all the stars above, you still couldn’t get over that.

There was more to learn, much more, but Ahsoka had been so impressed, she promised a day off tomorrow where the four of you would explore some of the rare, beautiful spots on the planet.

You had so much to tell Din.

It took Din little longer than usual for him to answer, but you put that down simply to the distance between you, and the storm that Ahsoka said was going to roll in soon.

A few minutes later, the ringing tone pinged, and Din’s voice filled the air, “Hey, sweetheart.”

Those two simple words, the gentle rasp of them that was all honey and roughness just instantly soothed your very soul. It caressed over your body, much like Din’s hands, and you let out a soft sigh, your chest loosening, “Hey, Din… How are you?”

There was a lot of wind his end, rushing through the mic but then it stopped, like he’d turned a different way, “I’m okay, tired. But better hearing your voice.”

Sweet-talker.

You grinned to yourself, tilting back your head, “Oh, yeah? Why’s that?” Your leg swung lazily from the branch, a picture of relaxation now that you were talking to your love.

Din grunted, the wind suddenly roaring through the line again, blocking out whatever he was saying to you.

You frowned, wincing as the gust made the line all staticky, “Din, what are you doing? It sounds like you’re on the back of one of those reptavian from Nevarro.” However, the hairs on the back of your neck stood up, a sense telling you that you weren’t going to like whatever came next.

There were a few moments hesitation, and you could almost hear Din wishing the ground – or maybe air – would swallow him whole, “Um…”

Oh.

You really weren’t going to like this.

Dread coiled with apprehension in your belly, a tight feeling creeping along your skin, “Um? What do you mean, um? Tell me, Din.” There was a sharpness to your tone, one that he knew well.

It was a ‘don’t you dare lie to me’ tone.

A very soft noise over the wind and Din started to speak, but then was cut off by a burst of rapid, loud fire.

Blaster fire.

He was being shot at.

Your heart nearly dropped through your stomach, and you had to grab hold of the tree branch so you didn’t fall out. A light trembling shook your hands, but your voice was still steady, “Din Djarin, was that blaster fire?!”

It sounded like Din seemingly retaliated, because then his voice came back, “Okay… Okay, promise me you won’t get mad.” There was a pleading note to his words, but it seemed like he was cringing, waiting for the blow up.

“Too late.” You hissed those two words through gritted teeth, heart pounding with fear in your chest. “If you keep avoiding my questions, it’s going to get a whole lot worse.”

Din sucked in a breath, and then let it out all in a rush, “I’m at an Imperial base.”

Silence from you.

So quiet, Din would have been able to hear the owls in the trees. Maybe even the fire crackling down below.

The words echoed around in your mind slowly, unfolding and repeating.

He had to be joking. Din wouldn’t be that reckless.

“Sweetheart…?” Din was hesitant, worried by your silence, when he’d been expected fire - and shouting.

You closed your eyes, more to rein in your impending anger, to give you something to focus on, so that your voice remained quiet when you spoke, “And what, might I ask, are you doing at an Imperial base?”

He audibly swallowed, still grunting and seemingly dodging the shots being fired at him from Stormtroopers, “Well, I was on a hunt and I found talk of an Imp base nearby causing trouble in the town. I asked what it was and…” He hesitated for a second before realising that might simultaneously worry you and make you even more mad “And the townspeople told me they were looking for someone. Someone with a huge bounty… a girl.”

It was like someone poured ice water over your body.

There was a whole Imp base… looking for you?

Sure, a few Stormtroopers had come after you before, and then those ones that had ambushed you before Haran showed up but... a whole base…

Don’t think about that though. That’s secondary.

“Okay… And what, they sold you out to the Imps? Told them you were hunting nearby?” Maybe you had jumped to conclusions a little quickly.

Of course Din wouldn’t have gone to a base and ambushed it. If the townspeople wanted to stop the trouble, maybe they thought giving information to the Imps would be a good idea. It would make sense. Plenty of people had sold you out the very same way to save themselves, and you hadn’t been able to blame them.

More blaster fire, but it was a little further away this time. It still didn’t stop you flinching with each shot, waiting for the inevitable grunt of pain from Din.

“Uhm… not exactly. I… asked Cara and a few old friends to help me. We… infiltrated it and tried to find the information they had on you, but they realised who we were.” Din’s voice was halted, stumbling over the word ‘infiltrated’. It was choked somehow, as if was grappling with retelling you the story.

Something had happened in there… And then it occurred to you.

If they infiltrated the base… Din wouldn’t have bene able to waltz in there with his beskar armour on.

He would have to have blended in.

Which meant… he took off the armour.

Before you could mention it, he was talking, his words quieter in that voice that meant trouble, “We managed to get out and…”

The trembling had taken over your entire body, a voice in your head chiming that Din was lying, that he was joking with you because he wouldn’t do this, he wouldn’t do what you knew he was going to say… “And?” A single word, weighted.

You heard Din swallow, and then, “We kind of… blew it up…”

Silence, again.

Laughter then suddenly burst from your mouth, albeit slightly hysterical laughter, but still. One minute you were staring at the moon in utter horror, and the next you were doubled over in fits of giggles.

“Sweetheart…?” Now Din just sounded concerned. He had expected another blow up the moment you realised what was going on, and so far, none of it had happened the way he thought. And now here you were, laughing?

You shook your head even though he couldn’t see you, “I’m sorry, it’s just – for a moment there, I really believed you!” You covered your mouth, trying to stifle the increasing hysteria, “I really believed you had infiltrated an Imperial base with a tiny crew, to find information out on me you could have got from capturing an Imp, and then you make it even better by trying to convince me you blew up a base!” You leant back against the tree, your heart rate picking up unsteadily, sweat pooling in your hands and you felt your power thrum through your blood.

“Darling - ”

“Ooh, you really nearly had me there, Din. And I’m so glad you’re joking, because no way would you yell at me endlessly for getting kidnapped and then plunged into a frozen lake – none of which was my fault – telling me I’m reckless and stupid… and then go off on a little joyride to destroy Imperial strongholds.” The laughter was melting away, your voice getting more frantic and pleading, like you were begging him to tell you he was joking.

The wind rushed through the comm’s call again, the sounds of Din twisting in the air, presumably with the Rising Phoenix to steer clear of the ground forces, “Sweetheart, listen to me.” His voice was steady, soothing, “I’m fine, okay? I’m completely fine. I’m not doing this to be reckless, or stupid, or hypocritical. They have information on you and there are hundreds of them. If they’re gone, they can’t hurt you. They won’t know where to find you.”

His words were doing nothing to soothe you, “Don’t patronise me, Din. You can’t tell me you’re fine and then tell me there are hundreds of Troopers after you. There are only… what, four of you?” Your breathing was coming in sharp pants now, images of Din’s broken body, blood on white armour and dark dungeons flashing through your mind’s eye.

“Five.” Din spoke the word softly, and you nearly didn’t hear it over the rushing wind and sounds of fighting.

Another laugh that sounded more like a sob, “Oh, five? Like that’s so much better!! I don’t doubt your abilities, Din. You know I believe in you more than anything in the world, but this is… I can’t believe you would do this.” The words were a trembled whisper at the end, fear clutching at your heart once more. It was starting to choke you, turn your blood to slush and your bones to ice.

The thought of losing him was something that kept you awake frequently. Sometimes it would hit you out of nowhere in the day, the idea of living the rest of your life without them by your side.

Gone, little more than a gravestone and memories.

The thought made you physically sick, having you have to run to the nearest place to expel that terror in heaving gasps.

You’d hidden that from Ahsoka and Din too.

Distantly, it occurred to you that you should hang up, let him have his full concentration back but… you couldn’t help the horrid thought that if you hung up... you would never speak to him again.

Din knew this, heard it all in the tone of your voice, in the things you couldn’t and didn’t need to say. He knew you weren’t mad at him, not like that. It was the same anger he had felt when he thought he’d lost you. The gut-wrenching fear of not being able to do anything – the anger at the helplessness. “I promise you; everything is okay. I will be fine; my friends will be fine, and no one will get hurt. We’re nearly done already. Breathe, sweetheart. You’re not going to lose me. We promised each other, remember?”

That’s true… you had. You’d promised each other that you would never part this life alone. When one left, the other would follow.

You swallowed, trying to take a deep breath in through your nose and out your mouth, “Okay…. Okay. Just… come home, okay?”

“Of course, darling. I’ll be home just as soon as-”

A piercing pulse shattered his voice, searing through the speaker on your watch with its resounding whistle.

Your breathing exercises halted immediately, “Din? Din?!”

No, no no no -

It means nothing. Just a close call knocking out the signal, that’s all. That’s all it is.

A burst of static shot into the night air, and then you heard broken up, jagged snippets of Din’s voice, undeterminable pieces of speech.

“Din, Din I can’t hear you. You’re breaking up... Are you okay? Tell me you’re okay, please Din.” Your throat closed up again, the dark beast in your chest snarling as it tasted that terror, feeding on it and spreading through you with those horrific images.

The part of you that craved destruction, that shadowy assassin woke up, bringing forth the vengeance, ready to tear them apart piece by piece if Din had been hurt.

More static and wind and then something that you would haunt your waking and sleeping dreams for a very, very long time.

The signal unjammed, and clear as crystal, you heard Din’s broken cry of pain. Of agony.

A harsh noise you had never heard before.

It was stunned, dragged from within him by a wound that must have hit deep and sudden.

The world seemed to go still on its axis, everything slowing down to a halt.

The entwined golden threads of your lives pulled taut, stretching apart from each other.

Your heart tore to pieces.

“DIN!!” His name broke on a sobbing cry, making the surrounding birds take flight from the bare branches, causing Grogu to wake up down below but you didn’t care.

The line had just gone silent, just as one of those threads began to fray.

He was falling.

Down, down, down toward the ground, smoke billowing from his back.

He was an exploding star, a falling planet, hurtling toward the floor with a speed he couldn’t reduce.

Thirty metres.

The speed of his fall and the force of it caused darkness to pull over his vision momentarily, casting everything into shadow and silence before it all came flooding back.

Everything was a blur of colour, whipping past the visor of his helmet in a smudge of brown, grey and green. The wind roared past him, battering the armour that used to be his savour, soon to be his tomb.

Twenty metres.

The impact of the ground on his armour would shatter his bones and spine, cracking his head open and ending him instantly.

Maybe he’d be lucky, and it wouldn’t be painful.

Or he’d pass out before he crashed.

Ten metres.

His family was safe, at least. That eased his mind somewhat. It would be hard getting off the planet, but they’d find a way.

Eight metres.

There’d be nothing left of him to find. An anonymous man in a beskar tomb, body broken beyond recognition. The people who would soon find him may very well be the first to see his face in… years.

Six metres.

And they weren’t the right ones.

They weren’t her.

No, he’d finally reached a place where he felt safe to reveal himself. Only his hands first, but that was enough. He wanted to give more, so very badly but… he just couldn’t, not yet. But that was okay. He knew she’d understand, be more than happy with that reveal of the very pieces of his anatomy that had started all of this.

His hands, running over her skin, tracing the delicate work of her tattoo.

Three metres.

Two meters.

“I love you.” His gasped words were snatched by the air before they even left his lips, and he hoped the wind would carry them to the person they had always belonged to.

One metre.

“Goodbye, cyar'ika.”

“Thank you for showing me a world worth living.”

~~~

“Sir?”

The young woman’s voice was steady and strong, breaking him from his thoughts as she knocked on the door to the war room. She’d been working here for a year now and had swiftly risen up the ranks.

She was essentially his right hand, and he knew she wore that token proudly. There were no official titles given, but she was his best officer.

She had been the one to locate the Mandalorian the first time around – and had also been the one to find the girl.

That was why he had felt confident when she suggested hiring the Shadow-Born hunter to track them both down. And she hadn’t been wrong yet.

“What is it, officer?”

She saluted, then stood tall, shoulders back, chin raised enough to be respectful, but not so much it was defiant. She looked him in the eyes, “We’ve found him, sir. He was responsible for blowing up the Imperial base, along with a group of friends, including another Mandalorian, an ex-Shock Trooper, a wanted assassin and a prisoner from the Karthon Chop Fields. The Hunter shot him out of the sky and has already apprehended him. The accomplices are so far unaccounted for.”

A faint smile passed the man’s lips, hunger and victory setting a dark fire in his eyes. He nodded his head to the young officer, “Never-mind the rabble. Good work, officer. Tell them to bring him here. There will already be a cell prepared for him. You know which one.”

The woman nodded, inclining her head and then she headed off, but not before he saw the small smile she allowed herself.

Good work indeed.

She had done more in the past twelve months than any of his senior officers had. Maybe he should see about naming her his official right hand.

He turned back to the large open window of the cruiser, clasping his hands behind his back, breathing in a deep sigh.

Finally.

When the Hunter had let the girl slip through his fingers, he’d been worried that he was being played for a fool. The hunter was unreliable, working to his own twisted agenda. If the Hunter betrayed him, there was no chance for the success and power that he deserved.

But he needn’t have worried at all.

He now had the one thing that would guarantee the girls cooperation. He had hoped for the Child too, but he could wait for that.

It may have been slow going, and people may have called him deluded for trying to bring back the old ways… but here was the proof that things were finally going the way Moff Gideon had planned it all along.

~~~

If only he knew that his plan had been set in motion by another. The successes were not his to claim.

The King of Shadows and Destruction was sitting at his board of death, moving each piece as the endgame approached, the final checkmate that would put to rest years and years of waiting and scheming.

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#oh dear #whatever will happen next #oooOooooO #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian x force sensitive! reader #the mandalorian x you #din djarin x reader #din djarin x force sensitive! reader #din djarin x you #the mandalorian #din djarin #pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader #the force awakens #Rogue

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robininthelabyrinth · 3 years

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Fire and Light (ao3) - on tumblr: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10

- Chapter 11 -

The Fire Palace was, ironically enough, on fire.

Nie Mingjue had known that something was going to happen since earlier that day, when Meng Yao had breezed in with an unusually pointed announcement that it was “Breakfast as usual!” and then handed him a bowl of glistening red-braised meat. Yesterday’s leftovers, of course, a servant’s share, but more and better than Nie Mingjue had had in quite a while.

He’d looked up at Meng Yao silently in question as he ate, wondering if Meng Yao giving him his own meal – it was obviously that – was a good thing or a bad thing, the final meal of the condemned or a means of gathering strength before an upcoming event of some unknown variety.

Meng Yao looked as tense as a wound-up spring, his normally placid features unusually tight and his attention elsewhere, but he noticed Nie Mingjue’s attention and winked.

Not an execution, then, Nie Mingjue concluded. He might have doubted it if it was someone else, but Meng Yao was fundamentally selfish, deep down in his core, and as long as he enjoyed Nie Mingjue’s company he wouldn’t be willing to release him to the comfort of death and non-existence, no matter how much he might prefer it some days.

Learning to deal with someone like Meng Yao had been a great deal of fun, actually – puzzling out how to talk his language, to try (in vain) to understand his way of thinking, to try to figure out how to appeal to him. Possibly it wouldn’t have been something he’d enjoy if he’d had anything else to do, but, well, he didn’t, and next thing Nie Mingjue knew he was eating meat and Meng Yao was winking at him and he knew that he needed to prepared for whatever happened next.

He hadn’t exactly been expecting a fire, but he supposed he hadn’t really been expecting anything at all.

Except, perhaps, that when he tried the door to his cell, staying low to avoid the smoke, it swung open as if it had never been locked at all.

Meng Yao – thank you.

Nie Mingjue went over to unlock as many of the other cells as he could – as he’d suspected, Meng Yao hadn’t thought of that, or possibly hadn’t bothered to care – before heading back up to the main hallways of the Sun Palace. He wasn’t sure if Meng Yao intended for him to run away or if he was supposed to be doing something else, but surely by now Meng Yao knew that he wasn’t the sort of person to get himself out of trouble.

Not when there was a chance that Meng Yao might need him.

Not when there was a chance –

He lies, Nie Mingjue reminded himself. He likes to hurt you. There’s no reason to believe that they’re actually dead and gone.

The Sun Palace was a mess as well, people running around left and right with panic in their eyes – mostly not people he knew, or who knew him – and whoever had set fire to the Fire Palace had definitely reached here as well. Few of them carried swords, and Nie Mingjue suggested to the handful of staff who considerately stopped to warn him that he was going the wrong way that if they couldn’t get away entirely, they might be safe if they took refuge in the kitchens, in the hope that the invading army would live up to their principles and not engage in a wholesale slaughter and, if it took a turn for the worst, then at least they’d have lots of knives close at hand.

When he opened the door to Nie Huaisang’s old room, he saw someone move out of the corner of his eye. For a moment his heart was in his mouth, hoping – but no, it wasn’t his brother.

It was a boy about the same age, though. He was not quite yet fifteen at a guess – a child, really, and who let a child join in with an army?! – and was wearing dark clothing with no clan insignia, a sword at his side and a single red ribbon woven through his hair. He was holding a long box that he’d dug out from underneath one of the stones in the floor.

He looked up just as Nie Mingjue looked down, their eyes meeting.

“Uh,” the boy said. “You don’t look like a guard.”

“I’m not,” Nie Mingjue said. “You don’t look like my brother.”

“Your brother…? Oh!” The boy smiled, suddenly, and the expression transformed his face into something far livelier and good-natured, although Nie Mingjue suspected that he saw more than a little arrogance mixed in there, the sort that’d undoubtedly get the boy into trouble one day. “In that case, this box is for you, da-ge!”

The boy said it in an especially familiar tone - had they met before? Nie Mingjue didn’t think they had.

He thought he might remember having taken on a little brother like this, full of mischief.

But he accepted the box, more out of bemusement than anything else, and knew from the second it was in his arms what it contained.

“Baxia,” he breathed, his eyes stinging with tears as he drew her – he’d missed her so very much, during his time below, and he thanked his brother’s wisdom in hiding her. Nie Huaisang must have acted very quickly, right after Nie Mingjue’s failed attack on Wen Ruohan, spiriting her away when everyone was still distracted…Nie Mingjue looked at the boy. “How did you know..?”

“Nie-xiong told me,” he said. “I’m Wei Wuxian, of the Yunmeng Jiang – I’m sworn brothers with Wen Ning, which makes you my big brother, too!”

Well, that at least explained that.

“Is A-Ning all right?” he asked. “Is - is Huaisang…?”

“They’re both fine,” Wei Wuxian assured him, and Nie Mingjue might adopt him as a younger brother for real just for bringing him that news. “Nie-xiong sent me here to help rescue you!”

“You’re too young.”

“…fine, I told him I was smuggling myself along anyway no matter what anyone said and asked if he had any requests, and he told me that if I’m going to make a fool of myself I may as well make myself useful and get Baxia.”

Nie Mingjue hoped that meant that Nie Huaisang had assumed that this part of the Sun Palace would be out of the way of the fighting, although knowing his brother, he might have just decided that Baxia was more important. He had a bad tendency to slip into Qishan Wen-like sneaky thinking when Nie Mingjue wasn’t around to correct him…

“Where is the fighting happening?” Nie Mingjue asked.

“The main hall,” Wei Wuxian said promptly, then pause. “You’re asking so that we can avoid it, right?”

Nie Mingjue liked to think of Meng Yao as a prison guard, and he was, but Nie Mingjue was one of Wen Ruohan’s precious prisoners, one of the ones he liked to cradle in his fist like pearls, and you didn’t get a job like that – being one of Wen Ruohan’s chief torturers – without being close to the man himself.

And that meant Meng Yao was facing danger from all sides: from the attackers, who would see Meng Yao’s Wen robes and Wen sword and not think twice, and from Wen Ruohan, if he ever figured out the extremely obvious truth that Meng Yao was a spy.

“No,” Nie Mingjue said, and turned his feet towards the main hall. “You can go, though.”

“Are you kidding? Your brothers would kill me if I let you go alone – and that’s probably for the best, they can get rid of me before Wen Qing gets to me.”

“They won’t kill you. Sect Leader Wen will.”

“…I’m still coming with you,” Wei Wuxian said.

“How good are you with your sword?”

“Good enough – and, hey, at least I don’t look like I just spent the last few months in prison or something!”

“I was in prison,” Nie Mingjue pointed out, mostly because it was funny to see Wei Wuxian try to swallow his tongue. He didn’t waste time objecting to him coming along, though – if necessary, he could distract Wen Ruohan himself while Wei Wuxian got Meng Yao out.

The corridor was lined with bodies in all sorts of colors, Wen, Lan, Jiang, and even somehow the familiar colors of the Nie sect, which he hadn’t been sure anyone still wore. Nie Mingjue rushed forward, unable to shake the feeling that something bad was happening, and burst in through the doors only to see Wen Xu crumpled on the floor, on his knees but not injured or bleeding, his father towering above him, and Meng Yao one step behind him, his sword in hand and moving forward to stab, but Wen Ruohan wasn’t distracted enough – he had noticed him, was turning towards him –

“Wen-dog!” Nie Mingjue shouted. “Go fuck your mother!”

He’d never actually cursed Wen Ruohan out loud before, a mix of terror and survival instinct, and maybe it was that that made Wen Ruohan stop in surprise for just a moment, just a breath, a heartbeat, and that was enough time for Meng Yao to complete his swing.

Wen Ruohan staggered, struck, and he lashed out with his hand, sending Meng Yao flying.

“Go help him,” Nie Mingjue ordered Wei Wuxian, who was already moving, and he took three steps and sent Baxia out ahead of him.

Wen Ruohan tried to bat it away, like a cat to a mouse, but if he knew Nie Mingjue too well by now then Nie Mingjue also knew him in turn; he hadn’t bothered to send his saber straight at him but past, letting Baxia use her blunt end to full effect in spinning herself around with the momentum of Wen Ruohan’s own blow and using the extra force when driving herself straight into his back.

Wen Ruohan spat out a mouthful of blood.

Before he could collect himself, Nie Mingjue was in front of him, his hands on his neck, and Wen Ruohan choked, the blood welling up in the back of his throat given no release. His eyes were bloodshot, his impressive cultivation an unstable mess from all the fighting he’d been doing for months and now the two unexpected stab wounds, his hands reaching up to try to tear Nie Mingjue’s hands away, but Nie Mingjue wasn’t going to let him. He refused to let him, pulling freely from the deep reserves of his own cultivation, strengthened through years of practice and meditation, maintained even in prison through discipline and boredom. He had so much, had wasted so much, never using his power the way it was meant to be used, to eradicate evil and protect the innocent, but rather just pointlessly stockpiling it for years and years while trapped in the Nightless City – but that was all fine.

He only needed to be strong enough for this one moment in time.

“Rabid dogs,” he said, “need to be put down.”

Wen Ruohan’s eyes widened in recognition of the words he himself had spoken all those years before when he’d killed Nie Mingjue’s father twice over, once with his saber and another with his own hands.

The light of recognition was still there in his eyes when Nie Mingjue snapped his neck.

“Fuck,” Meng Yao said from where Wei Wuxian was helping him up, wheezing a bit. “I was hoping to do that myself, da-ge. I need it.”

Nie Mingjue shrugged and crooked his finger, Baxia pulling herself out of Wen Ruohan’s chest to cut off his head. “You struck the first blow,” he said, nodding at the head that tumbled down to the floor. “You can take credit for the whole thing.”

He didn’t need credit. There was Wen Ruohan’s blood on Baxia’s blade, his last breath on Nie Mingjue’s hands – he could burn incense for his father at last, and hope that he enjoyed the prizes his son, so belatedly filial, had at last won for him.

“Mingjue-xiong!” Wen Xu shouted, having gotten up off the floor, and threw himself at him. The movement was very agile, which meant that Nie Mingjue’s assumption that he was uninjured – that he’d been felled more by his fear of his father, the poisonous anxiety his father had cultivated in him deliberately, than by pain – was correct. “You’re all right!”

Nie Mingjue staggered with the weight of Wen Xu in his arms, with his arms around him and holding him tight.

“Mingjue…?” Meng Yao’s jaw gaped open like a fish. “Wait, you’re Nie Mingjue?!”

“Did you not know that?” Wei Wuxian asked him, gingerly picking up Wen Ruohan’s head by its hair. “Actually, come to think about it, who are you?”

“Consider A-Yao as my younger brother,” Nie Mingjue told Wei Wuxian. “Since you’re sworn brothers with A-Ning, you can consider him a brother as well.”

Hopefully that connection, and any others Nie Mingjue could scrounge up, would be enough to make up for Nie Mingjue having put his revenge ahead of Meng Yao’s ambitions. He wasn’t stupid, he knew that Meng Yao needed Wen Ruohan’s head in order to win a place at his father’s side – to get the name he was entitled to, the name he’d promised his mother he’d get – and Nie Mingjue had taken that from him.

“You said you were nobody important!” Meng Yao said accusingly, uncharacteristically off-balance, glaring at Nie Mingjue like he’d done something to him personally. “That people had probably forgotten you!”

“That’s our Mingjue-xiong, all right,” Wen Xu said, grinning. He didn’t so much as glance at the body at their feet, but his eyes were a little wet, glassy with relief – an ancient fear finally defeated, not a beloved father lost. Nie Mingjue was unwillingly glad that they had broken their father-son bond so thoroughly; he would have killed Wen Ruohan anyway, but he would have regretted causing Wen Xu pain. “Never listen to anything he says about himself, that’s the first rule. So you’re another of Mingjue-xiong’s younger brothers, huh? I guess that makes you one of us, then.”

“Us?” Nie Mingjue echoed. “What are you talking about, you’re older than me –”

“Doesn’t matter, doesn’t count!”

“You’re four years older –”

“I’m going to call you da-ge from now on and there’s nothing you can do about it!”

When Nie Mingjue had thought of travel – and he had thought of it often, trapped behind the walls of the Nightless City, unable to leave – he had imagined himself flying on Baxia, or maybe riding a horse on a long journey, the animal laden with all the baggage. He excelled at both skills within close quarters, and his endurance was similarly excellent – how different could long-distance travel be?

He hadn’t expected to be making his first journey in years in a carriage.

It might even be the same carriage that brought him and Nie Huaisang to the Nightless City that first time, large and echoing, as vacant and barren as their hearts had been.

Of course, it wasn’t vacant now.

“– and of course the walls are made of stone, so there really wasn’t that much damage,” Nie Huaisang was saying enthusiastically, waving his fan around like a saber, though he’d never admit as much. “Some tapestries, some chairs, that sort of thing, things that can be replaced –”

“I tried to preserve as much as possible,” Wen Xu interjected, still somehow looking guilty despite having been told a dozen times over that Nie Mingjue didn’t hold him accountable for having burned the Unclean Realm. “I let word go in advance, they were able to move a lot of things out, evacuate –”

“Things can be remade, people cannot,” Jin Zixuan agreed quietly, ducking his head when Wen Xu wrapped a companionable arm over his shoulders in thanks for his support. They’d apparently gotten close after Wen Xu had officially defected, bringing over those Wen sect cultivators that did not wish to engage in Wen Ruohan’s wars of conquering or who were disgusted by the way their side had conducted themselves during the war to date; Wen Xu had been leading his own men, but being able to take people with him didn’t mean anything about provisioning them, and Qingheng-jun as the general of the overall campaign had assigned the Jin sect to assist.

Jin Guangshan had probably thought, when he agreed, that it would end up with Wen Xu in his debt, a rosy future in which the Jin sect controlled two of the five Great Sects even after Wen Xu recovered the vast Wen sect coffers that were his birthright.

He was probably not expecting Wen Xu to save his son’s life in battle, or for the two of them to impulsively swear brotherhood as a result.

There was, Nie Mingjue reflected, an awful lot of that going around.

Wen Ning, for example, was currently sitting at one corner of the carriage playing some sort of bizarre hand-gesture game with his two sworn brothers, the Jiang sect boys, Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian. Exactly what meritorious deed they had done together to justify such an oath remained a little vague – Nie Mingjue suspected, based on various comments, that they might have done it purely to keep Wen Ning at the Lotus Pier when Wen Ruohan had started to make noises about bringing him home.

Regardless, Wen Ning was happier than Nie Mingjue had ever seen him – Wei Wuxian’s brash and outgoing nature was rubbing off on him a little, making him more confident, while he positively blossomed under Jiang Cheng’s harsh scolding-as-affection, which was similar enough to Nie Mingjue’s own that Wen Ning was by now thoroughly versed in how to accept it. He, in turn, was able to bridge the gap between the two of them, acting as a translator when each boy’s issues interfered with communication, and the three of them were by this point utterly inseparable.

Nie Huaisang had apparently thought the idea was marvelous and insisted on a sworn brotherhood triad of his own – Wen Chao, of course, and surprisingly enough Lan Wangji, who apparently had been conspiring with the two of them in regards to the war ever since his visit to the Nightless City so long ago. Nie Mingjue had no idea how that brotherhood had managed to work out, given Wen Chao’s bizarre affinity for Lan Wangji’s father (they’d agreed to share), Lan Wangji’s tendency to communicate exclusively in barely visible facial expressions whenever possible, and of course Nie Huaisang’s rampant but ultimately harmless tendencies towards self-indulgence causing disasters left and right all the time, but they all certainly seemed very happy about it.

(Lan Wangji was currently sitting next to Wei Wuxian, watching the game – in all accuracy, Wei Wuxian was halfway into his lap, given the cramped nature of the carriage, but Lan Wangji didn’t seem to mind.

It was an interesting parallel to Wen Chao, sitting across from him, with Wang Lingjiao in his lap…)

Wen Qing, at least, did not have sworn sisters.

Yet.

It was apparently a subject being seriously discussed, along with Jiang Yanli and a Jin sect girl variously referred to Mianmian or Luo Qingyang, but they hadn’t reached any conclusions as of yet.

That had not stopped either girl from addressing Nie Mingjue, rather cheekily, as da-ge.

In fact, it hadn’t stopped any of them from doing that.

Even Lan Xichen – currently sitting and chatting with Meng Yao with great enthusiasm – had joined in, apparently on the basis of his younger brother being sworn brothers with Nie Mingjue’s younger brother. The whole thing smacked of Nie Huaisang’s reasoning from start to end, but Nie Mingjue couldn’t dispute that it was rather nice to see so many people happily calling each other brother and sister – the cultivation world hadn’t been peaceful enough for such familiarity in at least a generation.

Of course, the fact that they’d all thirteen of them insisted on squeezing into the carriage with him, which was spacious but not quite at the level of a qiankun pouch, was making it abruptly clear to Nie Mingjue that he had – somehow – assumed responsibility as the elder brother of the vast majority of the younger generation of the Great Sects.

Possibly that was going to become troublesome once the older generation realized.

Probably, even.

This carriage ride was probably going to be the thing that made everyone realize it.

(There were those that already knew, of course – in his brief meeting with her, Sect Leader Yu had gruffly informed him that she whole-heartedly adopted Nie Huaisang’s interpretation of how sworn familial relationships worked and therefore, as the older brother of her grandson’s sworn brother, he ought to give up and resign himself to calling her grandmother already, and then there had been Lan Qiren who hadn’t even bothered to logically justify any of the most un-Lan-like hugs he had insisted on giving him. But everyone else in the cultivation world was probably going to be in for a bit of a shock…)

Nie Mingjue himself had been very firmly placed in the center of the carriage where the bumps had the least impact, and which was also conveniently within arms’ reach of everyone. They’d all picked up a tendency to reach out to touch him every once in a while, as if reminding themselves that he was there and not dead and not about to vanish out into the ether. Even the ones he didn’t know that well at first had very quickly lost their reserve around him, which Nie Mingjue ascribed to mob mentality and everyone else ascribed to him exuding an aura of trustworthiness and reliability – Nie Huaisang declared that he just felt like a big brother – which Nie Mingjue thought sounded silly but everyone else agreed with fervently enough that he realized it was time to stop arguing.

There had been a lot of tears when they’d found each other again, a series of meetings that had left him drained and dehydrated and so, so happy. Wen Ruohan hadn’t killed a single one of them.

Nie Mingjue had then given everyone a scare by collapsing, more out of relief than anything else, but that scare was presumably why he was stuck in the invalid’s place even all this time later – he wasn’t actually an invalid any longer, no matter what Wen Qing darkly insisted and everyone else tried to enforce, he’d even started gaining back some of the weight he’d lost in the Fire Palace and he was swinging Baxia free and clear in carefully monitored trainings that made his heart sing – but in all honesty he didn’t mind or, more accurately, didn’t care.

He was going home.

Back home to Qinghe, to the Unclean Realm, which he hadn’t seen for five years and more. Back to his Nie sect, which demanded that he be recognized as their sect leader by seemingly unanimous acclaim despite there being a plausible argument that he’d not made much of a contribution in the war – an argument that, whenever he mentioned it, made every single one of his now-siblings bristle and hiss like cats, and, whenever anyone else mentioned it, made him have to quickly run damage control before his vengeful mob could plot their utter destruction. Even the interim Sect Leader Nie, a cousin of his, had yielded up the position at once, even though he might’ve had a reasonable argument to keep it.

The world was in chaos, the politics of the situation following Wen Ruohan’s demise not yet sorted out, there was rebuilding and healing to be done, truces to be reached, forgiveness to be given out, justice to be achieved, endless amounts of work to be done –

None of that mattered right now.

Nie Mingjue was going back to the place he loved the most, with the people he loved the most by his side.

He didn’t know what to expect when they arrived. He thought it would be something good.

- END -

#mdzs #nie mingjue #nie huaisang #wen xu #meng yao #jin guangyao #wei wuxian #my fic #my fics #fire and light

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lynnpaper · 3 years

Note

Hey :) Great work. Could you write something were Ahsoka gets a panic attack and Anakin and/or Obi-Wan help her?

I could! I'm writing this as a part 2 to this fic, but it works as a standalone too. :)

Read it on AO3

They’re sparring.

There is nothing unusual about that.

The temple training grounds are empty, the sun having set hours ago. She’s doing well—maybe the darkness gives her confidence, fuelled by the reassurance that Anakin must work harder to watch her strikes. All she sees is a dark whirl of robes and a blinding blue saber, and the twin blades in her own hands, so familiar they now feel like mere extensions of her arms.

But her opponent is one thing. Her surroundings are another.

So it’s no surprise when her back hits the wall, but she’s not prepared for her throat to close in.

It doesn’t have far to go—the hand around her windpipe does a good job of cutting her air off, but the unexpected terror pulls the very breath from her chest from the moment she feels stone against her skin, and suddenly she’s blind, her head spinning from the impact.

She should be able to push him off. She’s trained for this, her sabers are in her hands, and he’s standing right in front of her, five different openings for her to kick or shove at. It’s almost as if he wants to lose, practically inviting her to beat him away and draw her saber and press it to his neck. She should be pinning him to the ground right now, waiting for that blessed solah.

But she doesn’t, because she can’t.

The grip on her neck turns into a gnarled purple hand, the face of her beloved master into that of a rugged feline, the warmth of plasma blades into burning electro-whips. She’s not a padawan, but a slave; she’s not in the training courtyard, but in a secluded alley; she’s not in the Temple, full of comforting Force signatures, but alone, her voice too small to scream for help, her body too weak to resist the disgusting advances they’re making on her—

Ahsoka.

The grip on her throat falters. Her sabers fall somewhere beside her as she crumples to the ground.

Anakin goes with her. He pulls her away from the wall before she hits her head against it, but she pushes him off before he can do any more. A desperate sound tears from her throat, and horror floods his mind because he’s heard that before.

Anakin kneels in front of her. Her breaths come too quick, too shallow, and he belatedly wonders if she is dizzy yet. The darkness hides her face, and if it didn’t then he wouldn’t be able to see it anyway, for how she holds her gaze straight below his. Cowering.

Ahsoka scrabbles at the ground, the rough stone scraping her fingertips raw. The physical pain is a welcome reprieve from its counterpart in her mind. Her fingers wander, searching frantically for something to hold on to, something to ground her, some semblance of a handhold before she falls off the cliff.

“Breathe, Ahsoka,” she hears.

She can’t breathe. “I can’t.”

“You can,” Anakin soothes. “I know you can.”

“I can’t,” she gasps. She can’t.

“Hey,” Anakin says softly. It’s unfair that he’s calm. “Breathe with me, Ahsoka.”

Ahsoka sobs, curling in on herself. Her chest hurts and her hands shake and her fingers are numb. There’s a nudge at her chin, cool as the night air, and she lifts her head almost on instinct before the nudge can turn into a push.

She meets his gaze. For once, she wonders how it would feel to not have the night vision of a predator—she wishes she didn’t have to see the sadness in his eyes as clear as day. Her species evolved to hunt, to seek out prey in lightless terrains. Not for this.

Anakin takes her hand, squeezes it tight. “Feel that?” he asks softly, calmly. It is hard to hide his own fear, hard to shape the words into what he wants them to be.

Ahsoka nods.

Good.

“Focus on my touch, alright?”

Please don’t touch me, she’d said.

“Okay,” Ahsoka rasps. Is that her voice? Force.

How she wishes he would wrap his arms tight around her. How she wishes he would hold her, the way he always does when she breaks. She would resist at first, but calm down soon after, because the warmth of Anakin’s arms could never be mistaken for the claustrophobic grip of that Zyge—

“Breathe, Ahsoka,” Anakin says again. It’s an order. But he doesn’t know—can he hold her? Will she shove him away? The mission on Zygerria ruined tactile comfort forever, and without it he doesn't know what to do.

Perhaps the darkness is a blessing. If Ahsoka saw Anakin’s distress in response to her panic, it would only make matters worse.

She tries again, for there is only one road out of this, and it is littered with broken glass.

The first true drag of air burns her throat, her chest aching as she takes a shuddering breath. She lets it out in a shuddering exhale, and starts again. Then reaches blindly in front of her, finding familiar cloth beneath her fingers.

Anakin embraces her tentatively. Tentatively, in case she recoils. Tentatively, in case she decides this is too much. Anakin Skywalker is not tentative—Anakin Skywalker rushes into things, instinct overriding rationality. His saber thinks before he does.

But he can make an exception. For her.

“You’re okay,” Anakin says softly, and if he can shape the words into something tangible and physical, then maybe the promise will hold. “You’re gonna be okay.”

Ahsoka’s breath hitches, and she shudders in his arms. Her chest is tight. Oxygen does not come easy.

This is her lifeline—this is what she holds on to when the current grows too strong. This is her determination, the friction that keeps her on her feet when the water lashes at her thighs and the rocks beat at her ankles.

Five things you see. A collar, a cage, a whip—

“I’m sorry,” she tries, in a voice which is not hers. There is nothing else to say.

“Don’t be,” he answers instantly. There is nothing else to reply.

Four things you hear. His voice, his voice, his voice, his voice—

She can say, with some degree of certainty, that she will not sleep tonight.

So Ahsoka searches for the old list in her mind, a growing collection of ways to stay awake, how to look alive, how to stave off exhaustion. Unfiltered, honest advice, scoured from conversations not intended for her to hear, passed between older padawans and knights. Hushed whispers in the barracks, the solemn voices of brothers trickling in like sand. Quiet fights between her master and his, which ultimately only served as eavesdropping practice for her.

Three—

“What happened there?” Anakin asks, a hand rubbing circles into her back.

Ahsoka takes another shaky breath. She’s good at learning things, but learning how to breathe again is far beyond her capabilities now. “When you held me—” She pulls back, unconsciously touching her neck with freshly scraped-raw fingertips, the phantom ache lingering like dirt on her skin.

Anakin takes her hand, guiding it away from her throat. He replaces it with his own, brushing over invisible bruises and a racing pulse; carefully tilts her chin up, his eyes tracing the smooth line of her neck, as if any marks will show at all in the muted light of the moon.

He is so gentle. Ahsoka cannot believe these are the same hands that knocked her against a wall, and held a lightsaber to her throat, and battered bruises into her shoulders before she learned how to dodge them. The same hands that untangled the beads hanging behind her lekku, and pulled her back to her feet every time she fell, and held her when nights were too long to sleep through alone.

Ahsoka places her hands over Anakin’s. The worn leather is smooth under her palms. “Felt like him,” she says hoarsely. A name waits behind her lips, bitter on her tongue. She so badly wants to spit it out, but she doesn’t have the energy left.

“Did I hurt you?” Anakin asks. He cares so much—it terrifies her.

Not in that way, no.

“No,” she whispers.

Anakin frowns. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

It’s difficult to find the right words at the moment. Anakin waits for them to find him instead, lest he say something wrong. Anakin is very good at that—saying something wrong.

“Let me try again,” Ahsoka whispers.

Anakin shakes his head. “Ahsoka—”

“I can do it. I won’t panic this time.” Some things are not worth crying over. But it’s an empty promise. Who is she to assume?

“No,” Anakin says firmly. “No more. We’re going home.”

It is impossible to fight him on this, so Ahsoka nods, pressing her face harder into his robes. Her weapons are somewhere behind her, waiting to be retrieved before she goes. The thought of searching around in the dark is vastly unappealing.

Yet his arms don’t loosen around her. She could argue that this is home, but—

“You ready?” Anakin asks. He almost hopes for her to say no, for it will give him a reason to stay longer, to hold her precious youth in his hands before it spills like water into desert sand. He wonders how much she has left—if he can afford to spill any more.

Ahsoka wipes at her face, her hand coming away wet. “Yes.”

Anakin takes her hand and pulls her to her feet, another moment to add to the hundreds before. He calls her sabers to his hands before she can, the quiet thump of metal hitting firm leather echoing quietly off the walls of the courtyard.

Ahsoka can only watch, a grey blankness filling the space of her mind previously occupied with some familiar form of devastating fear. She thinks, absentmindedly, that the hilts are so much smaller in his hands. It’s such a mindless, trivial realisation—hysteria offers to bubble up her throat, but she presses it down with her dread, lest Anakin think she is insane.

He must already think she is insane, for believing it will be any better if she tries again.

Ahsoka closes her eyes, still reeling from panic. Her arms hang slack by her sides. Anakin presses the weapons to her palms, shoto in her left and saber in her right.

The metal is cold. He closes her fingers over them, his gloves soft against her knuckles.

“I’m sorry,” Anakin says.

They stand there for a moment. Ahsoka breathes, relishing in the very fact that she can.

Someday the war will end. She knows it will end—it must end. And when it does, she and Anakin will scour the galaxy for slavers, and they’ll free every slave they can find. If she can spare one more padawan from what she’s seen, and if she can spare one more master from what Anakin now second guesses—then it all will have been worth it.

“I’m sorry, Ahsoka,” Anakin says again.

“You couldn’t have known,” she replies, for it is the answer he wants and needs to hear, and she, here and now, must convince herself that it is also the truth.

Helplessness is not an emotion to be treated lightly, yet it is an emotion easy to forget. Anakin realises this as he searches her face for a flicker which would betray her, an excuse to keep her close for one more night, and finds nothing.

“Are you alright?” Ahsoka asks with a little frown, ignoring the fact that she had been the one hyperventilating on the ground mere minutes ago.

“I—” Anakin clears his throat before his voice can break on him, rearranging his features into a less expressive mask. “Yeah. I am. Why are you asking me?” He nearly laughs in disbelief. “Are you?”

“I think I am.” A nonchalant tilt of her head, moonlight reflecting off the white stripes on her lekku. “You can decide.”

You’re not, Anakin thinks, but he doesn’t say a word. What good will it bring?

#send me prompts!#anakin and ahsoka #hurt/comfort #angst #post zygerria #lynn writes #my fic #star wars fanfic #tcw fanfic

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danger-xylophones · 4 years

Text

Family Reunion (Darth Maul x Reader) Pt. 1: Wild and a Quest

I had this idea and I thought it was fucking interesting and I wanted to write it

This will be in multiple parts as I made this first installment hecka long. Maul will soon be more heavily featured but for now, I just had to establish some stuff.

Story summary: Reader reunites with Maul for the first time in twelve years and...the ex-sith lord gets a strange surprise.

Warnings: canon-typical violence, slow start

Notes: Female pronouns, an OC child

Current read, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

.............................................................

The roar of the ship as it took off was deafening despite you being housed in the cockpit. Instinctively, you reached up to cover your ears and closed your eyes as gravity shifted. You couldn’t wait to be in the vacuum of space; at least then gravity wouldn’t even exist. A gentle pat on your forearm was enough to make you open your eyes and look to the side. To your right was Wild, an eleven-year-old zabrak-human hybrid, the last piece of evidence you had of your life before all this. He was the symbol of your union with him. Wild was your son.

The carmine-colored, half-dathomirian, barely-tattooed boy was looking up at you with sympathetic saffron eyes, he knew of your deep-rooted hatred for liftoff. Gently, you smiled at the boy to ease his worry and offered a soft pat on his head, careful to avoid the tiny horns protruding from his skull. Wild didn’t return it and instead opted to grab your hand off of his head to hold it in his own before focusing on the viewport. You deflated at that as your heart suddenly ached.

Wild was so much like his father that it hurt you sometimes, not only in looks though (although he was practically his carbon copy) but in personality; proud, serious, and protective with a cunning unrivaled by anyone else on the outside but a soft-spoken, gentle, curious and sometimes anxious boy inside. It was hard to remember that he was eleven sometimes-not the adult he pretended to be and not your little baby boy that used to cling to your leg all day. You just wanted him to be a little boy who was free to dream, explore, and play as he pleased but it seemed the force would not grant you your one wish. Instead, it took his father away from you before he had even got the chance to know of the remarkable gift he’d given you. You did suppose that Wild’s predisposed traits that bound him so tightly to the father he’d never known were a blessing in disguise. It had always served as reassurance that if anything ever happened to take you away from Wild, he’d be fine on his own.

...His own. It was a thought you never liked to dwell on. Wild was born at a delicate time in your life. You were 21 when you learned you were pregnant with the baby of a sith-lord and the news had been...startling to say the least. It had occurred to you one day while you were preparing to face the Trials that your cycle had been off. Deeming it odd enough to warrant a visit to the medbay, you sought out one of the healers. You’d instantly wished that you had chosen a droid instead as it was soon revealed that you were two months pregnant. You had to feign ignorance about knowing of a father at all. It had worked for a time as the issue was immediately brought before the council who were all in various states of shock. The worst reaction, you remembered, was that of your master. But, the council did not kick you out like you were certain they would have had they known of the baby’s heritage. Instead, the council believed your lie-that there was no father. Of course, they believed it. You were Ki-Adi-Mundi’s apprentice, chosen specifically by him due to your, as he phrased it, “natural and strong alignment with the light side”. You were a model padawan who would never even think of breaking the code, let alone to this extent. Your training was put on hold for the time being as the council awaited the birth of your baby, some Jedi even began to wonder if the child would be the prophesied ‘chosen one’ (though Qui-Gon, most notably, believed otherwise). It was then that you knew that your time with the Jedi was up. You formulated a plan. Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, were being sent on a mission to Naboo to protect the queen.

You begged your master to let you go with them as you had been cooped up in the temple for a whole month after the pregnancy announcement. Your master obliged, certain that no harm would come to you on the mission, and you were swift to join the grey Jedi and his stuck-up padawan. Your plan from there was to land on Naboo’s surface and disappear for a bit to get the Jedi off your back and to get in contact with him again. But, of course, that all went downhill and...you had seen your love be cut down by your fellow padawan. He wasn’t supposed to be there to your knowledge and now he was dead and you were still carrying his baby. Obi-Wan was swift to pick up on your anguish and even swifter to alert the council of your lies and treachery against the Order. You were ejected from the order and locked away in the temple prison to await the birth of your baby whereupon the Jedi would tear him away from you indefinitely. It would have been a fate worse than death for you. That is, had you not escaped and faked your death to get the Jedi off your back.

Wild came soon after, being borne to a disgraced and presumed dead mother and a most definitely dead sith-lord father. Yet, you had done your very best to love him in every possible way as he had no other family besides you.

It seemed that this was something your son was acutely aware of too as the young boy was fiercely protective of you just as you were protective of him. Case in point: the only other person in the room that could pose a threat-Wild’s own uncle, Saváge Opress.

The seven-foot walking mountain of a zabrak had found you and your son on Tatooine whilst during one of your rare visits to the desert world. Your first meeting wasn’t pleasant.

“You, woman, what is your name?” The low bass voice sounding from behind you would have been enough to make you run if not for the fact that your son was still in the store you had just left. Slowly, you moved your hand to one of your sabers concealed within the confines of your cloak before turning around.

“Give me your name, dathomirian,” You spat at the goldenrod zabrak despite the fact he towered over you and could probably crush your skull with one hand, “and maybe I will give you mine.”

He snarled, clearly displeased with the response but relented. “My name is Savage Opress.”

You analyzed him for a moment, eyes raking up and down his form. He was big and strong and going by the saber hilt hooked on his belt, trained in the force. Was he a Jedi? Was he a sith? Had he been sent here to kill you? He was in for a surprise if he had. “Why are you speaking to me, Opress?”

“You told me you would give me your name.” Savage growled, large hand landing on his saber.

“No, I said that maybe I would.” You removed your lightsaber from your belt but ensured you kept it hidden from view.

“I don’t have time for your games, woman.”

“That makes two of us, good day, sir.” You hissed and turned to walk away, intent on looping around and meeting up with Wild to get off this miserable planet. However, that wouldn’t happen right now as your ears soon met with the distinctive sound of a lightsaber igniting. With an agitated sigh, you whipped out your own weapon and spun around just in time to meet your attacker; green blade clashing with red. Sith. Most likely his master’s new apprentice.

Savage was strong, physically, but you could feel that he was weaker in the force than you. That would be your only hope; let the force guide you while he relies on his own physical prowess. You met the male zabrak strike for strike, each one threatening to knock you off your feet with the force Savage fought with. The fight was grueling and you could feel the rustiness in each spin and block-you only ever used your lightsaber when training your son-and as it went on, one thought became abundantly clear; you weren’t going to win like this. You had to figure out a way to make the mountain stand still. Thinking on your feet, you fell back before taking a running start at Savage. You feinted to the right and used the wall to boost yourself over the behemoth of a man, twirling as you went until you landed behind him and shot a well-aimed kick to the back of one of his knees. The move was meant to bring Savage down to your level so you could cut his head off but when the blow landed, nothing happened. Startled, you froze which would prove fatal.

Savage spun around and grabbed your ankle in one hand before roughly swinging you into the wall. The air was driven from your lungs as you felt your back connect with the sandstone of the building behind you. Savage released you, allowing you to crumple to the ground as you fought to breathe. You were granted little reprieve though as soon Savage was stooping down and roughly lifting you by your neck in one fist. Your feet kicked lamely at your attacker in your struggle for survival as your nails clawed at the back of Savage’s hand.

“I’ll ask one more time, what is your name?” Savage growled low in his throat and tightened his grip.

“Will you let me live?” You coughed out, looking Savage dead in the eyes which briefly reminded you of your son’s. Your son. You had to stay alive for him.

“Maybe, if you are who I am looking for.”

It seemed that that was as good a chance as any.

“Y/n, my name’s Y/n.” Savage’s necklace suddenly glowed an eerie blue and you were prompted to ask your next question. “Wha-What do you want with me?”

“I’m looking for someone-my brother. I was told that you knew him, jedi.”

Electing to ignore the incorrect title, you continued to talk. Maybe, if you lowered his guard, you could still make it out of this alive. “I know a lot of people but not a lot of them are zabraks.” Savage’s eye ridge quirked up in questioning. “But...if it’s who I think you’re looking for-he’s dead. Killed by Obi-Wan on Naboo twelve years ago.”

“That’s what I was told too-but I have cause to believe he is still alive and I was told that you would be the one to help me find him.”

No...impossible. “You’re....you’re a liar!” You screamed at the zabrak. “I watched him die! He’s dead-he won’t come back-he can’t come back no matter how much I-”

“Mom?!” A familiar pre-pubescent yet soft voice cut you off. Immediately your attention, as well as Savage’s, were on Wild who stood at the mouth of the alley with saffron eyes that blazed like molten lava. He had never looked more like his father than in that moment.

Savage looked at you, confusion and something else (regret maybe?) all over his goldenrod face. “Mo-?”

“Wild, run!” You cut Savage off and gathered enough strength to curl in on yourself and strike Savage in the face with both feet. The zabrak released you at once and you fell to the ground unceremoniously before summoning your lightsaber to you. Not wasting time, you ignited it and dove at Savage, ready to make him pay for his filthy lies. Savage was quick, though, and managed to block your blow with his own sword. However, what neither of you expected was for a second contender to join the match in the form of Savage’s nephew and your son wielding your old blue lightsaber. “Wild, I told you to run!”

“You also told me to never run from a fight!” The little boy shot back, pressing down with all the strength he had. Stubbornness. That was another trait inherited from his father and enhanced by your own strong will. With a roar, Savage launched both of you back, sending you to the ground and your son flying. You watched as his little body collided with the same wall you had been smacked against minutes ago and nearly lost it. Channeling all your anger, you reared on Savage and pushed him back with the strongest force push you could muster before immediately running over to your son. He had sat up and was clutching at the back of his head where you noticed a small cut. You were going to kill Savage; brother-in-law or not.

“Wild, when I tell you to ‘run’, think of it as a tactical retreat. And for the record, I told you to know when to run from a fight.” You reprimanded quickly as you picked your son up and ushered him behind you. The two of you began to back away as Savage struggled to his feet. The two of you were almost to the entrance of the alley when the zabrak got a hold of his senses.

“Y/n, wait, please.” Savage began, sheathing his lightsaber and holding out a hand to you in surrender. His yellow eyes flickered between your son and yourself, guilt prominent in his features. You found yourself pausing. “I know you do not believe me-”

“No, I don’t and frankly, you have given me no reason to. If...if Maul was alive, I would have found him.” You spat in anger at the arrogance of this zabrak. Did he think that you hadn’t searched? Did he think that you hadn’t cared for him? Did he not see the disproof standing behind you?

“But you did not have the magicks of Mother Talzin.” Savage’s voice was soft now as he tapped the talisman around his neck.

You were struck silent at that. He was of course correct-you hadn’t had the aid of his people. With a heavy sigh, you rose out of your defensive position and sheathed your lightsaber, much to the surprise of the two males. “Wild.” Your voice was soft, caring, and you could feel your progeny’s confusion as if it was your own. “Take everything to the ship. I’ll be there in a minute.” Wild hesitated for a moment and you expected to get some attitude later but for now, he just softly handed your second lightsaber to you and stalked off after sending a final glare at Savage.

“Alright, you have my attention, Savage. What do you need?” You asked in a steely voice.

“Everything you knew about my brother.”

From there, the three of you had begun your search. Savage had explained his story and you had explained yours (he was almost overjoyed to know that he had a nephew). However, you both agreed that, for now, you wouldn’t tell Wild who Maul actually was in relation to him. This meant that Wild didn’t know that Savage was his uncle which led to the current distrust you were witnessing now. You hated not telling Wild but you didn’t want to give him hope that his father was alive to then rip it away from him when Savage’s wild goose chase proved to be just that. Now, you were riding in a cargo ship on your way to the trash planet, Lotho Minor.

You had landed a few minutes ago after Savage took control of the ship and were now faced with a dilemma. Did you go with Savage or stay in the ship with your son?

“Wild,” Savage’s booming voice called the young boy’s attention to him, however resentfully, “Stay with the ship. Your mother and I will explore.”

“No.” Wild snapped immediately with a glare as his hand tightened around your own till his sharp nails started to dig into your skin. You sighed softly and turned to your son.

“Wild, I’ll be fine. Savage won’t hurt me. Protect the ship, sweetheart, we’ll be right back.” You placed a soothing hand on the side of his face. His little red face grew more grave. He didn’t trust Savage, plain and simple. You wrinkled your nose at him before placing a peck on his forehead and pulling him into a smothering hug. “You worry too much, little man.” The boy protested at the display and loosely pushed you away but you had done your job as Wild seemed much more on board with the idea. “We’ll be right back. Don’t let anyone else on board, got it?”

Wild sighed with an eye roll. “Yes, mother.” His tone was annoyed but, having raised the boy, you knew he was only exaggerating his feelings. You placed yet another peck on your son’s forehead and gently pinched his carmine cheek before striding over to Savage who had watched the whole interaction. Neither of you spoke until you were outside.

“You’re good with him.” Savage piped up suddenly, his low bass a welcomed contrast to the wind whipping through the heaps of garbage.

You were taken aback. For all the times Wild had been brought up in conversation with the older zabrak, your skill in parenting was never mentioned let alone complimented. “I should hope that I would be,” you began, uncertain where you were going with this, “I am his mother.”

Savage made a funny noise in the back of his throat that prompted you to look up at him. “I-I just meant that…you’re...different than the nightsisters. They...they didn’t care if they had a boy.” Ah, the nightsisters. The infamous clan of witches that had bought and traded your unofficial husband long ago and continued to do with Savage. You prompted Savage to elaborate as you two began to walk. “They cared if they had a girl as she would stay with their clan but...if it was a boy, he was sent to us to be subjected to the same fate as so many men before us.” Savage’s eyes were clouded in thought as he relieved what was probably some awful memory. “It’s strange to see a boy be cared for is all.”

“Dathomir sounds...awful. I can’t imagine what you went through, Savage.” You dared to lay a hand on his forearm, making the zabrak halt in his tracks. “But...but if Maul isn’t...but if Maul isn’t here to be found, you could have a place with us.” You smiled gently. “You are family, Savage. I see it and I’m sure Wild will see it as well.”

Savage’s other hand came up to rest on the hand on his arm. There was a genuine smile on his face, for once. “Thank you, Y/n.” With a dip of your head, you resumed your walk. “Y/n?” Only to be stopped by the questioning lilt in Savage’s voice. “I never asked, how did you and Maul ever meet?”

A wistful smile dared to dash across your face as your mind’s eye immediately conjured up the image of the stunning ruby red zabrak you’d come to love so dearly. “That, my dear brother, is quite the story...”

....………………………………

Next ->

#maul #clone wars #star wars #fanficiton #the clone wars #tcw #danger-xylophones #Family Reunion series

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reliciron · 3 years

Text

Decided to write out the important bit of my jedi consular’s backstory.

It should be noted that he doesn’t technically want to die, he’s just very scared of his master and doesn’t see any way to escape.

That said, at the end of the day he does try (and fail) to die by throwing himself at some jedi, so please don’t read if you’re uncomfortable with that.

Go to the northern reaches of Brentaal IV. There you will find a small Jedi temple: the place where Grand Master Satele Shan first trained.

It has enjoyed relative anonymity since, but this must change.

Infiltrate the temple. Slaughter everyone within. Show the Jedi that nothing is safe from the Sith.

Do this, my clever acolyte, and I will raise you from the shadows.

You will be my apprentice.

Dust kicks up as he races across the northern plateaus on his stolen speeder bike. It will take hours to track properly, with the damage he left behind. But by then he’ll have either completed his mission…

Or he’d be dead.

He clenches his teeth.

She was mad. She HAD to be.

No.

He shakes his head.

No. His master is many things, but not mad.

Just calculating. And he may be a mere acolyte, but he hadn’t survived this long without learning some of the game.

If her words were true, the Sith would send a platoon, or at least a full squad. Make a show of the massacre to demoralize the Republic and Jedi Order both.

One lone acolyte would not be enough to guarantee victory. Indeed, it was very likely that he would not survive the attempt at all, even with 6 years of careful training from his master.

He’d been her faithful servant. Her knife in the dark. She’d liberated him from Rattatak and kindly taken him under her wing as a boy. He’d learned to wear the Force like a shroud. Hide himself from sight and strike from the shadows.

She gave the word, and he carried out the sentence. A name, a picture, a place, and they’d be dead in a matter of days.

He couldn’t be her apprentice. No matter his talent, he was Rattataki. And as far as the anyone else knew, he didn’t exist.

He KNEW this. She’d said it so many times. But now she was offering it to him.

It wasn’t real.

And the impossibility of the task only affirmed his suspicions.

He was not MEANT to succeed.

He did not exist, yet as more Sith and Imperials fell before him it became harder and harder to keep his existence secret. And she would never let him go, not when he knew so much of her secrets.

He was a liability now. One she hoped would take care of itself in a pointless attack on a temple.

He should run. He SHOULD, but he CAN’T.

His throat goes tight and he slows down a bit as the temple’s coordinates loom on the navigation computer.

He’d tried to run once, before he’d truly understood how much of a PRIVILEGE it was to have been chosen by his mistress. He couldn’t recall the ‘how’s and ‘why’s anymore, but he remembered the punishment had gone on for well over a week.

Run and I’ll find you, little one. And I will not be so merciful the next time.

If he tries to abandon his duty, he’d die all the same, but she’d make sure to make it hurt. At least the Jedi would make it quick.

Yes.

If its one thing the soft-hearted fools abhorred, it was making a being suffer.

There was no way out for him, but an end by their sabers would be better than by her hand.

–

It had been laughably easy to enter the temple. The roomy interior had given him plenty of space to cloak himself and slip through without being noticed by the guardians. He’d made it all the way into the empty training room, where he’d entered a vent near the ceiling and used it to gain access to the meeting room.

Inside there were a handful of masters and their attending padawans, likely a collection of the strongest jedi in the temple. An incredibly foolish target.

But that was the point, wasn’t it.

He could have killed a great many by now. Picked off padawans one by one has he slithered through the building. Had he actually believed the lie his master had told him, he would have.

But he didn’t. And now these Jedi were his best chance for a swift end.

As he grips his lightsaber, he wonders, not for the first time, what his mother would have thought of him. He didn’t remember her, or much of Rattatak for that matter. But he hoped he’d grown to be a strong son, one who might have made her proud, had things been different.

He muffles the sound of the grate being opened, curls his toes over the edge of the vent frame, and leaps.

–

The creature had seemed to come from thin air.

A calm discussion with his fellow masters about possible changes to the curriculum one minute, and a whirl of dark robes and red light the next.

By the time he and the others managed to pull their lightsabers, 3 padawans lay crumpled on the floor with the attacker ready to strike again.

The battle had been vicious.

Master Evren nearly had a leg taken off, and Knight Balrus fell in a burst of lightning before Ixal finally got in under its guard to slice up through it’s hood.

It screamed, bringing its saber up in mindless defense as it clutched its smoking face, but it was a futile effort. He followed through, ducking its arm and spinning around behind to carve his saber deep across it’s back.

It folded like a house of cards, crashing to the floor in a heap of dark robes.

Not dead, but also not getting up any time soon.

Healers and medical droids are called, and to everyone’s relief no one was killed. But it still left them with a host of very injured jedi, and a deeply wounded assailant who should have never made it this far.

–

Once the others have been seen to, he and the few other jedi of rank gather in the assassin’s room.

The scans the droids provided them with were both enlightening… and disturbing.

A juvenile rattataki male, approximately16 years of age. Signs of extensive, long-term electrical trauma, 18 healed fractures, and general malnutrition. And that was all underneath the damage he himself had caused in the battle. Evidently he’d blinded the man - no, boy - in one eye, and his final strike had severed his spine. He was now paralyzed from the waist down.

Stars above.

It’s about an hour more before the boy comes to, numbed heavily around his injuries but not sedated.

They needed to speak with him, and it absolutely could not wait.

Even so, none of them are prepared for the tsunami of terror that all but knocks them off their feet.

He chokes and tugs desperately at his restraints, every inch a panicked child despite the destruction he’d wrought only a few hours ago.

It makes his stomach roil to know he’d not fought a man, but a boy.

“Peace, young one,” he says softly. And the single remaining eye fixes upon him.

A muscle jumps in the rattataki’s jaw before his face goes eerily blank, at odds with the fear still saturating the Force around them.

“My name is Master Ixal. I’m afraid you’ve committed some rather serious crimes here today, but I would like to talk, if you wouldn’t mind.” When all the boy does is stare at him, he smiles, “May I ask your name?”

There’s a long stretch of silence before the answer.

“Acolyte.”

His accent is Kaas-ian, but given that he’s an alien, there’s a very good chance that he was a slave.

“Is that your name, or the one you were given?”

He blinks, as if trying to parse the meaning.

“Did you ever have a different name?”

Something small and fragile flickers across the part of his face that is still visible.

“…. Faun.”

He sighs. Good. Not so far gone that he won’t answer questions entirely, “Faun then. Can you tell me why you’re here?”

“My master sent me.”

A sith then. Were they truly so desperate as to use children?

“They sent you to attack us?”

His eye closes and he seems resigned.

“Yes.”

“Who sent you? Are there more coming? Why is the temple being targ-?”

“It doesn’t matter, kill me and be done with it.”

“What-?”

“I killed your people and infiltrated your temple, is that not enough?!”

He seems desperate then, like a frightened animal, and the fear redoubles in the Force.

“Easy now,” he assures, “You killed no one, all those who were injured survived.” He frowns, “And you will not die for it. We certainly won’t be letting you go, but you will live and be treated fairly. But I can promise you, the more you help us now, the easier things will go for you in the future.”

Instead of being assured, the young man barks a harsh, bitter laugh.

“What, future?! I failed to die! Now my master will come for me to correct my failure!” He positively whimpers and shrinks in on himself, “She’ll be so angry! She’ll make it hurt! Why can’t you just kill me!”

They’re all taken aback by the outburst, but as his words start to sink in a sick feeling begins to settle in to Ixal’s stomach.

“What do you mean you ‘failed to die’?”

“You think I am a fool?!” he spits. “What else am I to believe when she gives me such an impossible task and promises rewards I knew could never be!” He sags onto the hospital bed. “I do not exist. She cannot allow me to be tied to her, and I was no longer worth the risk.”

He truly feared this master of his so much that he would willingly undertake a suicide mission? Stars above, what had this woman done to him?!

He shakes his head. They knew the why now, but not the how.

“How did you manage to make it all the way into the meeting room? You would have had to pass several guardians.”

The boy huffs, voice still raw and wavering, but evening out as they entered more neutral territory. “Your security is poor and my master trained me well. I cloaked myself in the Force, muffled my presence, and walked right passed them.”

A hint of pride threads through the fear in the air, but already a few of their number have left, unable to take such overpowering emotions.

Cloaking is a rare gift. That this young man is capable of doing so, well enough to fool full fledged jedi, is both dangerous and intriguing. Between that, his combat ability, and the hyper-projection of his emotions, they were dealing with a powerful force user, no matter his age.

It only occurs to him now that the young rattataki could have likely killed dozens of padawans and younglings before being discovered.

But he didn’t.

An idea starts to form but he’d need to consult his fellow masters first.

“Thank you, Faun, you’ve been very helpful. Please rest for now. We will speak again later.”

The boy looks wary as they leave, but more than likely the sedatives are already being administered through his drip. He won’t be conscious for much longer.

–

The discussion is heated, with several knights and masters arguing against it, but after consulting the Jedi Council, they finally come to an agreement.

They would attempt to rehabilitate Faun.

Turning a sith was notoriously difficult, but his youth would work in their favor.

The skills of an assassin, Force-cloaking especially, where nearly impossible to teach to jedi. Too close to the dark side for many to want to risk learning. But as much as they may wish otherwise, sometimes those skills were needed, and if they could earn Faun’s loyalty they’d have an invaluable ally.

It would be a long and delicate process. Mind healers would be needed to try and break the chains his master had instilled in his mind, and the physical reconstruction and recovery would be just as taxing.

There was no guarantee that it would work at all, but he genuinely believed it was worth a try.

The poor boy had been through so much. With a bit of work they might give him a second chance at a fulfilling life.

Dark-side or no, the Force practically hummed around him in a way Ixal had not seen since young Satele. He didn’t know what part this young man might play, but he had a feeling he may yet prove essential in the future.

This would not be the end the young man had sought, but a new beginning.

======

From there it takes a long time to deprogram him, and they need to install several internal cybernetic bypasses in his spine to get around the damage. At the end of it, he’s got a pretty serious scar that runs from right shoulder to left hip, a few numb patches on his lower back, and his eye is still blinded. He learns to hide his accent, too. And he’s somewhere in his late 20s-early 30s by the time the game starts.

He was sent to Tython as a fresh start for his padawan training, since no one there would know who he was, aside from the Council.

His companions don’t find out until they’re fighting the First Son and Syo tells them to try and get them to leave or turn on Faun. Zenith almost does leave afterwards, but after a long discussion they all stick with him.

#swtor #jedi consular #character backstory #sith acolyte #he was kidnapped from rattatak and enslaved i just was trying to put it through the lens of what a brainwashed person would see it as #satele shan DOES come from brentaal 4 but everything else is completely made up #so if there is actual information from her backstory that contradicts this then *shugs* whoopsies #tw: suicidal thoughts #sort of

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moonlightsolo · 4 years

Text

bête noire

summary: While training, Kylo comes to visit you and figures out the secret you’ve been hiding. Leia tells the Resistance that she feels something dark affecting the Force. Poe accidentally tells you something that makes you want to leave even sooner then planned.

pairing: kylo ren x female reader

warnings: nsfw themes!! violence!! cursing!! angst!! fluff!! yes!!

wc: 6.7k (which means it’s gonna be real good)

note: if you got tagged twice, i’m sorry tumblr deleted the first version when i went in to edit the title. some of my edits in the first one will not be here. im very fucking upset.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

A terrible longing for Kylo has taken over your mind. You miss the feeling of holding onto his body, his large hands, his thick hair, and his lips. Oh, his lips... Definitely his lips.

It seems as if all you can think about is when you’re going to see him next.

He has tried his best to stay in touch with you through the Force as much as possible; his Supreme Leader schedule is quite packed.

He still doesn’t know when everything will be ready for you to be with him again, but now with two little ones.

Both of you have figured out a way to control your connection, so it doesn’t happen randomly and only when it’s needed.

He prefers to come to you in the middle of the night when he knows no one is around or when you’re training by yourself in the jungle. You don’t exactly have a specific time you prefer to talk to him, you just do it.

He really enjoys watching your body move in ways he’s never seen you do before. How you jump and twirl your body in the air to hit the flying spherical droid with your staff.

He doesn’t know you have a saber yet and you want to keep it a secret until you’re ready.

Sweat drips from your brow as you land on the ground, the broken metal of the robot falls down right next to you.

“Bravo.” His large hands clap together with a smile as he stands up from leaning against a tree. He has a proud smirk on his face as he goes to walk towards you, knowing he’s going to kiss you.

Something cracks some twigs behind you in a pattern that sounds like footsteps. You whip your head around to see Rey walking up to you with BB-8, then you turn to look at Kylo and he’s gone.

You let out a sigh and a quiet groan that she wouldn’t hear. “Hey. You should train with this today.” She holds out your saber, her face looks a bit disappointed when you don’t take it instantly. “What? We went through all that trouble and you’re not going to use it now?” She sighs.

Your hand grips the metal hilt so you can take it from her hand, “I was going to use it. I’m just- nervous...” You shrug and give her a small smile.

“It’s like your staff just half the size and a little more dangerous. You’ve used Luke’s before, why can’t you use your own?” You nod at her words as you click it on. The dark orange blade hums, your eyes stare at it and so does Rey’s.

It’s so alluring.

She shakes her head to focus again, “Just be more careful with it than how you are with your staff. Focus, breathe, you got this.” She sends you a big smile before she turns on her heel and walks back. BB-8 beeps a little ‘good luck’ before rolling after her.

You begin to swing the saber in slow figure-eight movements. The vibration changes with each swing as you twirl your body in a full circle. “I can definitely get used to this.” You giggle happily like a little kid that just got candy.

Your body moves expertly as you carry out the same moves you do with your staff, not the ones where you’re airborne just yet.

The orange light moves as you slice it through the air, you take a chance and do a front flip into the air. Thankfully, you land on both of your feet with no missing pieces. You practice with the tree trunk, spinning your body around to pretend like it was an enemy.

You‘ve never hit the bark until now. Your brain becomes a bit foggy, it’s Ren. The blade of the saber singes the bark, smoke puffs out from the burnt wood. Fortunately, it didn’t cut all the way through so it doesn’t fall on top of you. You click the button to extinguish the saber and you hide the hilt behind your back in your waistband as you turn around.

You pick your head up to meet his dark eyes, “What happened?” His eyes stare at you. He can’t see your surroundings but he knows something is wrong from the look in your eyes. “Oh, nothing. I just made a little mistake.” You nervously laugh.

“There’s something more than that...” He sighs, “There’s no reason to lie. Just tell me the truth.” He moves closer to you, now arms length away.

“Well, I guess it’s time to tell him everything now.” You silently think inside of your head.

“Remember when I was with Rey on Tatooine right?” You ask him and he nods in agreement. “Yeah, why? Did one of my men hurt you?” He grows concerned but you shake your head no to stop his worrying.

You sigh then continue, “No, no. I just never explained to you why we were there... It was because we were looking for a crystal. A kyber crystal.” You mumble.

“Rey is building her own saber now to become a Jedi? Like Luke?” He almost hisses our last words which make you swallow nervously.

“No... Well- I actually... Um, I made my own lightsaber.” Your eyes go down to look at your feet.

He’s silent but he’s still there, you can see his black boots.

“Your own?” He asks a bit sternly, “So you’re becoming a Jedi alongside her now. I knew I shouldn’t have let her train you. I should’ve told you to stop.” He huffs loudly as his gloved hand rubs over his face.

“No, that’s not it at all.” You pick your head up to look at him in the eyes, “I am not becoming a Jedi. I promise you.” Your hands go up to his face to cup his cheeks.

You continue to hold eye contact with him for a moment before you pull him down to kiss you. He’s holding back a bit, his mind is flooding with thoughts.

“I don’t want you to think of me differently.” You whisper against his lips as your hands go into his thick hair. His angular nose presses against your skin, you gently scratch at his scalp since you know it soothes him.

“I felt like I was ready to move forward. The Force is leading me to something and I think it’s you. I know it’s you.” His hands grip your waist when those words leave your lips.

“I can’t wait to see you again.” He growls, “I’m gonna have your back up against one of these trees.” His voice makes your knees want to give out and butterflies travel through your abdomen.

“Tonight. You should come back tonight.” You whisper into the little bit of space between your lips.

“I’ll let you know.” He grips your ass one last time before he disappears into thin air. You almost fall forward from his sturdiness leaving so suddenly. “What a tease.” You laugh as you fix your hair with your hands. You begin to make your way back to Rey but she’s not at her usual spot.

You follow the path back to the base and there’s barely any people outside so you start to jog towards the command center. Almost the whole crew is standing around in a large circle listening to Leia and her colleagues speak.

You find Poe and Chewy first, then you spot Rey close to Leia’s side. Poe whispers a small, “Hi,” in your ear and his hand rests on your lower back. He feels the hard surface of your lightsaber and raises one of his eyebrows suspiciously.

“It’s just my saber. Didn’t put on the right belt today.” You laugh softly.

His touch makes you feel a bit uneasy, which is confusing. Usually, you wouldn’t mind his hand on your back, but maybe something switched. You shake it off and focus on Leia’s speech, then Poe leaves your side to join her in the middle.

“So, you all know that this mission is going to be very dangerous. Only a few of us are going. Myself, Finn, Rey, and Chewbacca. If anyone else would like to lend an extra hand with filling the ship with the proper supplies, by all means, come talk to me after this is finished.” He claps his hands together with his smile.

You haven’t heard one bit about this mission from anyone. Why didn’t Rey bring you back with her from training?

“Just like Leia was explaining, she has felt a change in the Force. I know all of you felt something too. We’ve learned that there is another dark presence rising but we don’t know who or what it is yet. We have Kylo Ren, the leader of the First Order and everyone on those ships. There’s something greater than him out there, we’ll find it and put an end to it.” He gives the crowd a curt nod.

“Alright, if anyone has questions, come see any of us that can speak your language.” Poe chuckles as he makes a jab at Chewy who roars in annoyance.

Your eyes dart around at the people around you that start to talk to each other. They all slowly start to leave to continue whatever they were doing before. Except for some groups who are talking to Poe and Finn.

Before anybody could steal Rey, you walk speedily over to her. “What’s going on? Why didn’t you tell me Leia had this planned for today? For a matter of fact, why didn’t anybody else?” You whisper-yell at her.

“Leia wanted to keep you out of this meeting because of the contents being said. She didn’t mean any harm, it’s just that...” She trails off.

“It’s just that Kylo is in my head.” You scoff, your arms cross over your chest. For some reason, you can’t wait to leave now.

“I understand if you’re upset...” You cut Rey’s sentence off.

“Upset, Rey? Yes, I am. If none of you trust me, then why don’t I just go back to the First Order?” You say with pure intent.

“Leia already gave you the okay to leave with one of our ships. So why haven’t you done it already?” Rey delivers the attitude right back to you.

Poe notices you bickering with her and excuses himself from his conversation. He jogs over to you both, his eyebrows furrowed. “Hey, hey. What’s going on?”

You groan and put your hands into the air like you’re surrendering to the conversation, “I’m done. I’m going to see my kids. See you both later.” You spat at them angrily. Poe goes to follow you but Rey stops him and they mumble behind your back. You stomp towards your quarters.

Ellie babbles happily as she holds her feet with her tiny hands. The wind blows her perfect little curls into her face which makes her giggle. Ani is lying calmly next to his sister on the blanket, giving her an annoyed side-eye look. He’s probably wondering why she’s so energetic. He must be tired.

You hand Ellie a makeshift toy that rattles as you pick up Ani to put a pacifier into his mouth. You cradle him as he stares into your eyes with adoration, you smile and let your fingers dance across his smooth skin to trace random patterns.

His dark eyelashes flutter as he fights to stay awake, but you gently close his eyelids with two of your fingers. “Shh... Go to sleep, my Lil boy.” The suckling on his pacifier slows as he falls into his daily nap.

Your free hand goes to pay attention to Ellie, you play with her rattle and gently tickle her little belly. You lay Ani down on the blanket next to you, one hand stays patting his back while the other is still playing with El.

You look up when you hear footsteps, Poe is walking towards you. The sunset is beautiful behind him.

“Hey, I was watching you. Are you doing okay?” He asks. You just chuckle and focus your eyes on Ellie who is more focused on Poe.

“Stalker.” You mumble, “I’m doing perfectly fine. Tell Leia that I don’t need a babysitter.” You grumble and your shoulders rise and drop from a sigh.

“Do you mind?” He bends down to scoop Ellie up but pauses his movements until you give him the clear. “Yeah, go ahead.” You subtly smile at how happy she gets when he picks her up. He rocks her and plays with her, gently tossing her small body in the air. Thankfully not too high though.

“She really likes you.” You give him a small smile. “You think?” He asks as he bounces her on his hip.

“I really hope you don’t leave.” He blurts out, “We will really miss you. Right, El?” He grabs Ellie’s hand and dances playfully with her.

Your heart stops, your heart rate instantly accelerates and your breathing quickens. “What?” You snap and rise to your feet. Poe’s eyes go wide when he realized what he said, “Hey, look- I didn’t mean it. Leia just told me that if you would leave, you’d be leaving the children here so they could be raised in a more... positive environment.” He words it differently so you wouldn’t get more upset, “She didn’t tell you that, did she?”

Hot painful tears sting your eyes, “Give me back my daughter.” Your voice dropped deeper and more stern. Poe’s eyes widen, even more, he seems scared of you. “Now. Give me her right now, Poe.” He gently holds her out for you to take. You snatch the baby from his arms then you start to put everything back into your pack. Ellie starts to whine from being taken away from Poe.

You sling the bag onto one shoulder then grab Ani and the blanket in one arm which wakes him up. He starts to cry as you’re trying to get away from Poe, “Let me help you.” He mumbles as he sees you struggling to hold everything at once. “Poe, I swear to the stars if you touch anything, I will fucking sucker-punch you.” Your hands speedily put everything back in its place as you hold onto your children securely. You turn your back to him and start walking back to your room.

Tears freely run down your cheeks, you sniffle to try to keep the snot from escaping your nose but it doesn’t really help. Some people walking by stare but you don’t pay any mind to it.

The Resistance is going to take your children away from you if you go with Kylo. That means you need to escape without them knowing.

As soon as you make it into your room safely, you lock the door behind you and lay the babies in their cribs. You sit yourself down on your cot, crossing your legs with your hands resting on your knees. Before you close your eyes, you take a deep breath.

Through the Force, you reach out to Kylo. It’s like you’re traveling through space, the stars twinkle dully around you. Suddenly you hit an invisible forcefield and you’re shot back to reality. You suck in a deep breath and look around for him in your room but he isn’t there.

What happened? Did he dismiss your attempt to reach out to him?

You grow angrier since you don’t want to use too much of your abilities to reach out more than once. “Let me in.” You say in your mind as you try your hardest to push your way through to talk to him.

Once again, you’re brought back without him. Your eyes focus on your children as hot angry tears well up in your eyes.

“What do you need?” His voice booms inside of your head. It almost shakes your skull.

You hiss from the oncoming headache, “Excuse me? Don’t be so rude. I just found out that Leia is trying to keep our children here with her if I would leave-.” He cuts you off. You can feel his anger overpowering your own. The heat grows in your chest and your hands clench into tight fists. You resist the urge to scream into your pillow.

“What?!” He screams out, your fists go to your head to press against your temples.

“How long until everything is ready for us to come with you?” You ask through your teeth.

“Soon. Maybe a few days. Next week. I’m coming there tonight to see you so we can create a plan. I can’t stand to talk to you through the Force and not in person.” He growls.

You know that he’s pacing whatever room he’s in on that ship, you begin to control your anger which helps him blow off steam. “I’ll be there after the sunsets. Be ready for me... I love you.”

After those three words he mutters out quietly, he’s gone. You didn’t have to force it out of him to say that and it makes you so happy.

You give your babies a little peck on their tiny heads, you grab the pager for the droid and click it so she comes to your quarters.

After a few minutes, she arrives. “You’re going to have to watch them tonight. I have important business to attend to with... Poe.” The droid gives you a look, “Not that kind of business. Now excuse me, I’m going to get changed.” You laugh and grab some clothes that’ll keep you safe from the elements of the jungle.

You slip on your favorite black skin-tight leather pants, a long-sleeved black shirt, and your hooded parka jacket. You slip your scuffed black boots on your feet and pull your hair back into a half-up bun with some of your hair flowing down your back.

“You look very nice.” Mary, the nurse droid, compliments you as she rocks Ani back to sleep.

“Thank you.” You say with a big smile, you let your thumbs caress both of their plump cheeks. “I’ll be back my darlings.” You mumble quietly as they fall asleep.

“Thank you for taking care of them on such short notice.” You say to her once you stand back up, “Not at all a problem. I was surprised when I saw your name pop up.” Her robotic voice speaks out. “Now go! Hurry along.” She reminds you of a female C-3PO. You giggle and nod, “See ya.” You grab your saber and hook it to your belt.

You leave your room and make your way out of the ship with a bounce in your step.

You spot Poe but refuse to make eye contact with him when he looks at you, hopefully, he doesn’t follow along like a stalker. You laugh at your thoughts, knowing that he’s just a curious person but also kind of a stalker at the same time.

You see that the sun is barely above the horizon anymore, the sky has turned a dark purple and the stars are twinkling above.

Your boots crunch the mulch and dirt under you as you walk outside of the cave, the cool breeze blows your hair behind you.

There are not many people around thankfully, only a few people who are working on ships.

With a quick glance, you make sure nobody is watching as you sneak past the tree line.

Nature around you squeaks, snaps and whistles from the strong wind. There must be a storm on the way. You pull your hood onto your head to protect your face from the elements.

You can sense that Kylo is close which makes your heart rate pick up. Your feet begin to move faster down the memorized path. You see him standing there again but he’s pacing. His boots leave footprints in the dirt, the wind howls gently around him causing his black hair to swirl in his face.

You almost giggle at how upset he gets and how he pushes it back so aggressively. He notices you leaning against a tree, halfway out of the foliage. “That’s why I pull mine back.” You smile.

He reaches out his hand, motioning for you to come to him. You take a step out, you watch how he admires your body. You start to jog towards him and once you get close enough his arms reach down to scoop you up off the ground.

You squeal in surprise, your arms wrap around his neck so you wouldn’t fall backward. By the way, he’s holding you up, you’re above him. The world seems so much different at this height, you look down to see that his chin is resting on your chest and he’s looking up at you with pure love.

You smile and lean down as much as you can to press a kiss against his forehead. He hums in response and smiles. He brings you down so you’re face to face.

The wind blows roughly once again which makes him dive into a kiss before both of your hair could try to ruin the moment.

Your hands rest on his cheeks, feeling his skin and stubbly facial hair growing in. His arms hold you tightly and securely, you feel so safe in his arms.

His hands move from your waist down to hold you by your ass, his tongue deepens the kiss. You tighten your thighs around his hips, he moves you around blindly until your back presses up against something hard and cold. Your eyes flutter open for a moment to see the large wing of the tie fighter next to you.

You let out a small needy whimper into the kiss which makes him smirk. He lets go of your legs so they fall back down to the ground. He starts to fumble around with the waistband of your pants. He tugs on them roughly which makes your knees buckle, “Fuck. Why are they so fucking tight.” He growls as he lifts up each of your legs to yank off your boots then he goes back to your pants.

You just giggle at him having trouble pulling them off of your ankles. “Fuck it.” He leans forward to capture your lips with his again, his teeth bit down on your bottom lip to tug on it as he pulls away.

Everything he does to you makes you want to do anything for him.

Kylo smirks at your thoughts as his hands find their way under your shirt to pull your bra down so your breasts pop over the fabric. He grips one as he slowly sinks to his knees, he leaves kisses down your belly.

His lips ghost over your navel, traveling farther down to your hips. He takes his time teasing you as he peppers kisses against both of your hipbones. His dark eyes look up at you through his eyelashes. This man is going to be the death of you.

His fingers play with your nipple as his teeth grip the edge of your panties to pull them down. “You’re so fucking hot.” His hot breath against your core makes you shiver. The wind kicks up again as it howls through the trees. Your head lolls back against the metal exterior of the ship, your hands grab fistfuls of his soft hair. Just as he is about to dive tongue first into you, he pulls completely off of you and stands up.

Kylo’s large frame completely shields your body as he turns his back toward you. “Get dressed. Now.” His voice is serious.

Your eyes watch his hand gently rest on his saber which makes you hurry up and pull your pants up from your ankles. You quickly snatch your boots that were tossed to the side so you could put them back on. “Kylo, what’s going on?” You go to move from behind him but he stops you with his arm.

Rain begins to gently trickle from the sky. Through the mist of rain, you see movement across the field. There are a few people emerging from the tree-line.

Your eyes go wide when a blue saber ignites, the hue lights up all their faces.

Rey, Poe, and Finn.

You audibly gasp, your hand goes over your mouth. “Get behind me.” He hisses out to you. He quickly grabs his saber, getting into a stance as he lights it.

“You’re not welcome here!” Rey screams out in her accented voice. You grip the fabric of Kylo’s shirt so tight that your knuckles are turning white. The storm continues loudly above.

You cannot let them fight. You refuse to have anybody get hurt because of your stupid idea to bring him here.

“Why not? My children are here.” He quickly retorts you watch how his fists grip the hilt of his saber. He’s ready to pounce at any second.

“You don’t deserve to see your children. You’ll corrupt them.” Poe enters the conversation which makes you groan internally.

“What’s this pilot doing here anyway? Didn’t he almost get all three of them killed?” Kylo bites back as he recalls that day on Hoth.

Lightning flashes above as the thunder booms and makes you flinch. The gentle drizzle of rain turns into a downpour, soaking everybody.

You blink back the water from your lashes, peeking from his side to see them still standing in the same spot. Poe and Finn have blasters ready to shoot.

“You’re outnumbered, Ren. There’s no way you can escape.” Rey yells over the loud storm.

Kylo’s muscles in his back are quivering with fury, his jaw is clenched. He wants to attack so badly but he knows if he takes a step they’ll shoot continuously at him.

“Where is she?” Poe’s voice shouts at Kylo.

“Let me...” You whisper gently and start to creep out but he pushes you back again. “Enough, let me handle this.”

Rey begins to walk forward but stops in her tracks when Finn grabs her shoulder. He shakes his head no.

Kylo becomes completely still, even his breathing stops. Rey turns around to face the trees with Finn and Poe following after her too.

“Leia...” You breathe out.

This time Kylo doesn’t stop you when you emerge from behind him. Your hand absentmindedly rests on his back while she walks out to you both.

She’s holding an umbrella and she has on rain boots, which is quite adorable. The storm rumbles above, lightning zig-zags across the sky as she stops in front of Kylo and you.

You can vividly see the pain in her face from the red glow of his saber washing over her features, “Ben, you need to stay here with your children and Y/N.” She chokes out.

“That’s not my name. Ben is dead.” He grits his teeth. His voice is shaky too. You watch his hands grip the hilt of his saber. You almost want to take it away from him.

His own eyes are getting teary too. Rey rushes close behind Leia along with Finn and Poe. Leia stops them from getting any closer. Your eyes dart to watch Kylo who growls under his breath and lunges forward slightly. “Kylo.” You grip his shirt to stop him.

Leia’s eyes move to you, “I gave you the okay to go to him. Why would you bring him here and put us all in jeopardy?” She snaps at you.

Kylo moves his body in front of you again, almost to protect you from her words. “It’s okay.” Your hand goes up to rest on his bicep.

“Are you going to send your troops to raid us?” She turns her attention to him again.

Kylo doesn’t answer which makes Rey take a step forward and Poe cocks his blaster.

You step out in the middle of them before they could attempt to kill each other. Your hand unclips your saber hilt from your belt, but you don’t ignite it yet.

Poe pushes Leia behind him to protect her from you, even though you would never hurt her. You blink away the rain from your eyes, squinting as you try to see through the downpour.

“Stop protecting him. He’s a monster, Y/N. I don’t understand what you see in him.” Rey shakes her head, her bottom lip quivers.

You can feel yourself getting emotional along with her, you don’t want to cause anybody pain. You look back at Kylo who stares down at you, his jaw shudders along with his bottom lip. His dark hair is sticking to his face and you want to push it out of the way.

The thunder crashes loudly above and the sky flashes.

Behind you, Rey is taking the opportunity of him being distracted by you to swing the saber at him from overhead.

Your eyes go wide when you hear her running towards you. Kylo breaks eye contact as he goes to pull you out of her line of rage but you hold your ground.

You click the button on your saber as you twirl your body around to face her. The orange blade appears as you block both of their strikes at the same time.

Just before Poe and Finn shoot their blaster at you and Kylo, you use your free hand to swipe the guns out of their hand with the Force. The weapons go flying somewhere into the muddy field.

You grit your teeth together as you hold off both of their power from ripping each other to shreds. Leia is yelling at Rey to stop from behind her as you struggle. You can feel your boots slipping in the mud.

Kylo’s eyes travel from the color of your blade to your eyes, he sees how much pain he’s putting you through. He looks up at Rey with a stone-cold look as he extinguishes his saber and steps back.

Rey seems surprised at how you’re holding her back still. “Why are you doing this?!” You scream over the thunder, “Let me get to him!” She yells right back.

Rey pushes you to the ground with the Force, causing you to fall into a big mud puddle. Kylo goes to lunge forward to protect you but you stop him with an invisible blockade. “Stop!” You screech.

Before she could reach Kylo, you turn your saber off and you wrap your ankles around one of Rey’s so she would fall to the ground with you.

Now you’re both covered in mud. She yelps and goes to roll over onto her back. Before she could get up again you stand up and point your blade in her face. You have the high ground. “Enough.” Your voice is stern.

Lightning crackles behind your head. You can feel the mud on your face sliding down onto your soaked clothes.

You notice Rey’s expression and how shocked she is that you took her down. You extinguish your saber and clip it back onto your hilt to replace it with your hand.

Rey looks at your hand then back at you. Her hand reaches up slowly, she’s hesitant. You make the decision for her and grab her hand so you can get her onto her feet again. Kylo is staring down at you with adoration in his eyes, you take a few steps back toward him and smile.

Rey walks back over to Finn who is sucking up to her as always. “Are you okay?” He asks as he checks her for wounds.

Kylo’s eyes drift from yours to stare at Poe, who is glaring right back at him. Kylo moves close behind you, putting his hand on your hip as a form of possessing you as his own.

You gulp nervously as you lift your head to look at Poe, he’s staring at you now in pity. He almost looks disgusted with you.

Leia walks forward again, “There will be no more fighting here. You need to go with him. I can’t have you putting the Resistance in danger anymore.” Her hand goes to rest on your bicep in a comforting way.

Thankfully the rain is slowing down so you can see her. She’s upset and so are you.

“I’m not- I mean we’re not leaving without our children.” You muster up the courage to say that to her.

Poe lifts his head from his conversation when he heard those words leave your mouth.

Kylo looks down at Leia, you can feel his emotions. It’s hard for him to be so close to his mother and not hug her like old times. He’s torn and sad, just like you are.

“Ben... You need to come home.” Leia grabs his hand tentatively, he flinches from the contact.

“I can’t. It’s too late.” His voice shakes as he speaks. All three of them turn around to look at them speaking. You can feel how wracked Kylo is by his overpowering emotions. He is trying his hardest to not show it on the outside.

Leia sighs and gives her son a sad smile, “You’ve done a lot of bad things, kiddo.” She shakes her head, her thumb rubs the skin on his hand.

“I know.” His voice is quiet, his eyes drop to their hands. “I can’t join the Resistance. That’s not the path I need to follow.”

Leia takes a chance and gives her son one last hug. Kylo is completely still almost like a statue. You can feel the lump growing in your throat as Leia reaches an arm out for you too.

You gladly join the hug, holding onto both of them so tightly. Kylo slowly lifts his arms to rest a hand on Leia’s back and one on yours just for a moment.

His arms drop back to his side and look at Leia as she moves back to her place. “I think it’s time for you two to go.” She nods her head. The soft pattern of rain on her umbrella makes you zone out for a moment.

Panic bubbles in your chest, you can’t leave your children. They are your whole world. You start to breathe heavier and shaky, almost like you’re hyperventilating.

Kylo takes notice of your anxiety, his arm pulls you closer into his side. “We’re not leaving without our children.” You blurt out in a moment of fear.

His hand squeezes your side tightly, he looks down at you then back to Leia. “She’s right.” Kylo backs you up.

She sighs and stays silent as she looks at the two of you.

Poe walks up to Leia, his hand rests on his shoulder. “You can’t really be thinking about letting them take the kids, are you?” Him putting his two cents worth in is a bad idea.

Kylo clenches his jaw as he stares at Poe like he wants to hurt him.

“Leia, please.” You beg a small sob leaves your mouth. “Children can’t grow up without their parents. Please, I’m begging you.” Your voice is desperate for an answer, especially the answer that you want.

“Poe. It’s not your choice.” Leia dismisses him then Rey comes up to her side.

“I think we should give the kids to them.” Rey refuses to make eye contact with you nor Kylo.

Leia seems surprised, “We should because I know if I had a choice, I would want to be with my parents. No matter what they were apart of. I know Y/N is a great mother, they’ll be taken care of.” Rey glances at you and smiles.

You let the tears fall from your eyes and make tracks on your dirty skin.

Leia turns her attention back to you, “Go get them, Rey. I’ll come back with you. Poe comes with us, Finn you’ll stay here.” She nods, her voice sounds almost pained to say that.

You suck in a breath as relief washes over your body, your face buries into Kylo’s damp armor as you cry. His other arm comes around to comfort you against his chest, he kisses the top of your head.

“I wish you both happiness. May the Force be with you.” Leia directs the message to you.

Before she could walk away, you almost tackle her with a hug. “Thank you.” Your voice is quiet and shaky. She gives you a terse nod before letting go of you to follow Rey and Poe out of the jungle.

Finn stands there awkwardly, turning his back to you guys when you go to kiss.

Kylo’s large hands almost cover your whole face when he kisses you. Your arms stay wrapped snuggly around his torso, “We’re going to be together again.” He laughs happily against your lips.

You open your eyes to see his big smile and dimples. You bring one of your hands up to gently caress his face, “I love you.” You breathe out, rubbing your noses together as a cute gesture.

He pecks your lips once more than bringing your head back down to lay on his chest. His heart thumps against your ear— He’s the love of your life and there’s no doubt about that.

You close your eyes and take in this moment. The rain gently falls onto both of you, the wind picks up which makes you shiver and his arms tighten around your body. He gently presses kisses against your head here and there then rests his chin on top of your head.

“They’re here.” Kylo mumbles which make you perk up. You see Poe and Rey walking across the field with a baby in each of their hands. Thankfully, they have blankets wrapped around them so they wouldn’t get soaked.

Rey is carrying your bag on her back, probably full of the baby's belongings. When they finally make it to you both, you can’t help but reach for one of them. Rey gently hands over Ani to you while Poe struggles to hand over Ellie to Kylo.

“Let him grab her, Poe.” Rey scolds him. Poe looks between her and Kylo’s outreached hands. He gives El a soft kiss on her forehead before letting Kylo cradle her tiny body.

Poe scoffs and looks at Rey angrily, “Alright, I think that’s it then. Let’s go.”

Rey gives you a sad look before she lunges forward to gives you and Ani a hug. “If you need anything please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.” She whispers in your ear, you look at Kylo through the corner of your eye. He glances back at you since he knows exactly what she said, but he stays busy bouncing Ellie.

“Thank you.” You mumble then squeeze her back. “I’ll miss you. See ya later?” She jokes around but you have a feeling you won’t be seeing her anytime soon. Rey pulls back to give you the bag off of her back.

You give her a half-smile and nod your head to ease her conscience. “Bye...” You breathe out shakily.

Finn gives you a little half-wave then turns to follow Rey and Poe back to the base. Your heart sinks but also flutters at the same time.

You’re leaving your life here. Just picking up and deserting everyone, But you’re going to restart your family, and that makes you smile.

Kylo leads you to his ship and clicks a button so you could climb on first. There are two chairs thankfully but their backs are pressed against each other. Kylo motions for you to hand over Ani to him while you get situated.

You plop down in the seat then set the bag on the floor near your feet. You buckle yourself in then take both of the kiddos into your arms.

Before Kylo goes in the pilot's seat, he leans down to give you a small kiss on the lips. “Let’s go.” He smiles then clicks a button to close the door.

Kylo powers on the engine and begins to lift the ship into the sky.

You watch the rain roll down the tinted window and the expanse of trees over the moon.

This is a start to your new life, a new life with your little family. You know it’s going to be great.

tags: @officiallpeterparker @funnysadshit @ymariejp @attorneyl @fangirl570 @trinityrud20 @kylos-sassy-cousin @delicatelyherdreams @fizzywoohoo @savvy7392 @angelias134 @that-girl-named-alex @cas-backwards-tie @glimmering-darling-dolly @glitterypinkkitty @blxkstar @his-snow-white-queen @elsasshole @smiithys @nanocoool @deathbyarabbit @alex-skr @theholycakehole @averillian @crazynocturnalkiki @arcanebabe @tinydancer40 @superduckypower @thomasscresswell @butterfly-writes @thatintrovertedbisexual @fangirlanotherjust @somekindofroger @nicci442 @little-girl-who-dream-too-much @wildest-dream- @silverlambcaptain @cliffordmess @xkylorxn @lowkeyofsassguard @nickangel13 @carol-twinklefists-danvers @oopsiedoopsie23 @fandomshit6000 @baba-eina @cosmichellfire @ravngers @lipstickstateofmind

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bonesaldente · 4 years

Text

Caliginous I Darth Maul x Reader

Chapter 6: The Time In-Between

read this on ao3

last chapter

words: 3200

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“Look over there.” You are leaned against the wall behind Maul, looking for a clearing in the miles of forest that are spread out ahead of you. You’ve been flying low for some time now, unable to find a place to land, the density of trees too high.

The ship turns right, following the direction of your outstretched hand. And you were right; as you close in on the speck of color you spotted among the masses of green, you can tell it’s a clearing you’ve found.

“Sit down for the landing.”

You move from your position against the wall to the closest seat and sit down on it.

You can feel the ship slowing down and gently sinking. The Sith is a good pilot, managing to dodge all trees and land perfectly centered on the small clearing.

Together you leave the ship, and you close your eyes as you finally breathe in the fresh air. The sounds of the forest fill your ears and a sense of utter peace and warmth fills you.

You’ve got a good feeling about this planet—you haven’t seen any signs of civilization for miles while flying, which means you’re going to be safe from any enemies you may have made.

The zabrak seems to be satisfied with the location as well: You can tell by the way his body seems less tense than usual, his shoulders dropping down and the muscles in his face relaxing.

“My scans say there should be a source of water nearby.” He looks around in an attempt to orient himself, then looks back down on the device on his wrist. “This way.” He points to his left.

“I will go look for it.”

“Remain vigilant. We don’t know what could be hiding in this forest.”

You are somewhat touched by the way he shows he does, somehow, care about you. Reminding you to stay safe, providing you with all the materials you ask for—it seems like very little, yet it means a lot, coming from him, who otherwise seems so untouchable.

You hear a sound and freeze, holding your breath and listening intently. Was that an animal, or was that…

water?

You rush to where the steady sound of waves is coming from and indeed: a small river meanders through the forest scenery. It’s unsurprising that you didn’t see it from up in the air; the trees cover it almost entirely.

It is a beautiful sight, and it will be useful as well—instead of using up the water on the ship, you can use the river as your water supply while you’re here

You just soak it all in for a moment, contemplating to sit down, but instead decide to head back to the ship and share what you found with Maul.

You have almost made it back to the clearing, when you hear a sound again, except for this time, you know for sure it must be an animal—you are too far away from the river to still be hearing it.

A quiet crack comes from behind you, and you spin around, machete in your hand.

You are faced with a creature that looks similar to a rabbit, maybe a little smaller, with bigger eyes, and longer limbs.

You can’t help but coo at the sheer cuteness of this animal.

“I like this planet” you whisper to yourself as you bend your knees slightly and get closer to the animal that’s still just staring at you. Weird—shouldn’t a creature like this be afraid of you?

Maybe, there just aren’t any predators in this place, that’s why it doesn’t show any signs of fear. Or maybe—

You let out a surprised scream as it opens its mouth to bare a set of razor-sharp teeth, saliva dripping from them. Maybe it is the predator.

You make a run for it and hear it following closely behind. You’ve got the bad feeling that this creature is faster than you, its steps getting louder with every second.

Spotting a low-hanging branch, you jump and pull yourself up on it, hugging the branch for a second while you catch your breath.

The animal is right under you, jumping and snapping, but unable to reach you.

The shock in you finally subsides and makes room for rationality: You can probably kill this thing quite easily, you just have to avoid it getting too close to you.

You jump back down and ram your machete into its back before it can react, the beastly sounds of it finally quieting down, until silence returns to the forest.

Wiping the sweat off your brow with the back of your hand, you pick up the dead animal by its neck, deciding to take it back to the ship.

You walk for another minute before reaching the clearing. Maul, kneeling in front of an open panel on his ship, eyes up the dead body in your hands and looks like he is about to say something, but you interrupt him.

“There’s water less than three minutes from here, but if you encounter one of these bunnies, don’t fall for it.” You drop the body in front of him. “They’re carnivores.”

He opens its mouth with his fingers, exposing its pointy teeth. A frown grazes his features.

“Do you think there are more of them out there?” You ask.

His eyes close in thought.

“We can’t rule out the possibility.” He gets up from his kneeling position, now looking down at you. “We should set up shields around the ship.”

You nod, averting your gaze, suddenly intimidated by the close proximity.

Your eyes get caught on the dead animal between you. Nudging it with your foot, you ask: “You think we can eat this thing?”

“I wouldn’t risk it.” He walks to the open ramp, returning shortly after with four appliances in his arms. They slowly rise from his grasp, floating from his position to the edge of the clearing, creating a rectangle around the ship.

“Turn those two on.” He gestures to his left, turning around to activate the other two.

After flicking a couple of switches, you are surrounded by the soft hum of functioning shields. They dim out outside noises as well, and suddenly it’s eerily quiet on the clearing. You didn’t even notice until now how loud nature can be.

It’s the middle of the day, so you figure it would be smart to stay awake until the sun sets, to get used to the local time. This gives you about five hours to spare.

You remember the lightsaber in your bag and look over to the Sith, who doesn’t appear to be overly busy. This would be a good time to get some practice with the new weapon.

Hurriedly, you enter the ship and rummage through your bag, until your fingertips graze the cool metal handle.

For the first time, you get a good look at the weapon, the way the components are arranged, the detail that went into it.

“What do you have there?”

His voice startles you; you didn’t hear him move to the open ramp.

“I was about to show you.” You toss him the weapon and he examines it in his hands for a second before igniting it. The blue hue feels unfamiliar, unlike his red saber, and reminds you of the Jedi that had come to your planet before.

“This belonged to a Jedi.” he assesses correctly.

“I stole it from the guild. They had taken it from one of them.” You pause. “I was hoping to learn to use it.”

He retracts the blade and throws the weapon back to you. “Usually, only force users wield them.”

“But it doesn’t need to be that way, right?” You remember igniting his lightsaber on Nar Shaddaa.

“No. It is possible to use one without any force sensitivity.”

You feel like a child receiving a gift at the prospect of being able to fight with a real lightsaber.

“But you’ll need to practice. Lightsabers are different from regular swords in many ways.”

“Will you show me?” You tear your eyes from the shiny weapon in your hands, meeting his gaze.

He ponders for a minute.

“I believe this will be beneficial, yes.”

You try to not let your giddiness show, but inside you are squealing with delight.

The powerful weapon is lighter than you expected and balanced differently from your usual sword. Its weight resides mostly in its handle, making it suitable for twirling and faster movements. Also, you need to use much less force to do damage, but at the same time, you need to be extremely careful to not hurt yourself by accidentally letting it touch you.

You figured all of this out on your own in the past few minutes. Now, Maul is standing before you, red lightsaber ignited, ready to test what you’ve managed to pick up so far.

It’s a good thing you are already very familiar with fighting with a sword, you think.

You come at him slowly, experimentally, and for the first time, you experience the feeling of two lightsabers pressing against each other. It sends a weird vibration through your arms. With a little more force, Maul pushes against your hold and sends you stumbling backward, but you collect yourself once more and come at him again, this time actually trying different moves and getting into a proper sparring session, though he doesn’t appear to be overly challenged by your efforts. He ends up winning by getting you into a position in which you are forced to lower your lightsaber to protect your legs, and then quickly pointing his saber to your neck, not getting it close enough to actually hurt you, but enough to prove that—in a real battle—he would have been able to.

Somehow, that demonstration of power is very attractive to you.

You just stand there for a moment, slightly out of breath, until he retracts his saber.

“You are a good fighter.” His statement catches you by surprise, not expecting a compliment.

“I… Thank you?” You don’t know what to say.

Your eyes fall on his lightsaber.

“I’ve been meaning to ask—Why is your lightsaber handle so long?”

He steps further back from you, holding it in front of him and reigniting it, but suddenly, the other side is ignited too—a double-bladed saber.

Fascination flashes through your eyes as you muster the weapon with wonder, tilting your head.

“Is this common?”

He shakes his head, retracting the two blades. “It requires years of practice.”

Something inside you wants to ask him if you can use it, but you suppress the desire to hold the unusual weapon. Maybe another time.

You hate to admit it, but you’re bored. With the shields up, not even the sounds of the forest are there to entertain you, and you feel cut off from the rest of the world. For the past few hours you’ve taken to throwing the ball against the shield and catching it when it ricochets off of it, lazily sitting on the grass with your back against the spaceship.

The sun finally sets, painting the sky stunning colors, and you decide it’s time to get some rest and fall into the planet’s natural rhythm. Maul disappeared inside the ship not long ago, you think he was in the shower.

Now, as you enter the ship, you can hear his footsteps upstairs, but you pay no mind to it. You down a bottle of water and flop down on the bed, really wishing there was a curtain to give you at least some kind of privacy. You stay on top of the covers and close your eyes, trying to fall asleep, but the lack of noise around you is unsettling. Instead of the hum of the spaceship, the chirping of the birds, or even the bustling streets of Kessel, there is nothing but silence, only occasionally interrupted by footsteps on the floor above you.

You awaken just as the sun rises. Maul is nowhere to be seen, but the sheets on his bed are slightly messed up, indicating he actually slept in here for some time. You feel weirdly embarrassed at the thought of him seeing you asleep, in such a vulnerable state, but it’s somewhat nice to know that he trusts you enough to sleep in your presence.

The outside air is slightly cooler than the day before, giving you goosebumps as you exit the ship, but it’s the perfect temperature for physical activity.

As a contract killer, it’s always been important that you stay in perfect shape and have one hundred percent control over every muscle. You don’t intend to change that anytime soon, so you start warming up and quickly move to some exercises, making use of the few trees that are still within your shields. The air on this planet is much better than Kessel’s polluted atmosphere, and you feel like your stamina is at an all-time high.

You have been at it for about an hour and have taken to stretching out again when you hear steps approaching. You are in the middle of doing a split and not really in any position to get up, but you turn your head—just in time to catch the wooden staff he is throwing your way.

Is this his way of asking you to spar with him? Truly, not a very vocal man, though you aren’t very talkative either.

You push yourself off the ground and weigh the staff in your hands, remembering the days when you would be forced to practice with a staff just like this for hours and hours. You would say that you have gotten quite good at it overall this time, even though you never saw the point in practicing so much with a staff instead of a sword - not once have you been in a situation in which you seriously had to fight an enemy with just a staff.

But there was probably an underlying reason nobody ever bothered to explain to you.

And, also, it is kind of fun.

Twirling the staff in your hand once, you get into a fighting stance, feeling admittedly a little excited to be in a fair fight with him.

“A fair fight, you say?”

Your mouth falls open as you stare at him.

“Did you… read my mind?”

He starts spinning the staff in his hands, approaching you, when you decide to go into the offense, immediately extending the staff towards him and starting your attack by executing forceful and fast-paced blows with both sides of your staff, twisting and spinning, and just completely giving in to your intuition.

“You are not shielding it.” He says in between chains of attack, pushing down on your staff forcefully.

“That’s exactly,” you grunt as you push him away, “what I meant. Mind tricks are cheating.”

He scoffs but stays quiet after that.

This session is much more even than when you tried the lightsaber. Both of you have years of practice with this medium, at least you assume he has judging by his aptitude with the weapon, so it’s unsurprising that neither of you really have the upper hand. Sometimes, Maul ends up with the staff pointing straight at your neck, sometimes the roles are reversed.

It’s after a particularly long round that you decide you’ve had enough of the staff and toss it to the side, facing your opponent with a challenging look. He hesitates, but eventually gives in and follows your lead, obviously less comfortable without any kind of weapon in his hands, which is exactly what you anticipated his reaction to be.

Because most people you fight are bigger than you, you rely on speed and the efficient use of your body weight, as well as your flexibility, meaning you jump and kick a lot and make full use of the agility you’ve worked on for years.

Maul, however, is shockingly swift in his movements as well, despite the fact that hand-to-hand combat is clearly not his preferred method of fighting.

You dive under his swing and execute a smooth roundhouse kick, immediately spinning a second time, and landing a hit at the side of his face. You didn’t go full-power, since you’re just sparring, but it was strong enough to get him to stumble the tiniest bit, giving you the opportunity to come running up to him and wrap your left leg around his side, jumping up while rotating your hips and effectively throwing him to the ground under you.

You try to fight the triumphant grin that is trying to make its way on your face, always having been taught to not let any emotions shine through in combat - but sitting on his side, your legs wrapped around his and his arms pinned to the ground next to his head with one hand, the other holding on to his neck, restricting all movement, you finally feel like you have won , which you didn’t realize until now was something you were in desperate need of after having lost to him in the alley. You never thought self-doubt and insecurity could manifest in you so fast, but apparently, one defeat was all it took to bring you down. Luckily, your self-esteem recovers just as fast as it collapses.

Panting, you look down at the zabrak and suddenly really feel the sensation of skin-to-skin contact, noticing how warm his skin is against yours, how close you are to him, how this is the first time you actually touch ...

You stare at his larger hands next to yours, realizing that for once he is not wearing his leather gloves, red and black fingers finally exposed to your lingering gaze—

With a ruck he frees himself from your hold on him, you too distracted to react in time. His hand shoots up to your shoulder and pushes it back, using his leg to spin you onto your back and press you into the ground.

You open your mouth to protest, but can’t think of anything to say other than ‘It’s not fair, I was busy staring at you and being touch-starved!’

So there you are, buried underneath his form, just blinking at him disappointedly. You could swear that amusement is flickering in the corners of his hypnotizingly yellow glowing eyes. The only sound heard is the two of you breathing hard, your heart thumping in your chest.

He remains in his position on top of you for a moment longer than one usually would while sparring, before abruptly standing up, briefly hesitating, and then stretching his hand out to help you get up. You take it, his skin again unexpectedly hot and far softer than it looks.

How come somebody with a life as violent as his has such… nice hands?

“Once again, you are not shielding your thoughts.”

Embarrassment fills you as you realize he just heard you call his hands ‘nice and soft’.

“Nobody said you had to listen to them!” you snap defensively, unable to think of something better to reply while you feel the blood rushing to your cheeks, quickly turning away from him to keep him from seeing your blush.

You’ll have to figure out how to protect your thoughts better in the future.

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next chapter

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oooh, reader is a little touch-starved you say? Not gonna lie, I wouldn’t mind my favorite zabrak gently pinning me to the ground either,,,

@princessayveke

#darth maul #maul #darth maul x reader #maul x reader #sith #star wars x reader #star wars x you #star wars fanfiction

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my-morning-straitjacket · 4 years

Text

Rey x Female Reader: Badass

Prompt request by @labyrinth-of-thoughts

You didn’t join the Resistance because you were weak. No, you were strong. Tough. Indestructible. Intelligent. You still are. You’ve got a reputation for being a badass around the base. You’re tall and athletic. You have tattoos scribbled on your muscular arms and your long, wavy hair often falls over your sculptured shoulders. You really do have it all. Everyone knows that and they also know not to mess with you. They’re not scared of you or anything like that. They just know that you’re a force to be reckoned with and the First Order has no idea what they’re dealing with when it comes to you.

You never set out to be the badass of the Resistance but you’re quite flattered to be given that appellation. Even though you’re a total badass, you still have a big heart. You’re very protective of the ones you love and the ones you hold dear. You are very passionate about the Resistance and you’ll do anything to defend it. You would kill for it, die for it, and whatever else it takes to see it through until the end. The Resistance is your life and you’re so proud to be apart of it.

“Do you really have to slam me on the ground like that?” A rebel whines as you beat him in the ring.

“What, do you think the enemy will go easy on you just because you don’t like being slammed to the ground?” You retort, standing up and offering your hand.

He purses his lips and takes it. You yank him to his feet and get him to take a rest. People are often hesitant to train with you because you’re so tough and stringent and training is hard but they know you’re one of the best - if not THE best - trainers in the Resistance. You have trained many people and all of them have turned out to be outstanding and eminent fighters. However, not everyone is cut out for your method of pedagogy, which is fine.

“Alright, who is next?” You probe, looking around the ring and in amongst the crowd, you see Rey.

You freeze at the sight of her because you harbour the biggest crush on the brunette it isn’t funny. You’ve been crushing on her for a while now but there’s no way Rey would want to be with you. Rey is independent and she’s solely focused on stepping into who she really is. You don’t want to mess up that journey for her. You don’t want to be the one who gets in the way of that. You try hard to ignore your feelings. You even go to lengths to reject them and make efforts to tell yourself that you DON’T like her but every time you see her, you get lost in her green/hazel eyes and you’re gone.

“I will!” Rey raises her hand and you’re shocked.

The surrounding rebels make “oohh”ing noises but you just ignore them. Rey may look harmless but she is just as badass as you are but she doesn’t have the outward look for it as you do. She’s a Jedi in training and she knows how to wield a staff and a saber. She’s good with hand-to-hand combat but there are some things she still needs to learn. You’ve known how to fight since you were a child and you’ve been doing it ever since.

You haven’t met anyone you can’t beat and you’re proud of it. You have no problem knocking someone on their ass if they get in your way - friend or foe, it doesn’t matter. However, as soon as Rey steps into the ring, you’re not sure if you can do it. You don’t want to hurt her but you can’t let your emotions get in the way of your fighting. That’s the first rule you teach your students so you daren’t become a hypocrite of your own teachings.

“Okay. Are you ready?” You check when Rey gets close enough.

“Yes,” she nods, giving you a faint smile and you melt a little on the inside because Rey’s smiles - half or full - are so adorable.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Rey nods snappily then gets into a stance. Her brows furrow, her lips purse, and the look of concentration and determination sets in her eyes. She’s ready. You know it as does everyone else. You wait for her to move and she doesn’t for a little bit until she lunges forward to hit you but you block her attack, pushing her arm out the way.

She spins around to kick you but you grab her leg, holding it, and raise your fist but she ducks under your arm and pushes out of your hold swiftly, retreating several steps before encroaching on you again but this time, you’re the first one to make the move. You go to punch her face but she dodges but you’re deft and use your tricep to hit her neck, making her stumble back.

She grits her teeth, seething at you then pushes you but you hold her arms, yanking her forward, allowing you to knee her in the stomach. She groans at the pain but raises her head speedily, knocking your head, then kicks you in the stomach, which makes you stumble back. You place your hand over your gut to try and soothe the throbbing of where you were hit but it doesn’t last long when she comes at you again. It soon becomes a match of blocking simple yet effective attacks and trying to throw them successfully without failure.

Rey is a good opponent and you can see that she is really getting into it. She stares you down but you just stare back as you fight her. You grab her and throw her around the ring and she does the same and you can tell the rebels are getting quite the show out of it, especially when you and Rey start trash-talking each other.

Rey has some witty remarks but you have better ones, some of which really get under her skin. She flies toward you and you duck then wrap your arms around her from behind and pull her to you, holding your arms across her chest so she can’t move.

“Nice moves, Rey,” you breathe. “Too bad they’re not as nice as your saber skills.”

“You’re lucky that I don’t have it with me right now,” she grunts as she tries her best get out of your vice-like grip.

“Oh, I sure am. Seeing you run around with your cute, little laser sword… I’m trembling in my boots.”

“Bite me.”

“Where?” You smirk and you hear the faintest gasp escape Rey’s lips.

“Is that the best you’ve got?”

“I’d be happy to show you but I’m not into exhibitionism.”

“That’s too bad.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I am.”

Rey elbows you in the stomach then swipes her foot under your own, knocking you on your ass. The rebels gasp and you feel like doing the same but you’re pretty sure that Rey knocked the wind out of you. The rebels begin to applaud Rey as she smiles proudly, raising her hands up in triumph with a big grin on her face.

“Nice one,” you pant. “There’s just one more thing you need to learn.”

“Oh?” Rey looks down at you. “And what’s that?”

You usher her to get closer and she does, allowing you to use the remainder of your strength to kick your leg out under her feet, sending her on her ass.

“Don’t get cocky,” you finish and the rebels applaud and cheer for you both.

You take a minute to catch your breath before standing up, feeling your ass and lower back ache from being knocked down so forcefully. Once you’re standing, you help Rey up who trips on the way and stumbles forward.

“Whoa!” You catch her as she falls in your arms. “Are you okay?”

Rey looks up at you and that’s when you both realise that you’re mere inches away from the other and more importantly, their lips.

“Yes,” she speaks. “I’m fine. Thank you.”

“I didn’t hurt you too much?” It’s so unlike you to ask that question since you don’t really care for people’s response and it’s also apart of your training and persona but it’s different with Rey.

“No,” she huffs a laugh. “I’m fine. Did I hurt you?”

“No,” you shake your head.

“Good.”

You and Rey keep looking at one another, eyes scanning each other’s face, focusing on the lips more than anything else.

“Ah-hem…” Poe clearing his throat startles the two of you, making you jump apart and that’s when you realise that the rebels have already left. “Sorry to interrupt but, Rey, you’re needed on the Falcon.”

“Of course,” she nods then turns to you. “Thank you.” She holds out her hand and you find it awkward.

You look at it for a moment before shaking it, which you think is strange since you and Rey never do that. The first and last time you shook hands was when you met several years ago.

“Any time.”

Rey gives you a brief smile then takes off with Poe and you can’t help but watch her walk off, noting just how nice her ass looks in those sexy Jedi robes…

“Did you really shake her hand?” Poe asks Rey as they make their way to the Falcon.

“Yes…” Rey answers, embarrassed.

“You’ve really fallen for her, haven’t you?”

“Shh!” She hisses, looking over her shoulder. “Don’t say it so loudly!”

“Oh, please! Don’t pretend like we all don’t know that you two like each other.”

Rey freezes and looks at Poe perplexed. “What?”

Poe stops and turns to Rey. “What? You seriously don’t know that she likes you back?”

“What?” Rey snorts. “Don’t be ridiculous! She wouldn’t like someone like me!”

“Well, she does,” he smirks.

“No,” Rey shakes her head in denial. “That’s impossible. Someone like that wouldn’t be interested in someone like me. It just doesn’t happen.”

“Rey, I love you like a sister so I’m going to be honest with you here - she likes you. She flirts with you all the time and plays with you.”

“She does that with everybody though!”

“No, she doesn’t!” He laughs. “Look, Rey, she likes you so you need to do something about it because the tension is killing everyone. Yes, EVERYONE. Leia can’t stand it and you won’t believe how many times I’ve had to tell her not to interfere. LEIA. The mother of the Resistance. I’VE had to tell HER not to do anything. That’s how serious it is.”

Rey presses her lips into a thin line, squinting at Poe as she thinks. “Okay. I’ll… I’ll talk to her.”

“Thank you!” He sighs loudly with relief. “Now, come on. We’ve got work to do.”

It’s been a long day and all you want to do is have a shower and get into bed. You’ve got an early start tomorrow since you’re training fresh rebels and you believe that early morning starts are the best way to get them into shape and ready for a fight at any time. You return to your quarters and your shirt is the first thing to go. You just finished your own training and you train yourself hard. You push yourself more than anyone and you believe that it’s paid off.

You haven’t met a fight you couldn’t match. Except for Rey. That was different but you know if that was anyone else, you would have won. Rey just gets to you and you tried hard not to let her in the ring but you’ve had feelings for that woman for years so it’s hard not to let your feelings get involved. You’re not happy with yourself about it but you’re not sure what you can do other than try to work on it next time. If there is a next time, of course.

You sigh contently as you feel the cool air collect the sweat off your skin. It gets quite humid in the Klosslands so it doesn’t take much for people to build up a sweat. The main cause of exhaustion in the Klosslands is simply people not drinking enough water so you have to remind all of your pupils to drink. You find it ridiculous since you’re not their mother but it’s better to tell them than have them dehydrate and die and you can’t afford to lose any numbers when you’re in the middle of a war. You hope the war will end soon. You’ve been at it for too long but you will never give up hope. That’s what the Resistance stands for - hope. And you’ll be damned if you give up that.

You kick off your boots and go to remove your pants but you hear a noise outside your door that makes you stop. You turn to the noise and wait and you see someone on the other side through the gap.

“Hello?” You speak. “Rey?”

“Dammit…” You hear the word faintly as the door opens. “H, hey!” She smiles awkwardly, trying to avoid looking at you. “Umm… Is this a bad time?”

“No, it’s fine. Come in.”

“Thanks…” Rey shuts the door and steps further into your quarters.

“Sorry for the lack of clothing. I was just about to hop in the shower,” you explain.

“No, that’s fine. I… I, um…” Rey riddles with her fingers and you can tell that she’s nervous.

Rey isn’t exactly subtle when she’s nervous but you find it cute. You’re not sure if she’s nervous because you’re not wearing a shirt or because what she’s about to say is making her anxious. You hope it’s the former.

“I just wanted to apologise for today,” she begins.

“Today? Why? What for?” You frown because you have no idea what she is apologising for.

“In the ring. I felt like I was hard on you and that I was rough. I feel like I humiliated you in front of your students so I’m sorry.”

“Rey,” you chuckle. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. You should be proud that you knocked me on my ass. Yes, it was a bit humiliating but I got back up. That’s what I teach everyone - no matter how many times you fall, get back up.”

Rey finally looks at you and smiles. “You’re a good teacher.”

“As are you.”

“Me? How?” A small chuckle is laced in her words.

“Because you showed them what happens to those who get cocky. Even though we were throwing a bit of banter at each other, it was still a fight and being overconfident in yourself is a weakness.”

“You’re very wise.”

“I don’t know about that but I do try my best… Anyway, there’s no need to be sorry. You’re a good fighter. You still have a bit to learn but you can handle yourself.”

“Thank you. Perhaps I should get some more training lessons from you in the future.”

“Perhaps you shall.”

Rey smiles at you and you just want to kiss her right then and there. She’s just so beautiful you can’t even comprehend it properly. You have no idea how someone like her can even exist. You have met many people in your life but none of them astound you as much as Rey does. You don’t know why but there’s something special about her that you can’t put your finger on.

“Anyway, um,” Rey clears her throat, snapping you back into reality. “I’ll leave you to it.”

“Oh. Yeah. Sure. That’s, ah… that’s fine.”

“I’ll, um… See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Of course. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Great.” Rey gives you one last smile before she turns and leaves your quarters.

You watch her leave then head into the bathroom where you finally recognise your heart palpitations and the wave of adrenaline coursing through you. You hate how Rey can do that to you so easily. As soon as you met her she did something to you. You don’t know what she did exactly but it’s stuck with you ever since. You wish to be rid of this burden but you know it’s up to you to do that.

Jedi’s aren’t allowed to be in any kind of relationship and again, you don’t want to jeopardise Rey’s journey of self-discovery but these feelings you have for her are so strong. You felt like kissing her earlier. You feel like kissing her all the time. You need to tell her how you feel so she can tell you that she doesn’t like you, which will FORCE you to move on. It’ll hurt but it’ll be your saving grace - it has to be.

At that moment, you make a decision. You turn around and race out of the bathroom, stepping into your bedroom but when you do, you see Rey rush back to where she was. You both halt, staring at each other for several moments before you feel this... pull, which causes you and Rey to simultaneously rush to each other and engulf the other in your arms as you kiss. You hold your arms around her hips as her hands grasp face, holding your lips together. You feel a fire inside you that you’ve never felt before and it’s phenomenal. You literally don’t have any words for it.

You hold onto Rey for as long as you can and kiss her until you can’t breathe anymore. You reluctantly part and look at each other with flushed cheeks.

“Is now a good time to tell you that I love you?” That’s not how you intended to tell her but you’re so entrenched in the moment right now that you don’t care.

“No,” she shakes her head and you feel a wave of fear crash over you when you see the seriousness on her face. “It’s perfect,” she winks, her face softening.

You close your eyes briefly, letting out a huff of relief. Rey giggles, grabbing your face and pulling you back to her lips. You don’t stand for joking or teasing of any kind but this is Rey and she’s just lucky that you love her so…

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mygrandmathinksimsassy · 5 years

Text

“Flight Lessons”- (TIE Silencer one-shot)

Rey sinks into the sand until Ben holds out his arm to help her up.

She wouldn’t be able to stand otherwise. That’s what she tells herself when takes his hand.

“Catch your breath,” he says sternly. “We’re going again.”

“No,” she wheezes. “We are not.”

“It’ll be dark soon enough,” he insists. “You can stop then.”

“You could always have a go at it,” she pants. “Switch with me if you think it’s so easy to land.”

“I’m not going to leave you in my ship unattended, Rey.”

“You’ll run off with it,” he scolds. “And then where would I be?”

In her dreams, she’s running.

On snow. On salt. On sand.

Always running, never stopping.

Terrified of looking back

Rey’s eyes are closed, but she can always see the pilot chasing her.

Ben, he’s still Ben even after all this time, is always just behind her, breathing down her neck, and she doesn’t know what scares her more each time she floats through the air.

Fearing that he’ll catch her.

Or fearing that he won’t.

—

There are rumors of a First Order coup, even in the Resistance camp. A faction led by General Hux finishes the work that another, someone whose name she’s only ever heard in whispers, started so long ago.

The Emperor’s ghost will not abide those who know the Force.

He knows all too well what the Light can do.

They are only rumors, gossip learned second-hand then third, but she has no reason not to believe them.

She hears that Ben was attacked, left to die in the ruins of the Death Star.

The cause he’s dedicated his life to spits him up and swallows him whole.

—

The Resistance finds the man who used to be the Supreme Leader in the sands of Tatooine.

He’s bathed in the Force, as he always is, as he always has been, but the pulse that surrounds him is weaker than it once was. Flickering instead of beaming, a dying star instead of a burning sun.

The prisoner comes quietly.

If he didn’t want to captured, he would have gone free. The restraints fastened to his wrists by two terrified privates as they dragged him to the Falcon are only for show.

She knows that. He knows that.

But it’s easier for the others to pretend.

He’s kept in one of the Falcon’s unused rooms. One of the smaller ones that could have easily once been his.

She’s in charge of guard duty although she is the sole volunteer.

The bond has been quiet these past months, but now they’re alone, trapped together with her back against the wall and his saber on her hip.

Ben doesn’t say anything, just stares at her with a split lip and bruises coloring his cheeks.

He’s not in her mind, she told him she’s kill him if he tried and he seems to honor her request, but he’s seeing more than she wants.

Poe wanted to shoot on him sight. She’s starting to think that wouldn’t have been the worst idea.

“Why are you here?”

“I was looking for you.”

“You found me,” she snaps. “And then you got yourself captured. Excellent job.”

Silence is his only reply. His Force signature is growing healthy, strengthened by his captivity, a band of Darkness wrapped around a ring of Light.

The Light was there the last time they spoke. There, but almost too weak to see.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Don’t be stupid,” she says. “Why were you trying to find me?”

“I’m supposed to find you.”

He’s loud now, almost shouting, and she reaches for her saber without thinking.

“I keep having these dreams,” he continues. His voice is softer now, almost apologetic, and she moves her hand when she notices the hurt in his eyes. “Where the Order is after you. After us. Trying to kill us both.”

“You try and outrun them, but then you land on my ship right as they’re about to shoot,” he says. “I don’t know what it means, but it’s the same dream every time.”

“I can show you if you don’t believe me.”

He bows his head, offering up the contents of his mind, and she fights every impulse in her body not to take full advantage.

To witness the future he saw. To scavenge all the other dreams that might have led him here.

“You don’t need to show me, Ben,” she whispers. “I’ve seen it too.”

He lifts his head and something within her, neither Light nor Dark, grows stronger.

“You can tell Dameron I’ll cooperate,” Ben says. “I’m in exile now. I’ve got nothing left to lose.”

—

What’s left of High Command gathers in one room after the interrogation.

It’s been months, but the seat that would have been Leia’s, the throne at the head of the table, is still left empty.

Rey is present, but not quite there, standing on the outer edge of the inner circle as Poe relays the intel he’s gathered.

Ben told them more than they could have ever hoped and for the first time, the war feels like it could end.

“Why should we believe anything Ren says?”

The senior officer speaking has been scowling since the meeting started.

“For all we know, this is a trap. We’re playing right into his hands.”

Half the room murmurs its agreement and the Darkness slinks past her ankles, letting out a warning hiss before it disappears.

“You’ve seen the holos. The First Order’s offering five million credits for his head,” Finn says. “He’s a dead man walking. He might be telling the truth.”

“Even if he’s telling the truth-“

“-he is.”

It’s the first time she’s spoken in a council meeting and a roomful of eyes are locked on her. Her hand rests against her saber, Luke’s saber, and the Light helps craft every word.

“He wouldn’t lie. Not about this.”

There are more murmurs after that. Some more content than others.

Poe calls the room to order in a weary voice, turning to her once more before he issues a final decision.

“Are you sure, Rey?” Poe asks. “Can we trust him?”

He sounds tired.

Tired of fighting. Tired of war.

She nods, trusting Ben even if she isn’t sure why.

The Force cursed them both with the same vision. She’s no longer fool enough to pretend to understand what it means.

What little she says is enough to stay Ben’s execution.

The borrowed saber on her hip whispers its thanks.

—

Ben is a free-range prisoner.

He’s her shadow, a constant companion, in the weeks that follow.

None of the enlisted dare to approach him. Even most of the officers look the other way when he enters the mess for the first time, allowed out of his cell in exchange for the intelligence that reduced a First Order outpost into rubble.

An officer, the same one who had been so eager to condemn him, shoots Ben in the leg.

Or at least he tries.

Rey freezes the blaster bolt as it comes inches from Ben’s thigh. The Force flows through her fingertips as it lands with a thud and it isn’t regulation to strike Ben’s would-be assailant with her staff, but it’s kindness compared to what the Darkness suggests.

She’s stronger now that Ben’s with her. It’s intoxicating to think of what they could do.

—

They meditate.

She wakes him up while the rest of the camp is still asleep, before the suns have even risen and their only company is a silent dawn.

He says it’s been years since he even tried, that there were easier ways to find the Force when Darkness was all he knew, but he allows her to guide him as they ready for the end.

They sits across from one other with crossed legs and closed eyes, both searching for the balance she once struggled so hard to find.

They spar.

Using sticks like unruly padawans.

She tells him not to hold anything back, to teach her everything he knows, and the constellation of scrapes all over her limbs is evidence enough that he’s doing exactly as she acts.

Their matches become something of a spectacle, drawing crowds of anyone that can stop the task at hand.

He’s killed more men than she could ever name, but she wins enough to keep her ego from being bruised.

It might be the only part about her that isn’t.

—

They practice, readying themselves for the day their vision comes true.

It will come true. It’s only a matter of when.

She had to fight tooth and nail, but he’s finally been allowed use of his ship.

There are orders to cut his throat if he tries to go off-planet.

But he wouldn’t leave.

Not when there’s still so much to do.

She stares at the horizon for the millionth time, watching as Ben’s ship gathers speed.

She runs, just like the dreams, holding tight to her lightsaber when she closes her eyes and takes the leap.

She’s weightless, breathless. The Light soars as she spins through the air and she’s forgotten how it feels to stand when she bangs her head against one of the wings.

Gravity is her cruelest enemy.

She waited too long to jump.

Ben veers his Silencer off course, swerving so she doesn’t end up burned to a crisp, but it isn’t really mercy when she crashes into the sand.

It hurts, but the pain is nothing new.

She’s already fallen a thousand times.

What’s one time more?

Rey sinks into the sand until Ben holds out his arm to help her up.

She wouldn’t be able to stand otherwise. That’s what she tells herself when takes his hand.

“Catch your breath,” he says sternly. “We’re going again.”

“No,” she wheezes. “We are not.”

“It’ll be dark soon enough,” he insists. “You can stop then.”

“You could always have a go at it,” she pants. “Switch with me if you think it’s so easy to land.”

“I’m not going to leave you in my ship unattended, Rey.”

“You’ll run off with it,” he scolds. “And then where would I be?”

She rewards him with a one-fingered salute, the first thing she remembers learning in Niima outpost, and it’s the first time she’s ever seen him smile.

—

He has a nice smile.

For a tyrant.

—

There are other dreams in the weeks that follow.

Dreams where she’s in his lap and in his bed, moaning his name as he makes her come undone.

She tries to forget them as soon as she’s woken up, tries to hide her blush when Ben strips down to an undershirt in his war against the midday sun.

Those are her dreams. Nobody else’s.

Some dreams don’t come true.

—

The war finds them on Tatooine.

Their armies are waiting, stationed in the mountains until it’s finally time to strike. Finn has her staff while Poe keeps watch, his comm at the ready when it’s time for the ambush to start.

She’s the sacrificial Bantha, standing alone.

Trussed up and ready for the slaughter.

She can’t see Ben, but she can feel him. The gears of his mind whirling from his hiding place in the shadows.

There’s fear there, the same worry she has that all their work was in vain.

Her heart aches, but she ignores it.

She ignites the saber, a blue beacon for the swarm that’s descending on the planet’s surface

They wanted a Jedi.

That’s what they’ll get.

The finest ships in the First Order are seconds away, larger than life and sharper than steel, but her feet carry her over the sand, out of the desert and into the open.

Their ships are fast. Ben’s is faster.

He breaks through their offensive, soaring toward her like they’ve practiced a thousand times.

Guns are firing, getting closer with each wasted moment, when he calls her name.

The Force bangs like a drum when she jumps.

She flies through the air.

And then he catches her.

Just as she always knew he would.

—

Then the Resistance claims its due.

—

To the victors, go the spoils.

A bottle Lando brought makes its rounds among the survivors, something bitter and strong that warms the fire in her blood.

Ben isn’t unwelcome, not anymore, but he lingers at the edge of the crowd.

Keeping to himself.

Looking away when she tries to catch his eye.

—

The rest of the camp has gone to bed.

They sit together with their thighs touching, watching as the fire slowly turns to ash.

“I’ve been told I’m not a prisoner anymore,” Ben says. “That I’m free to go wherever I please.”

His Poe impression is a good one, but that’s not why she forgets to breathe.

“Where will you go?”

“I haven’t decided.”

He sighs, staring at the embers like they’ll give him any sort of sign.

“I’ve never been free before.”

She might be imagining it, but his fingertips brush against hers.

“You could stay here.”

He doesn’t say anything and that hurts more than a no ever could.

“You don’t have to stay here,” she stammers, trying to salvage what would have been a perfectly fine goodbye. “But it’ll take months to help rebuild the moisture farms. We could always use another set of hands.”

“Do you want me to stay?”

Ben turns his head and her heart pounds in her ears.

Running from an army was nothing compared to this.

She misses being brave.

He has to know she wants him to stay.

He has to know that’s all she’s ever wanted.

But words fail her as they so often do.

So she kisses him instead.

He’s just as clumsy and unpracticed as she is, but it’s perfect either way, feasting on his lips as he wraps his arms around her.

She’s soaking through her leggings as she climbs into his lap and they’ve never been closer, but they’ll never be close enough.

“I dreamed about this too.”

He kisses a trail up her neck, leaving marks she never wants to fade.

“Rey, I’ve dreamed about you for so long.”

She cradles his face in his hands,

He’s looking at her the way she’s only ever dreamed of being looked at, like she’s the most precious thing he’s ever seen, and it’s all she can do to kiss him again, to make up for all the time they’ve wasted.

The dreams, as beautiful as they were, were a pale imitation of reality.

She’ll never wake up from this for as long they live.

—

Rey takes Ben’s hand and leads him to the Falcon.

—

She’s fallen for him a thousand times.

It’s easy to fall once more.

#rey #rey of jakku #kylo ren #ben solo #rey x ben solo #rey x kylo ren #reylo #reylo fanfiction #reylo fanfic #reylo fic #star wars #star wars episode ix #rise of skywalker #bendemption 2k19 #tie silencer #episode ix fic #episode ix speculation #sasstasticmad #the trailer got me good everybody

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chubbyooo · 5 years

Text

Blurred Lines Chapter 33 - The Ritual

well that time has finally arrived we’ve reached the ritual i am an excite

Things come to a head as Kyradia and co head to the temple to stop the ritual

Terri put down her macrobinoculars, still nothing, as far as she could tell it seemed everything was going according to plan. She needed to distract herself; she could hear the faint sounds of the ritual and of Lusari, she knew she had to be strong but all she could hear was Lusari’s screams in pain. She must be enduring a lot of pain for this that’s how it worked right? Terri wished there was another way but she had to trust her. Lusari had told her it was necessary, the excess force energy had to go somewhere right? She hoped this would be worth it maybe they should’ve just left the Lady and got out of there that wouldn’t have been so bad. No that’s wrong they’d promised they’d help her she buried her face in her hands how could she think that they were supposed to be better than the sith. Terri hated this she just wanted to get out of here the world was so bizarre she didn’t know who was right or wrong or even if that mattered, she took a long deep breath she did know one thing she could trust though, that Lusari knew what she was doing. Terri wished she had Lusi’s confidence she had to at least try and help right even if she was really bad at it, she’d been distracted too long she picked up her macrobinoculars and started surveying the area. The beacon still looked active and the mercenaries were ready for their pickup, the conversation of where the other mercenaries were was not going to be a fun one. She didn’t know where the Commander and her friend would come from but the Lady was pretty confident they’d be on their way shortly. That still puzzled her though, the commander had once been The Lady’s apprentice but then why was that togruta still helping her? she had been manipulated but Terri saw nothing holding the togruta there. Maybe she had fallen and wasn’t aware of it, like that Jedi they’d learned about Norman Car? something like that Terri wasn’t really listening at the time. She could just be lying Terri had to consider that possibility that people lie, she had been told she was far to trusting in the past (mainly by Lusi) she had to remember people lie in the real world. She realised she’d been staring at the same patch of forest for about 10 minutes, damn it she had to concentrate this was important.

She began to scan the area again but was still met with nothing, she’d identified a few points in the brush where they could be hiding but Infra-red was showing up no signs. Maybe if she used the force she may be able to gleam something, she closed her eyes and let go of herself feeling the space around her. She focussed on living things and could sense the many fish circling in the lake, phew glad she didn’t fall in some could be carnivorous. She tried to picture the commander who she had fought on the top of the first temple, red skin yellow eyes long red hair. She began to feel something but it wasn’t from the forest it was from... above!!!. Terri frantically looked up at the sky and was met with a black and grey Ship descending through the clouds from across the lake. oh no oh no oh no what could she do, keep them off the island? how would she? Terri gasped as she got an idea, they would be using parachutes right so she could divert them. She dropped her binoculars and scurried to the top part of the wall ready to divert them maybe with a gun maybe with the force she wasn’t sure yet. The ship raced towards her and as it did she saw the landing ramp descend, here we go get ready. She saw the silhouettes jump she followed them with her eyes waiting for the parachutes to deploy but after a few seconds they hadn’t deployed what were they thinking? they wouldn’t be able to land in the lake it’s not that deep. The silhouettes began to get closer and Terri could see there was three of them!! two she recognised and a new maybe Kaleesh? She watched perplexed as they got closer and closer to the water and saw the three of them push down with the force, no that wasn’t possible? right? She saw as a wave of dust came towards her, blue lightning shooting out of the Zabraks hands, they were actually slowing down this might work. She saw as they landed with a less than graceful roll on the edge of the island, oh god Terri had gotten so caught up in it she hadn’t even tried to stop them. She had to tell Lusari but she also had to stop them she quickly looked around and saw a rock she could probably lift. She haphazardly flung it in their direction and jumped down into the courtyard rushing to the entrance of the temple, she took a deep breath and shouted

“LUSARI MY LADY THEY’RE HERE” she spun around and saw the three enter the courtyard. What was she gonna do she could barely take on one how would she handle three, Terri’s muscles tensed up as she shakily turned her lightsaber on the green glow reflecting of the temple walls. She stammered “I-I-I c-can’t let you past s-stay back” god she sounded so weak she doubted they were even slightly intimidated

The commanded sighed ignited her own lightsaber “just let us pass and we won’t have to hurt you” the Togruta and Kaleesh followed suit, the Kaleesh snarling as he did he seemed very scary

Terri’s breath quickened rapidly she had to do this for Lusari “I can’t do that I made a promise” she stepped forward and as she did she heard another lightsaber ignite next to her.

She turned to see Lusari’s yellow lightsaber floating there as she heard in her head “not to worry Terri I’ll fight with you” the Lady had her back maybe she could actually do this she swallowed all her fear lifted her lightsaber and ran forward ready to save her friend.

https://open.spotify.com/track/3rWNmpZM3vPiRwbFToDLoO?si=eIu5E1xaTam-JILtkozeyw

She sprinted forward taking a running slash as the commander blocked it pushing her back a few feet. She could see to her right the yellow saber parry the attacks of the Kaleesh as the togruta went for a disarming slash on her. She thought of all they had done to get here and suddenly all the frustration she’d been feeling built up putting all her energy into throwing her at the wall. She turned back to the commander ready to fight but as she did a flash of blue energy caused her to flinch followed by an intense searing pain when she managed to reopen her eyes she saw bolts of energy covering her vision. She began to convulse in pain, no no no she needed to fight through it fight smarter she began to walk forward she could see the commanders snarl as she shot the lightning at Terri. Terri continued to walk forward and managed to grab her arm, she saw as the lightning jolted back into the commander causing her to stumble back in pain. Terri saw the opportunity to maybe incapacitate her as she went for a slash where she had gotten the commander before but to her surprise she saw the commanders hand grab the lightsaber by the blade and rip it out of her hand.

The commander threw it to the side and clicked her neck he face far more serious than their first encounter “that hurt, now get out of my way kid” Terri felt an intense force and next thing she knew she was against the wall her back sharp with pain. She slumped down the wall as she saw the commander sprinting towards the temple no she had to stop her she had to save Lusari, she got up and began to chase after her but choked as something grabbed the back of her neck. She stumbled around to see the togruta back up and ready to fight, she knew she had to catch the commander though and ignored her turning back around to run.

She began to run but as she did she saw an orange form spin over her landing in front of her “I’m sorry but I can’t let you pass” Terri felt anger boiling up like never before

She felt herself scowling as she shot “try and stop me” at the togruta she then lunged at her with her saber...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

https://open.spotify.com/track/78lgmZwycJ3nzsdgmPPGNx?si=KcdJdDVXS823FQydOhXhEA

Kyradia sprinted with all her might towards the temple entrance, this had to end now. As she arrived at the entrance she could see an immense amount of dark energy surrounding something, she guessed the girl. But as she began to run in the chamber seemingly shifted becoming a pitch black corridor, she looked around as silhouettes began to form in the space

She recognised the shape, Zash was messing with her. The silhouettes opened their pinprick yellow eyes as an echo filled the chamber “I’m sorry Kyradia but you’re not getting through we’re almost there and we can’t have you messing it all up” Kyradia scowled as the silhouettes began to run at her. Alright she could play this game she took a deep breath taking in all her anger and rage remembering every shitty thing Zash had done and quickly feeling the lightning build up in her hands. With a defiant scream she let out all the energy she could muster as the lightning jumped from shadow to shadow each falling one by one leaving an empty chamber. Zash wouldn’t let up for long though she knelt down and pictured the room she had just seen, she built up the energy and in a flash she had strode there.

She could feel the wind on her face as she looked up and was met with a vortex of swirling black energy in the round open chamber surrounding the small blonde form of Lusari. She could hear her shrieking out in pain as Kyradia saw dark slivers of energy enter her form, Zash had said it would hurt but Kyradia was sure she hadn’t been entirely forthcoming. The echo of Zash’s grating voice returned ringing in her ear “well well well good job you outsmarted me there well I’m afraid that was the easy bit” Kyradia looked around for some form of entryway and as she did she saw a Lightsaber rise up in front of her floating in the space.

This lightsaber was familiar though, this was Zash’s lightsaber oh she was so ready to destroy her “oh don’t worry Zash! I’m going to stop you and I’m going to enjoy every second of it” she lunged at the lightsaber trying to grab it as it danced out of the way of her hand. While she fought she could hear the echoed laughs of Zash mixed in with the screams of the girl, the saber lunged at her as if it was being held by someone, damn it she didn’t have much time. She blocked the saber with her own, the mix of red and purple sparks sparking off into the dark abyss before her. She felt the force of the blade as it began to push her down further, she had to fight back! she stepped back letting it fall but as it did it rose back up ready to fight again.

Kyradia could feel the scowl on her face “sithspit!” she cursed as the blade went for a horizontal slash, she could feel the heat of the blade as she narrowly avoided it flipping over and using her momentum to bring a hard slash down on the blade. She pushed the blade down and instinctively went for a jab as she did however she stumbled forward, damn she forgot there’s no one wielding it. She sensed the blade would take advantage so put her own behind her and blocked the blade going for a vertical slash then she let it go jumping as she did narrowly avoiding the blade.

The laugh echoed out again “getting sloppy are we Kyradia at this rate you have no chance of stopping me” as much as she hated to agree with Zash she was right this saber was just a distraction she had to get to the girl. But she’d have to eliminate it nonetheless

She grinned she knew what to do she took a deep breath taking a defensive stance drawing as much power as she could. She waited and as the saber slashed at her she began to phantom stride around it she could see it turning to her prior locations as she continually strode around it. After it was clearly disoriented she strode threw it grabbing it by the handle turning it off as she went, it deignited and Kyradia threw it into the corner. Ok now the vortex she could use the force against it? no it’s a vortex of force energy that would only feed it, take some in? maybe that would make a hole big enough to get through. She put her lightsaber away, well this was definitely gonna hurt she took a deep breath gritting her teeth and began drawing energy from the vortex, as it hit her she felt the searing pain coarse through every inch of her body. She built her anger letting it seethe as she redirected the pain, she began walking towards the edge of the vortex, every second a new wave of pain hit her she had only felt something like this once before. She put her hand on the edge of the vortex as she did every nerve in her hand shot with pain, redirect it push it down think of all of it every last thing, home, the change, the sith all of it. She felt the energy flow through her as she took a deep breath stepping fully into the vortex, looking around all she could see was dark energy and all she could feel was an intense wind blowing against her face. To her surprise the energy wasn’t so bad in here, however the somewhat tame screams she could hear before were now deafening seemingly acting like a lightning rod for the energy.

She began to walk forward slowly putting her arm over her eyes to block the wind as she did she heard the familiar echo everywhere around her “what do you think you’re DOING!!! you really think you can stop me again!!!” she absolutely would, Kyradia saw a sliver of dark energy fly towards her entering her form coarsing through her her body, the pain she felt like every nerve in her body was on fire as she continued to push it down.

She let out a deafening scream and as she looked around she caught a glimpse of blonde hair through the dark clouds, there she was she just had to get to her. She looked up as she began to stumble forward “yeah and this time you wont even have a Dashade to live through” she took a deep breath trying her best to deal with the searing pain “this time you’re going to be gone for good” she started moving towards Lusari who she could see screaming out some old sith language.

The echo of Zash began cackling “you’re going to have to be quick then apprentice, I’m almost home” she almost sang the words she said as Kyradia stumbled towards Lusari. Just a little further and she could end this, she would’ve loved to have saved Lusari but they were way past that now it was Lusari dead or Zash alive she knew who she’d pick. Standing defiantly Kyradia reached her the pain almost immeasurable as she tensed every muscle in her body, she took a long deep breath before drawing her lightsaber she had to end this but then Lusari suddenly went quiet. Kyradia was bewildered no screams not even any emotion just nothing like she’d gone catatonic, no matter she had to stop her she ignited her lightsaber ready to end this. As she drew the blade up she suddenly felt an immense amount of wind on he back suddenly her vision was covered by the dark force energy and before she knew it she felt herself pushed up against the wall of the chamber. As she got her bearings she opened her eyes, did she get her? was it over? She could see Lusari kneeling down in the middle of the chamber no vortex and no Zash to be seen. But wait if she’d got Lusari? then how was she breathing? as Kyradia pondered that she saw Lusari’s arm jut out suddenly as the red lightsaber shot into her grasp. No no no she couldn’t have no! Lusari stood up turning around to face Kyradia, her hair was weirdly curled and her eyes, Kyradia knew those eyes

Lusari grinned at Kyradia viciously “well it certainly feels good to be back” she clicked her neck and strode towards Kyradia “and what are we going to do with you apprentice” she began to cackle with laughter, the likeness was unmistakable Kyradia was too late, Zash had returned...

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him-e · 6 years

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do you have any general predictions for Star Wars episode 9?

I’m not too confident in my predictions for IX, because TLJ was one giant curveball thrown at us. Not because we didn’t correctly predict most of it (we did) but because the ending wiped a lot of possible paths out of the way, with no actual cliffhanger to pin speculation on, Snoke dead, and the main storyline from Return of the Jedi already covered without bearing the expected fruit (=Kylo’s redemption). So as far as sw tropes and patterns go, IX is almost uncharted territory. Still, Star Wars is a fairytale, and imo the best way to predict where it’s going is to focus on larger themes and archetypal narratives. The central theme for IX was spelled out in in TLJ very clearly: we are going to win this war not by killing what we hate, but by saving what we love. I’m fairly confident that this theme will be developed through both Rey and Kylo, individually and together.(*)

Kylo Ren’s arc is also the main axis of this trilogy so in order to know where the story is going you have to figure out where he is going. And right now, Kylo Ren moved beyond Vader. Breaking the leash and killing his master did not redeem him, but actually cemented him as the Villain. In TLJ, he went from lost boy to actual god of the underworld. There’s no big bad outranking him. He’s the sole architect of his own misery. You can’t save him by eliminating another player—that ship has sailed with TLJ. At the same time, I have no doubt he’ll redeem himself. So how will he do it? In Beauty and the Beast—which I think is one of the patterns this trilogy was modeled on—the real villain is neither the witch nor Gaston, and it’s certainly not the Beast himself; if there’s a villain at all, it’s the Beast’s darker, uglier nature, whatever is crippling his ability for love and gentleness and self sacrifice, that has to be defeated. Like the Beast, Kylo is responsible for creating the dark castle that has become his prison; the only way to be free is to learn to let go—let go of his anger, let go of his ambition and desire to dominate, let go of his possessiveness towards Rey; let the Beast die in order to break the spell. The Beast is the Kylo Ren persona and everything that persona is connected to and helped create (the First Order, Hux). So I think one of the climaxes of the movie, if not The climax, will be the ~death~of Kylo Ren (and, I hope, the rebirth of Ben Solo).

With that in mind, here are my predictions (bold for the ones I’m relatively certain of, italics for half-predictions-half-wishful-thinking):

there will be a time jump (anything from 6 months to 3 years);

the Resistance will have partially regrouped and be possibly doing some recruiting work across the galaxy;

we’ll see more new planets and maybe some familiar ones (Tatooine, Coruscant, Naboo? Perhaps we’ll even go back to Jakku)

Poe will be in charge, but there will be tension between him and Rey, maybe between him and Finn too—like, disagreements about military strategies and about Rey’s role in the war. Poe seems to have internalized Holdo’s message on his own terms: where Holdo’s “spark” line was about creation, Poe’s still thinking in terms of destruction. So I think he’ll actually butt heads with Rey, and Finn might be caught in the crossfire. Finn might agree with Poe at first, but eventually his loyalty to Rey will prevail.

(the tension will be eventually reconciled during the third act of the film)

a lightsaber fight between Rey and Kylo (we haven’t had one since TFA so it’s long overdue), to establish their current status as conflicted enemies who think their respective paths are sealed and it can’t be any other way. Maybe this happens when their respective armies are watching so they literally can’t avoid the duel. But the audience already knows they won’t truly hurt each other, so it will be more of a way to have them vent their feelings of hurt and yell a bit and like, “I offered you the galaxy and you betrayed me! “No, you betrayed me!!”, you know.

Reylo angst

more specifically, force bond angst (it would be a complete waste of juicy narrative potential to drop the force bond storyline, although I suspect that JJ will put his personal spin on it, either visually or conceptually). Whether Rey and Kylo went through a time of not having force connections at all (and possibly believing the bond is dead for good) or ignoring them whenever they happened, in IX the radio silence will be broken, and it will be angsty at first.

the bond will be discovered, causing Rey and Kylo to fall from grace among their own ranks. Their loyalty will be questioned, their connection to the enemy feared and regarded with suspicion. People will try to take advantage of it.

Poe/the Resistance will try to corner Rey into using the bond as a trap for Kylo, which will make her furious (paralleling BatB, where the villagers use Belle’s magic mirror to find the Beast and slaughter him);

JJ might partially reframe Rey’s parentage by adding more information and details about why she was sold out by her parents (rey*sky though is dead and will stay dead)

Leia’s death will be a plot point, one way or another. It’s possible we learn about her death in the opening crawl, and the film opens with the aftermath of her death and/or her funeral;

Leia’s death will have a major impact on Kylo’s arc and his redemption

Kylo attending to Leia’s funeral via force bond?

We will see Kylo’s loneliness. It will have shakespearian/greek tragedy vibes.

He will be plagued by visions à la Hamlet and visited by Force ghosts. Luke, at least. Possibly Snoke (though I assume his wouldn’t be a proper Force ghost but either his toxic aura lingering or a figment of Kylo’s imagination, reliving his abuse over and over again). Less likely, Anakin.

Force ghost!Luke will appear to Rey too. (I feel like Rian didn’t give their relationship proper closure, probably on purpose, so that JJ could do something with it)

Kylo will also have to deal with the emptiness of vengeance. His whole family is dead, like he wanted, and yet he’s still suffering and not feeling whole.

He’ll also see there’s no point in having power if he has no one to share it with.

the first order might produce a new superweapon, the usage of which will cause extra strife between Hux and Kylo;

speaking of weapons, something will be made with the legacy saber. Either that or Rey finally builds her own saber.

Some new aspect of the Force will be revealed, and/or there will be at least one climatic scene involving a massive use of the Force (in battle or else)

FIRSTORDERBOWL!

Hux will 100% try to overthrow Kylo and become the anti-antivillain, the “mummer’s dragon” to quote asoiaf, because yes, the real enemy might be inside Kylo’s heart but we still need space battles, lightsaber duels and climatic action sequences. Hux hates Kylo, considers him unworthy, craves the title of Supreme Leader for himself, has personally witnessed how volatile and self destructive Kylo is when it comes to his personal emotions, and now knows his weaknesses (it’s unclear if he knew that Kylo Ren = Ben Solo before, but after seeing Kylo going on a rampage against Luke there’s no way he hasn’t connected the dots). The look Hux gives Kylo when Kylo enters the Resistance base on Crait is that of a man who is already plotting a coup. The novelization also says that Hux has access to secret camera recordings, which probably means he has or is soon to discover footage of Kylo killing Snoke to save Rey and the two of them fighting the praetorian guards. So all the elements are in place for Hux to launch a full blown coup… which Kylo won’t see coming because he thinks Hux is a worthless rat and he’s too busy wallowing in his own misery anyway.

The Knights of Ren should come into the picture. Either they’ll side with Kylo or, surprising, with Hux, which would raise the stakes exponentially as Hux would then have both military power and the support of a team of minor dark side users;

Finn will also have a part to play in firstorderbowl. Even though both TLJ and TFA were lacking on this aspect, I still expect to see his connection to the stormtroopers finally coming to fruition. He might incite a revolt, and even if not all the stormtroopers follow him, this would still significantly cripple Hux’s military power;

Kylo might be imprisoned or forced to flee; this new and definitive betrayal will finally make him see that the First Order is not, has never been the Right Way;

or Hux might try to kill two birds with one stone and turn Kylo over to the Resistance, while also revealing that Rey went to the Supremacy to ally herself with Kylo, so that the rebels lose their trust in her.

Maybe both Kylo and Rey end up as prisoners of the Resistance, or Rey finds herself in such a predicament that she has no choice but flee with Kylo

I honestly don’t expect Kylo to, like, actually SIDE with the Resistance—I think the movie will use him as a wild card until the end. But one thing will be clear and it’s that he cares for Rey—at the very least, he’s invested in her safety.

Narratively, it makes sense that this time around it’s either Kylo who goes to Rey or they meet halfway.

We might see some trippy force bond-related other-dimension sequence.

Vision-related stuff, too. Maybe we’ll finally see what THAT part of the TFA forceback was about (the one with Kylo stabbing the “clan member”), or Rey’s vision of the future will come to fruition (assuming that both didn’t already happen with the throne room scene).

there will be a kiss.

(more than one, actually. Finn’s totally going to kiss Rose and this time it will be a proper kiss.)

but yes. there will be a reylo kiss.

Kylo’s last stand will involve some sort of self sacrifice. I think even in the end he won’t be able to see a future for himself among the /good guys/, so he’d rather go out in a blaze of glory, saving what he loves.

Rey will save him (or try to).

Kylo Ren will symbolically (or even literally) die

and be revived through massive force-healing by Rey. And it’s going to be a proper disney-style Beauty and the Beast scene.

Pietà/rebirth imagery. Probably heavy-handed.

(*) You could say that Rey already tried to do the “winning by saving” thing and failed, but I don’t believe for a single second that the sequel trilogy is trying to prove that message wrong. It’s just that in TLJ, Rey and Kylo weren’t desperate enough to really understand it. (or they were too desperate). They were still clinging to visions, to perceived notions of “winning” muddling the selflessness of their actions towards each other—Kylo wanted to share his power with an equal, Rey to secure reformed Jedi Ben Solo to the Resistance’s cause so she doesn’t have to be their “only hope”, a burden that probably scares her. They were both trying to placate their loneliness and *win* the other over, for understandable, but still rather self serving reasons. So their convergence was short lived. In IX, they’ll learn to let go, and THEN they’ll be able to make that selfless act of true, unconditional love.

#anon #asks #sw asks #//#///#episode ix #sw speculation #sw for ts #reylo for ts

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alltheloveinthegalaxy · 6 years

Text

Beast of Burden Chapter 3

Ch. 3 Momentary Peace

Hey y’all. We out here. This one is explicit, so younglings, be warned...er go away. Hope ya enjoy! Please leave a comment if you have any suggestions or requests for the story even. I love feedback :)

Rey breathed Ben’s air as she rocked against him, controlling the rhythm of his hips with hers as she moved on top of him. Guiding her hips with his large hands, he gazed up at her.

His breath was ragged as he sputtered grunts of effort for her. He reached up to take her enticingly enlarged breasts in his hands, her nipples swollen and pink.

“Ah!” She winced.

“Sorry!” He was horrified, releasing her.

“No, no, it’s okay,” she whispered, lowering herself to his face to brush her lips against his.

“I keep hurting you,” he murmured against her lips as they maintained a steady rhythm. Sweating and merging together. Rey’s belly was now an obvious spectacle without her cloak and tunic on to hide it and even that barely did the job.

“No, it feels so good Ben, please don’t stop,” she whisper-moaned into his ear. He marveled at her, admiring each and every new change in her body. He loved the sight of her slightly protruding belly rubbing against him as she received him.

“Oh Ben, yes!” Rey screeched. “Oh stars Ben, right there!”

She rolled onto her back after they shared an orgasm that shook them both to the core as they prayed with the Force to never end.

Her head spinning, she basked in the feeling. Ben rolled over and kissed her stomach.

Rey and Ben had not seen each other for over a month as both of them had to return to the opposite sides of the war to act as if nothing was going on — as if Rey wasn’t carrying Ben Solo’s child.

But here they lay, in their secret hiding flat on Takodana — a secluded structure in the woods where Maz had promised their privacy and safety. Beams of sunlight streaked their bed. It was 3 in the afternoon and they had been at it since, well, probably around 7 am.

Rey’s libito had transformed into a beast of its own — but Ben didn’t seem to mind. Although he was starting to grow tired. His eyelids began to flutter open and closed as he drifted off in exhaustion.

“You can’t go to sleep!” Rey said, playfully hitting him with her pillow.

“Ugh,” Ben sighed, turning away from her on his side. “You’ve worn me out. I can’t anymore today....And are you sure all of this activity is good for the- the-”

“Baby?”

“...Yeah.”

“Ben you’ve got to learn how to say that word. You’re going to be holding one in 5 months,” she chuckled. “Holding our baby.”

“Okay, well whatever, you didn’t answer my question.”

“Maz said it’s perfectly fine,” Rey grinned, proudly.

Ben covered his face with his hands in embarrassment.

“You asked Maz?” He groaned.

“Of course! Who else was I supposed to ask? Your mother?” She teased.

Ben rolled over onto his stomach and pulled the pillow over his head. Now she’d done it.

“She took the news well...” Rey said softly, standing up to pull her robe over her shoulders.

“What?” Ben pulled the pillow down slowly, to reveal his eyes. “What the kriff do you mean?”

“Don’t swear at me Solo,” Rey mused, tying the robe closed and walking out of the room.

Ben tossed the bedding aside and stood to follow her, still completely naked.

Rey strode into the kitchen to boil water as Ben trailed after her.

“Rey, what did you do?” Ben said, leaning against the cooler, towering over her and blocking her from opening it.

“Move please, I’m going to fix breakfast.” She smiled.

“You don’t know how to cook and besides it’s 3 o’clock in the afternoon,” He pointed to a ticking wall clock.

Rey folded her arms.

“Okay, I told your mother that I’m pregnant.”

Ben’s jaw dropped as he raised his hands up to gesture a “what the kriff” at her, although the words never left his lips.

“She knows it’s yours, I told her everything.”

“Everything?”

“Everything.”

Ben swallowed and moved out of the way of the cooler, raising his arms in the air in surrender.

“Don’t worry Ben, everything will be kept secret, for now. It’s going to be fine. We’ll sort out the details later.”

He stormed out of the kitchen, trying to contain his anger and shock. He needed a moment to process this — or forget about it if that was possible.

She chuckled, watching his naked backside stride out of the room, clenching his fists as he left.

When he reemerged 30 minutes later he wasn’t dressed his typical astringent First Order attire. Although his new garb wasn’t far off. He wore a jet black jedi - resembling tunic. Loosely fitted with long sleeves, the robe reaching his mid thigh was cinched with a tight thick belt at the waist.

Rey’s eyes were on him, he had her attention.

He wore his usual tall, tight fitting black boots with black loser fitting pants. Her lightsaber dangled from his belt as he walked passed her to pour himself a cup of caf from the pot she’d just made. His hair was still slightly wet from the fresher and his skin smelt of minty soap.

As she followed him with her eyes, Rey dropped the ceramic bowl of food she was attempting to prepare. It shattered on the tile floor, splattering a mismatched concoction of ingredients all over the ground.

“Rey!” Ben reacted, spitting hot coffee back into his mug.

“I’m sorry, you startled me,” she reasoned, kneeling down to clean up the mess.

“How so? By the way this coffee is very burnt. Don’t worry about this, I’ll clean it up, go sit down.” He shooed her away with a flick of his wrist.

“Where did you get those clothes?” Rey said, standing up with pieces of the broken bowl in her hands. Ben grabbed a broom to sweep up the food off the ground.

“Maz left them here,” Ben said, unaffected.

“They look like Jedi robes,” she pointed at him. “They’re nice...you look so...you look like a Skywalker...you look like a Solo.”

He flushed with hues of red all over his face, neck and hands as he tried to ignore her. She walked away from him to place the broken pieces of the bowl in the garbage shoot.

The open windows let the light of sunshine fill the tiny kitchen as the trees sang in the wind outside. Rey was happy to be back the midst of a lush forest — this time she wasn’t running away from Kylo Ren. She was defeating him, one day at a time, breaking down his walls to reveal a man who acted and looked more and more like Ben Solo with each passing day.

She sat down, gazing at him lovingly.

“What are you doing with my lightsaber?” She asked.

“It’s technically mine.” He said, pouring her pot of caf down the sink and lighting the stove on to brew a new one.

“It called to me,” she insisted.

“I’m just borrowing it,” he said. “You can’t share?”

Rey smiled sheepishly.

“Are you going to make me breakfast?” She changed the subject, still admiring his new look.

“Sure,” he said. “Whatever would you like, princess?” He asked sarcastically, still cleaning up debris from her spill.

The word sort of slipped out of his mouth. It was something his father used to say to his mother when he was annoyed with her or teasing.

Ben gritted his teeth, regretting his Freudian slip. Shit. What the kriff is happening to me? He winced, shaming himself and rolling his eyes as he turned his back to her to grab an arm full of vegetables out of the cooler.

Rey sort cocked an eyebrow at him, also taking note of the out of character remark.

“Princess?” Rey laughed. “Are you joking?”

“Yes,” Ben blushed.

“Since Leia is technically a princess, would that make you a prince?” She blurted clumsily after skimming through his thoughts. She took a sip of caf.

“No.” he shot. “Get out of my head.”

“A prince,” she trailed off. “I never thought about that before...”

“Stop it.”

“You started it.”

“What do you want to eat, Rey?”

“I would like three eggs, rye toast, hashbrowns, pancakes from that Takodana mix, crispy potatoes and ooh there was some left over beef from last night’s stew and—”

“Yes, I got it, you’re hungry.” Ben almost argued with her, to insist that she eat something a little more nutritious but buttoned his lip as he remembered her her life as a starved scavenger.

He’d make her whatever her heart desires. And he’d dressed in those ridiculous Jedi robes just to make her smile — and also because they were clean.

Rey drew a luxurious breath, finally washing her partner’s sweat off of her under the warm pressure of the stone fresher. She could see Ben outside through a tiny window as she peeked at him on her tip-toes.

He was aggressively slicing wood with the blue blade of her repaired saber for the old wood burning stove that would keep them warm tonight. Perhaps he was training simultaneously.

She felt her stomach twist. Oh maker, not again. She hoped she wouldn’t vomit. As her pregnancy advanced, so did her nausea, which seemed to be getting worse by the day. She closed her eyes and tried to breathe deeply, as Maz had recommended.

As she turned the shower off and reached for her towel to wrap around her, she felt the ground rumble beneath her feet.

Woah...now I’m really going to be sick.

Ben’s senses kicked into high alert after a ripple in the ground knocked the pile of wood he was so carefully stacking, to the ground.

That was no earthquake. That was a ship landing.

The all too familiar sounds of TIE fighters zoomed above the trees. First, panic set in and then, an eery calm.

They were here. The First Order. Whether or not they knew he was there was not apparent but he didn’t have time to sit around and wait for them to find him.

Jumping over the pile of logs, he sprang toward the cabin, throwing the door open and hurrying to their sleeping quarter.

“Ben, they’re here-”

“I know!” Ben said. “Where are my clothes?”

“They’re in that wash bucket over there, I figured they needed to be cleaned,” she said, biting her nails.

“Kriff,” he muttered, digging his lightsaber out of a black box.

“What are we going to do? Do you think they could find us out here?”

“Yes,” he said. “Get dressed now. Take this, you’ve got to get far away from here,” he said, handing her the lightsaber as he clipped his own to his belt. Rey tugged on her usual clothing as quickly as she could, her hair still wet.

“Do you think Hux suspects—”

“I don’t know.”

An explosion sounded outside, shaking the cabin and knocking Rey into him as as she tried to contain a scream.

“Rey,” he grabbed her hands, bringing them to his chest. “You’re going to have to run. On foot.”

It wasn’t the prospect of running that scared her but the worry that the First Order may have figured their scheme out — that she might never see Ben again.

“What about you?”

“it’s better if they don’t see us together,” he insisted. “You’re going to have to trust me.”

She swallowed hard, staring into his eyes. But her confidence in herself did not waiver.

“Okay,” she said, determined.

“I’ll come back for you, sweetheart,” he said, clipping her lightsaber to her belt for her and kissing her forehead. “I promise.”

And with that, she ran out of the cabin and into the woods. She ran as far as her legs would take her through the Takodana forest.

To be continued...

#Reylo #reylopregnant #reylo fanfic #fanfic #star wars #rey and ben solo #ben solo #kylo x rey #rey of jakku #the last jedi #kylo ren

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my-one-love-is-music · 6 years

Text

Golden Waves

Saw this great piece of fanart and decided to write a fic for it!

Also on AO3!

Harry stared out at the ocean around him. It was a calm day with waves lapping gently at the hull of the ship.

“It’s the perfect day for a search,” Merlin said, stepping up next to him.

He nodded. “Today’s going to be the day. We’re going to find it. I can feel it.”

“You’ve said that every time we’ve shipped out so far,” Merlin pointed out. “But I must commend you on your dedication to finding this creature at the behest of Arthur. All the onboard checks have been completed and the Captain is waiting for your signal.”

Harry smiled, gripping the handle of the saber strapped around his waist. “Then we best get to it. We don’t want to keep our find waiting too long.”

Merlin tucked his tablet under his arm and turned on his heel, leaving Harry alone at the railing. Harry could hear the shouts of the crew members as they untied the rope from their hold on shore. It was hardly a moment before the engines rumbled to life underneath his feet and they pulled away from the dock, looking to leave the harbor behind.

The wind whipped at his suit jacket gently before becoming harsher as their speed increased and they swung out of the harbor, following the flow of land. Previous sightings and research left them with the knowledge their catch liked to hang around near land when it wasn’t hunting or feeding. Harry knew it was a curious creature with a particular fascination with humans. Arthur surmised that it was because they weren’t creatures of the sea it was familiar with or even similar to other wildlife that might make an appearance near the ocean.

Their boat slowed as they came closer to an outcropping of rocks. He scanned the water, waiting for the white froth of the waves to disappear so he could see underneath. A few colorful fish scurried away and he frowned, keeping his focus on what he was really looking for.

Many people before him, and the many trips he’d already taken around the coasts, were in search of the fabled half-fish, half-person that was said to roam the waters. Some people characterized the creature as a man or merman and stories had been told about his exploits and how he’d helped sailors in need, but left those who were selfish and hurt others drown in the depths of the ocean, their bodies never to be seen or recovered again.

Harry felt a thrill of excitement run through him. He was fascinated by what the creature could be. He wanted to learn from it and study it and knew Kingsman desired to do the same. So many insights could be learned from a creature who was able to live in and out of the water. At least that was what they believed. Harry braced himself as they maneuvered around another curve, barely avoiding the rock outcropping that was hidden by the waves.

Harry glanced back at the deck where the captain and main crew were. Even with the waves, they shouldn’t have cut things that closely. He almost wanted to let it go so he could keep inspecting the depths of the water, but he turned form the railing with a frown. If it wasn’t a mistake he should let them know so they wouldn’t risk crashing into the rocks.

His shoes clicked over the wood of the deck as he headed for the stairs. He stumbled when the boat jerked and he gave a sharp look up at the crew. He whipped around and saw them just miss a column of rock. He hurried across the deck and grabbed the handle of the stairs, whipping around the corner to sprint up them.

“What’s going on?” he asked as he burst through the door.

“Sorry about that, sir,” the captain apologized too serenely for his comfort. “This fog is not providing for the best sailing circumstances.”

“Fog?” Harry questioned. He turned to look out the window and found there did appear to be a thick layer of fog over the water. “But where did that…” he hurried through the door to stop on the landing outside. Where the air had been clear moments before, there was thick white fog everywhere. “That’s impossible. This wasn’t here a moment ago. Captain,” he called behind him. “Can you slow our speed to make sure we don’t run into land?”

“Of course, sir!” he called back.

Harry hurried back down the stairs to the main deck. The stairs disappeared behind him and he felt uneasiness grip him. He felt isolated in a fog that made no sense. He walked carefully against the planks, stumbling when he came upon the edge of the ship suddenly. If he hadn’t been watching where he was going he would’ve gone right over the edge.

He shuffled along the edge, searching for where the railing started. The water was covered, reflecting the image of the white mist, preventing him from seeing underneath the waves.

“Shit,” he hissed under his breath. There was no way they would be able to find their prize at this rate. The boat jerked again and Harry stumbled for a moment before he caught his balance. Water rushed over the edge of the boat and soaked his shoes in chilly water. He shivered and stepped back. “Captain?” he called again.

He furrowed his brow when he got no response. He turned and cupped his hands around his mouth. “Captain?!” he called again.

“Sir?” he called back in question.

“Turn back! We won’t find anything like this!”

“Are you certain, sir? We are still able to sail.” His voice sounded strangely distant.

“I’m sure. Turn back. We can plan for another trip later.”

“Understood, sir!”

Harry shook his head as his voice echoed. The ship turned sharply and Harry stumbled back, reaching for the railing he’d failed to find. He sucked in a breath of air just before plunging underneath the reach of the waves and being swallowed by cold. He forced himself to push down the panic that wanted to surge up at the thought of being drowned under the dark water.

He fought to right himself, but the press from the ship’s engines tossed him in the water until he wasn’t sure which direction was up. He fought to right himself and practically gasped when a dark blur swam in front of his vision. He tried to backpedal, but that only served to spin him in the water faster.

Harry took a minute and closed his eyes, feeling the way the water pushed and pulled. He was on the end of his ability to hold his breath and needed to break the surface to get some oxygen in his lungs if he didn’t want to risk becoming fish food. He felt his body settle and opened eyes, flinching as the black blur passed in front of him again.

Something wrapped around his stomach and pulled him. He fought at first, worried he was getting dragged further under the surface, but his head broke above the waves impossibly quickly. He gasped in lungfuls of air and threw out his arms to start treading water.

The grip around his waist disappeared and Harry spun in a circle, trying to find what had brought him to the surface. There was nothing in sight. He swallowed and turned towards the rocks and land, swimming over to them even as the waves sought to pull him further out to sea. He felt like he’d already been swimming for ages, but knew it was the tension from the situation that was doing it to him.

He stumbled when the pool shallowed and his feet hit sand and rock. His legs were wobbly as he fought to walk and movement caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head sharply and saw a head duck behind a column or rocks.

“Are you the one who saved me?” Harry asked. He hurried around the column, but found the water empty. He frowned, looking around. He knew he’d seen something. A head of blond hair ducked behind more rocks and Harry splashed over to it quickly. “Please, let me thank you properly for saving my life.”

The water was empty again and he sighed, disappointed. He shook his head and turned away, freezing when something that was obviously not entirely human filled his vision. Without thinking, he pulled his saber from its sheath and darted forward, lashing out. He grinned, smile triumphant when the creature flinched back, but froze when the saber pierced the fin of his tail.

It let out a small whine that went straight through Harry’s chest and his triumph faded quickly. The creature shook, looking at him with obvious fear in his eyes and Harry’s gaze fell to wear blood was drifting out into the water from the cut.

“Shit,” he cursed and dropped to his knees. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” he apologized. He examined the cut as best he could through the wave and glanced up at where the creature was watching him warily. “I need to pull out the blade. This is going to hurt…”

Harry slowly moved his hand down the blade, doing his best to keep it steady. He tentatively brushed his fingers over the edge of the tail, wary of the spikes that might prick him. He gripped the edge of the tail between his thumb and forefinger and bit his lip as he slowly started to pull the blade free to keep from making the cut any worse.

A pained noise came from the creature and he tried to move, but Harry shushed him as he did his best to keep him from moving his tail and causing himself more pain. He sighed when the blade was free and let go of the creature’s tail who pressed himself further into the rocks. Harry wondered when he started to think of him as a he.

“Harry!” He turned at the voice that called in the distance. “Harry where are you?”

It was Merlin. When he turned back to the rock the merman was gone and Harry felt a not so subtle pang of disappoint sit low in his stomach at that. He couldn’t blame him for leaving so quickly. He’d literally drove a sword through his tail. He’d probably never forgive him for that as desperate as Harry was becoming for the chance to apologize.

“I’m over here,” he called instead at another shout for him. The fog from earlier had mostly dissipated and their boat idled through the rock outcroppings slowly, wary of the shoreline that was extending into the waves. Merlin was at the railing, hand over his eyes as he scanned the waves for any sign of him.

Harry raised a hand over his head and saw Merlin’s shoulders sag in relief for a moment before he was straightening and Harry knew he was going to be in a world of punishment as soon as he stepped foot back on that boat. He slipped his blade back into his scabbard and started to wade further out so he could get back to the boat.

Merlin threw him a lifeline and pulled him in, helping him up over the side. Harry leaned against the side as water soaked the deck from his clothes.

“Ow,” he winced when Merlin’s hand smacked him over the head. “What the bloody hell was that for?”

“For getting yourself tossed overboard is what. Care to tell me what happened?” Merlin asked, crossing his arms as the boat made an effort of turning and setting their course for a return to the docks.

“The boat veered too sharply and I was too close to the edge. The change caused me to stumble and fall over the side. I’m alright, Merlin, but I think…” He hesitated. “I think our search will be fruitful. I don’t think there’s anything out here for us to find.”

Merlin gave him a curious look, but nodded. “I’ll pass your thoughts along to Arthur and see what he wants to do.”

Harry bit back a sigh when he was loaded up onto the ship again the next day. Turns out, Arthur was desperate enough to not listen to his advice when it came to searching for the creature. Harry took up his post at the edge of the railing and scanned the water as the boat cut through the waves and around the coast. His eyes stayed fixated on the water as he searched for the golden tail that he’d seen yesterday.

Since he’d left the ocean behind his thoughts had been filled with the merman and the painful expression that had been on his face when he’d pierced his tale. That image had kept him up at night and he’d wanted to bring something to give him to make it up to him, but he wasn’t sure what to give a merman when he knew nothing about him.

They turned a corner, too sharply and Harry stumbled, barely managing to keep himself from going over the side. He looked back over his shoulder at the main deck and wondered if it was the same thing as yesterday. Another sharp movement around a rock outcropping had Harry’s lips pulling up into a smile. He waited a moment, assessing the situation to make sure his hypothesis was right.

The boat jerked again and Harry didn’t hesitate before diving over the side of the boat underneath the waves. He moved against the pull of the waves and broke the surface, turning to watch the boat move away. He turned and started kicking through the water, moving towards the rocks. He grabbed onto them as waves gently lapped at his jacket and looked around, hoping the merman would return.

“I’m not sure if you’re here. Or if you’re listening, but I’m sorry. About yesterday. I know I hurt you and I regret it so much. I don’t know how I can make it up to you, but…I’m sorry.” Harry let his head fall forward on the rocks and closed his eyes, feeling more than a little bit like a complete arse.

He listened to the waves around him and furrowed his brow when it sounded like there was something flapping against the waves and their path. Harry blinked his eyes open and turned his head, jerking back and falling under the waves at the sight of curious blue eyes blinking at him. A golden tail swished in the water around him as the merman ducked under the waves to look at him.

Remembering he was under water and really needed to breathe, Harry kicked to the surface and broke through with a grasp. He grasped at the rocks and waited as the merman carefully broke the surface, only letting his eyes above water.

“You’re here,” he breathed.

The merman blinked at him and Harry cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry about your tail,” he added. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I left my sword at home. I knew I couldn’t bring it back with me. I just…don’t know how to make it better.”

He raised himself up so his whole head was above water. His head tilted to the side as he watched Harry. Harry moved slowly, pushing off the rocks to try and tread water and get closer. The merman moved back and Harry tried to tamp down on the disappointment he felt.

“Do you have a name?” he asked. “My name’s Harry.”

“Harry?” he asked.

Harry blinked. “You can talk!” he exclaimed.

“Yes.” He paused. “Why did you hurt me?” he asked, keeping his distance.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“But you did. Why?”

Harry looked down at the water. “My…boss. He was obsessed with the reports of a creature who was half-person and half-fish. He’d sent me out to find and capture you. I realized, too late, that you are a living creature and I hurt you.”

“Are you going to capture me?” he asked, swimming away.

Harry shook his head. “No. Absolutely not. I tried to convince him to leave you alone, but he wouldn’t believe me.”

“What’s he going to do?”

Harry sighed. “He’s probably going to keep coming after you. If he doesn’t send me, he’s going to send someone else.”

“I’ll turn them away,” he said with a shrug. “Like before.”

“You mean that fog?” Harry asked.

He nodded. “It’s one of my specialties. Unfortunately.”

There was something underlying the statement that had Harry wondering about what had happened in his past.

“You should leave,” Harry said. “They’ll keep coming after you so you should get somewhere safe.”

He backed away, eyes widening. “I can’t. This is my home. I can’t just leave it behind. If I were to leave because of every threat that I was faced with, I would’ve left a long time ago. And I’d never stop moving.”

“Let me help you,” Harry asked.

“How? What do you think you can do? You already said you tried to convince your boss to leave us alone and he didn’t believe you. What else do you think you can do?”

Harry shrugged, kicking harder when he dipped under the waves. “Try harder? I’m sure I could convince him to turn his attentions somewhere else. There has to be something else I can do.”

“And you expect me to wait here for you to take care of me? I’ve been getting along fine myself. Why should I have your help?”

“I-“ Harry started and stopped. “I don’t know. You don’t need my help, but the least I could do would be to eliminate the number of threats you have to face. Maybe then I could make up for…well, stabbing you. How is your tail by the way?”

He smirked and flicked his tail above water. “All healed.”

Harry stared at it. “But…how?”

“You assume I live by your standards. We’re not barbarians you know. We have our own ways of living and advancements that you would have no concept of.”

Harry chuckled. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by anything you do then.”

He tilted his head.

“Harry!” A voice called around the coast. “Harry where are you?”

The merman swam forward and crowded into Harry’s space much to his surprise. “My name is Eggsy,” he said before disappearing under the waves.

Harry blinked at the disappearance and let out a breath. Hopefully he’d see him again soon.

Harry gingerly picked his way across the rocks to the ocean. The waves lapped at them and he was glad he wore something more casual than the suit he’d been caught in the previous two days, but this time he was alone. Merlin had given him a curious look when he’d been hauled back over the side of the boat the other day. Harry just hoped he had a little longer before Merlin actually suspected something was going on.

For now, he sat down cross-legged on the slippery surface of the rock and looked over the waves. It was a cloudy day and he could see a little further into the waves than he would if the sun were shining. He tilted his head back and looked up at the sky.

A splash of water hit him in the chest and his gaze snapped to the water at being startled. Eggsy grinned at him from the waves and it was such a different welcome from the day before he didn’t know what to say.

“You’re alone today,” he said, swimming closer.

Harry sighed. “I am. After the two previous days and the mysterious fog the crew had reported. Arthur wanted to question them himself meaning I got the day off.”

“And you decided to come visit me?” he asked, grin stretching wider.

Harry cleared his throat and shifted in place. “I came to talk to you,” he said pointedly.

“Oooh,” Eggsy said, nodding. He slipped his hands behind his head and leaned back to float on the waves, his tail staying hidden underneath the water. Harry was surprised when his eyes caught on something shining on his skin. Harry shifted from side to side, thinking it was the light catching on water droplets, but he realized, perhaps a little too late, that it was scales shining on his skin.

“See something you like?” Harry’s eyes flicked up to Eggsy’s face and he cleared his throat.

“Sorry. I just noticed your scales.”

Eggsy stretched backwards, the muscles of his torso rippling underneath his skin. Harry swallowed and looked away. He spluttered when water splashed on his face and he looked to find Eggsy’s golden tail resting on the water.

“Aren’t you worried about someone seeing you?”

Eggsy shook his head. “You’re the only one here. I’d know if someone was coming.”

“How?”

“Sensors,” he said with a shrug.

“Sensors?” Harry asked. “Another thing I don’t know about?”

“There are lots of things you don’t know about,” Eggsy said, rolling onto his stomach and turning to face Harry. “And not just form my side of the water.”

Harry smiled. “You’ve got attitude.”

Eggsy smirked. “Life would be pretty boring if I didn’t.”

He nodded. “I can’t deny that. You’ve certainly given our conversations a certain character.”

Eggsy shrugged. “I tend to do that.”

Harry felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out with a frown. Eggsy cocked his head curiously as he answered the call.

“Merlin? Is something wrong? You don’t usually call me.”

“I just learned something that you’re probably going to want to know,” he said, speaking low and quickly.

Harry sat up straighter, instantly alert. “What is it?”

“Arthur isn’t giving up on the creature. In fact, he’s putting together a team to track it down. He’s not willing to kill it, but he’s not against seriously harming it if it means getting it locked in a cage. If he doesn’t experiment on it himself, it’s going to go big on the black market.”

Harry felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his head. “Black market? How…I mean…”

“I know, Harry. It’s bad. You need to be prepared because the boat is going out tomorrow. They know where to look and as much as the fog has turned them back the past two days, I’m not sure they’re going to let it stop them this time, especially since they have an idea of what it means.”

“But-but how did they figure this out? I thought they had no idea what they were dealing with?”

“Arthur only made it seem that way. The crew didn’t know what was going on other than what we’d been assigned to do, but Arthur has been keeping tabs on all the crews he sends out. This has been a long time coming and I know there’s something you’re not telling me.”

Harry clenched his fist against his leg. Eggsy swam curiously in front of him, but Harry wasn’t seeing him at the moment.

“Who’s going to be on that ship tomorrow?” Harry asked.

“Charlie.”

Harry swallowed. “We have to stop that boat, Merlin.”

“There’s not much I can do from this side of things. I’m not going to be allowed on deck. I can try to get on board and sabotage their equipment, but I can’t promise anything.”

“Thanks for the tip, Merlin,” Harry said, letting out a heavy breath. “If I live through this, I owe you the best bottle of Kentucky bourbon I can get.”

“Of course you do. But don’t go getting yourself fucking killed, Harry.”

Harry nodded even though Merlin couldn’t see him and ended the call.

“Harry?” Eggsy asked, tail hitting the waves nervously. “What was that about?”

Harry let out a breath and focused on Eggsy who was watching him with wide eyes. “You’re in trouble.”

Eggsy flinched backwards. “What did you do?” he whispered.

“Nothing, nothing,” Harry said, holding up his hands. “It was nothing I did. It was my employer. Look, I need to go. I need to come up with some way from stopping them from hunting you down. Tell your family or friends or whoever you live with that you’re in danger. Find any weapons you can if you’re not willing to leave and get ready for a fight because I can tell you these guys aren’t just going to let you get away. I’ll be back, Eggsy, I promise,” he said scrambling to his feet.

“Harry…”

“Please just, stay safe,” he said, turning to pick his way back over the rocks.

“Harry, wait!” Eggsy called.

He paused and turned back to find Eggsy half up on the rock he’d been sitting on, arm outstretched towards him.

“I’ll be okay, Eggsy. Take care of yourself and I’ll find you tomorrow.”

Eggsy retracted his arm and nodded, sliding back into the water. Harry turned back to his ascent up the side to his car. He had a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it.

Harry let out a sigh as he slid his arms through the suit jacket. It seemed a little ridiculous to be dressing in one of his suits when falling into the ocean water was inevitable, but it was the way he was trained and if he was going to fight, he was going to look his best while doing it.

He strapped his saber around his waist and gave his reflection an onceover. He looked like the impeccable member of Kingsman he’d been trained to be, but for the first time he was going to abandon his duties and the institution he’d sworn himself to. Above all, he’d been trained to protect what was right and just and the innocent. If that meant taking down the organization that had brought him to where he was, then so be it.

Harry picked his way over the rocks to the water. Even though he’d chosen to wear his suit, he’d forgone the shoes to make it easier if he was swimming or climbing over rocks. Oxfords weren’t exactly known for having excellent tread.

He looked over the water. “Eggsy?”

They hadn’t exactly decided on a meeting point or time. Or really thought through a plan, but he hoped that he’d be listening for his return regardless. Movement under the waves caught his attention and he breathed a sigh.

“Harry,” he said, breaking the surface.

“Has the boat arrived yet?”

Eggsy shook his head. “They haven’t entered my radius yet, but that doesn’t mean they’re not getting close.”

“When they do, I need you to do me a favor.”

Eggsy gave him a look and swam backwards, obviously wary. “What?”

“Can you swim me to the boat?”

His eyes widened. “No!”

“Eggsy, please…”

“You want me to put you in the middle of those awful people? They want to capture me or hurt me and you don’t think they won’t do the same to you?” he scoffed.

“There’ll be a fight I’m sure, but I need to fight. Let me help you. Let me help protect you.”

Eggsy pursed his lips. “Fine,” he sighed. “But you better not die on me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Harry said.

“Come on,” Eggsy said, gesturing to the water. They just turned the corner into my marked territory. They’ll be here in a couple of minutes and we need to get you in a concealed place in case anyone’s watching.”

Harry climbed down off the rock and slid into the water, bobbing for a moment before Eggsy’s strong arms wrapped around him and held him close. He caught a whiff of what smelled like sea spray and sand and wondered if it was carried on the wind from somewhere else or if he was smelling it from Eggsy.

He wrapped an arm around Eggsy’s shoulders as his tail propelled them forward. He wove through the rocks expertly and found one on the edge of the outcropping that would keep them hidden and allow for easy maneuvering.

They heard the shouts that got increasingly louder and watched as the boat turned the corner. There were several people on deck and it sounded as though they were shouting directions at the crew.

Eggsy swore under his breath. “Looks like I’ll need to improve my defenses if they’re smart enough to work around them like that.”

Harry spotted Arthur and Charlie on the deck looking smug. Charlie looked like he was jittery with excitement.

“Okay, bring me in,” Harry said.

Eggsy grumbled but pushed them away from the rock, falling in carefully behind the boat to give them cover.

“Ready?” he asked as they caught up to the stern.

“Ready,” Harry nodded.

Eggsy pushed Harry up out of the water, he suspected there was something else at play than just brute strength, and he landed on the rear deck. His entrance was anything but quiet and he caught the attention of Charlie and Arthur.

“So this is what you’ve been hiding from us,” Arthur said. “I expected more from you, Galahad.”

“These creatures deserve to remain in their habitat. They’re not something for you to make money off of in your black market dealings,” he shot back.

“Well the way I see it,” Arthur said, looking around. “You’re the only person standing in my way.”

The boat shuddered and rocked viciously. Harry managed to keep his balance and used the momentary confusion to rush forward, drawing his sword. Charlie darted forward and blocked the strike he’d intended for Arthur. Charlie grinned and Harry pushed their blades apart as the boat rocked again.

Harry managed to keep his balance where Charlie stumbled and he made a speedy strike at Charlie’s hand, cutting a deep gash and forcing him to drop his sword. Harry picked up the second blade and kicked Charlie to the side. He rushed forward towards Arthur whose eyes widened. He struggled to free his own blade, but Harry crossed both of his at Arthur’s neck. Arthur raised his shaky hands and swallowed.

“Look, Galahad-“

“I don’t want to hear it,” he interrupted. “You will leave this community alone. You’re a threat to them and a danger. You should’ve focused your efforts on protecting them from predators and people like you instead of trying to make money off of them. Never come back.”

“You seem to have mistaken what we’ve set out to do-“

“Have I?” he asked. “Because from where I’m standing, you can’t do much to excuse the armed crewman on this ship.”

The boat rocked again and Harry lost his footing. Arthur ducked out of the reach of the swords, pulling a gun from his jacket.

“Not another move,” he said, grin pulling at his lips.

Harry scowled. The boat shuddered underneath them and Harry wondered if they were about to capsize.

“Harry!”

His gaze snapped to the side where Eggsy was floating in the water, expression panicked as he took in the situation.

Arthur smirked. “I think I’ll start with that one. The buyers will adore the coloring on it. It’ll fetch the highest price I’m sure.”

“He’s not a thing,” Harry snarled.

“Or maybe I should kill it now,” he continued, swinging the gun around to point at Eggsy. Harry felt his heart stop. “Someone will find a use for the scales. Perhaps a pair of shoes or a purse. Maybe even a rug. They could have the tail stuffed or put it in a museum.”

Eggsy shrank back from the gun, dipping under the water, but not disappearing entirely so he could know what was going on.

“Don’t you dare lay a hand on him,” Harry threatened.

“Or what?”

The sunny day they had known disappeared as the waves crashed over the side of the boat, making it rock. The railing on port side splintered as the boat was turned, bow pointed out to sea. Harry took the chance and positioned himself between Arthur and Eggsy making Arthur scowl.

“I’ve had enough of you. You’ve become quite the pest and all pests should be exterminated.”

The boat rocked again as the gun went off. Harry’s head snapped back and he was blinded by pain. He was distantly aware of Eggsy screaming his name as he stumbled backwards and fell over the side, everything turning black as he sank through the water.

The constant hum of water lapping the shore was what brought him back to consciousness. He shifted, feeling the hard press of ground against his back.

“Harry?!”

He blinked, trying to clear his vision from the brightness of the sun and focused on Eggsy’s worried face over his.

“Eggsy? What happened?”

Eggsy’s hand went to his and squeezed it. “You were shot in the head. I thought you’d died, but our doctor was able to heal you. If you’d been brought back to your physician I don’t know if you would’ve survived.”

“What happened to Arthur?”

Eggsy’s worry abated for a moment and he grinned. “I took care of them. Just had to send their boat out a little further and rip it in half, leaving them to try and swim back to shore. I think that will keep them away. For a bit anyway.”

“But you’re safe?” Harry asked, finally managing to sit up. He took in the ground he thought he’d been laying on was actually a rock and Eggsy was perched next to him, golden tail moving back and forth in the water.

“Yes, I’m safe. Thanks to your help, I guess.” Harry looked down at where Eggsy was playing with his fingers. “I was worried, you know. When you were shot. I kind of panicked. You didn’t have to get in front of me. I would’ve been fine.”

“I couldn’t let him hurt you. Not after I’d done something so horrible to you myself,” Harry murmured.

“Hey, Harry?”

“Hm?” He looked up slowly, vision filling with golden hair as Eggsy cupped his face and brought their lips together. Harry wrapped his arm around Eggsy’s waist and pulled him closer, drinking in his sun-warmed skin and running his fingers over where the tightly clustered scales of his tail began on his lower back.

Eggsy sighed when he pulled away. “Sorry, I probably should’ve asked…”

“Nonsense,” Harry interrupted, keeping Eggsy close and kissing him again. He could get used to the sea. Especially when everything-the smell, the sparkles, and the golden color at sunset-reminded him of Eggsy.

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#hartwin #molim writes #merman fic #kingsman

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darkguardian-wattpad · 7 years

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An excerpt from Entwined a Reylo fanfic by -DarkGuardian- on Wattpad

This is only part of a chapter called Of Fire and Ice and it takes place before The One Thing In Common. Please check the book out if you like this. It’s free of the free app Wattpad. Let me know what you think!

Rey found a grassy patch just far enough from the edge of the nearby cliff to lay down on. It was a strange thing, not being afraid to fly in a ship that she’d never piloted before which could travel at light-speed only to later discover she had a severe fear of heights. Although to be fair it probably wasn’t the hight that she feared but the water at the bottom of the drop. Back on Jakku she had roped down into many ships and mines without even breaking a sweat. The thing is, on a desert planet you don’t really ever get the chance to learn how to swim.

She peeked over the edge and her heart rose in her chest. Viridian swells rolled into massive violent waves before slamming into the cliff side. The water climbed thick jagged stone walls before retreating back hard into itself, dragging everything down with it. Angry white tips flowed out from the endless midnight blue depths that surrounded the island like hands waiting to grab unsuspecting ankles. She shivered. Back on Jakku Rey use to find a place like this in her mind when she needed to escape the cruel reality she faced daily. Now this close to the edge, she felt overwhelmed, almost fearful and there honestly wasn’t much that really scared her. She loved the island itself but the water surrounding it gave her anxiety. She had found some shallow pools along the beachside to wade through and once or twice, she had even gone as far as her waist line but the second she felt the current pulling and the undertow snaking around her, that’s when her bravery slipped.

She crawled from the ledge back to the soft green of the grass that she could lay in forever. It was nothing like the hot rolling sand that clung to everything and got everywhere. The grass was cool and soft. It smelt so nice and the way it moved with the wind, she could watch it for hours and sometimes she did. She found she loved the color green. Turning to her side she ran her hand over the short blades. She closed her eyes and let them tickle her palm. She smiled as she watched each blade slide over her skin through the force.

“Abusing the force for your own amusement…? That’s not a very Jedi thing to do Little scavenger.” A soft distant voice teased her.

She propped herself up to her palms as the world around her melted away into darkness. Her eyes took in the sudden change of scenery around her. Rey wasn’t on the cliff side anymore. She was in some kind of room. It was large, open and dark. Very dark. There were beams reaching from the bottom of the floor to the top of the ceiling with thick gashes of red molted metal stretching most of the length of them. She could use the soft glow from the tortured beams to see a little. Their smoldering scars shone just bright enough for her to navigate the area with her eyes. There were stands with control panels and small flickering lights waiting to be tampered with, she immediately hated those. They lit the things closest to them for a second at time and it played with her eyes. She blinked several times adjusting her eyes to the dark open space around her.

She slowly, lightly moved through the room, investigating the area around her as she searched for an exit. She could see large heavy looking bags hanging from the ceiling and what looked like a weapons rack at the far end of the room. Her pace quickened as she moved for it. She stepped on something hot and sharp causing her to swear inwardly. She lifted her foot and peeled shredded metal and wires from her boot. It was still hot in her hands and she assumed that whatever had cut up the beams had first enjoyed a taste of this… or what was left of it. She turned it over to examine it more closely and when her fingers found the hot section her foot had her hand retracted with such speed that the piece of what she now realized was a droid, went flying through the air. She pulled her fingers to her lips and in an attempt to cool the burning sensation she sucked the stinging tips into her mouth. There was a deep, guttural sound from behind her and she spun to face it. For a second under the light of the flashing panels, she thought she saw someone. When the light flashed on again they were gone and she remembered what brought her here… his voice!

“Where are you?” She growled through the darkness. A brush of air behind her sent her spinning around again. Her eyes scanned the area around her but still there was only darkness.

How poetic of a representation for Kylo Ren. She thought.

Then from behind her, just like in every one of the nightmares she’d had since she’d met him, that sound came. The searing hiss and crackle from his igniting cross-guard lightsaber. She could see the red glow behind her. It illuminated the floor just in front of her. He was close. If she were to be honest with herself, she knew he was close even before the glow and hiss of the lightsaber gave him away… she could feel him near. Rey froze as her sudden fear took root and locked her in place. She heard him twirl his plasma blade in his hand and she watched as the crimson glow moved over the floor. Even the sweeping shadows fled from the threatening crimson light of the crackling plasma. She felt the heat of that blade creeping towards her in waves, like it was reaching for her of its own volition. At least now she knew who and what was responsible for the injuries the beams and droids had endured. She realized then that she must have been in some kind of training room. She was already eyeing the darkness for an exit again, until he stepped closer to her. Her heart jumped into her throat and she swallowed to force it back down where it belonged.

She couldn’t die here, it was only a dream. She thought, but then she rubbed her fingertips together remembering the burn she had felt only seconds ago. Could she die here? Her mind swam in a sudden panic.

“What makes you think I want you dead?” He asked inquisitively. His voice rang through the air just behind her and she shivered. Rey had been vigorously training for months to keep her thoughts guarded and quiet and it all fell away the second she was next to him.

Good to know that was paying off. She chastised herself silently. Rey decided not to answer him. Instead she slowly turned her head to the right. She didn’t need to move her head to stare stare down at the crimson bathed floor between them but she made a show of pointing out the glow of his weapon while she stood unarmed.

“It’s not exactly a fair fight.” Rey had meant to sound strong but she heard the shakiness in her voice when she spoke. Again for the show of it, she held out her hands with her palms open for him to see she was unarmed.

Kylo Ren took two large strides forward brining his lightsaber so close to her that his arm shadowed over hers. His plasma blade groaned when he moved next to her. It crackled wildly as sparks spit in the open air along the length of it. His hand stayed low. He wasn’t trying to threaten her but he would use the plasma blade to trap her.

The last time Rey had seen that angry lightsaber he had used it to sever a man completely in half. She shifted uncomfortably at the memory. It took all of the self control she could muster not to bolt away from it. It wouldn’t have helped if she did, she had no where to go. She couldn’t side step to the left quick enough to escape his reach and if he chose to swing the saber from this close, she had no doubt the blow would be fatal. At the proximity with which she found herself to him, she defiantly couldn’t step backward. Forward would put her closer to that angry blade and she’d rather let him choke her to death before she would allow herself to meet her demise at the end of that sinister weapon.

She eyed the hilt the plasma was housed in. It looked rough at best. Fastened together the same as he was. Unstable in it’s craft and ready to explode at a moments notice. Quick to destroy, to consume and to overwhelm. They were both powerful, both dangerous, and yet some how both torn. Just as his hilt forced the split of the kyber crystal, sending it’s focus in multiple directions, she felt he to had something controlling him, forcing a divide in him in a similar way. She had witnessed his indecision first had. Had seen him struggling with his inner demons that night on the Starkiller. Now his black gloved hand squeezed the hilt tightly. So tightly in fact, that she could see his forearm flexing under the black pleats of his armor. He gripped the weapon as though he were containing it. As though he was the only thing keeping control over the straining weapon.

“Since when does life ever offer a fair fight?” He asked sincerely.

“It certainly hadn’t for your father.” She spit it out before she could stop herself. Her eyes shut tight. At least now she’d die quickly. She thought to herself.

He was silent behind her. She didn’t even hear him breathing. She swore she heard the plasma blade whine as it retracted back into it’s core. She thought she heard the very air around it being sucked with it back into it’s prison. She tensed at the sound assuming it would be her last, but nothing followed. Then she felt this deep swelling pain in her chest. This shattering sadness built up and she thought she might for just a moment… cry. Then regret washed over her and she was back to the pain again.

Heat stirred beneath her chest. The pain was melting down, reforging itself into a sharp, hot anger. It was a confusing wash of emotions and she didn’t understand why she was feeling them so suddenly and all at once. Han’s death had hurt but she had given herself the time she needed to move past the would be father figure, though she was obviously still very angry at kylo Ren.

When he spoke again, she understood where the emotions had come from.

“Don’t talk about things you don’t understand.” He seethed.

He had genuine anger there but under that were the same emotions she’d just felt. He used his anger as a shield and he was hiding behind it now. She should be use to being privy to his more intense emotions by now. Every time they were near each other she got sucked into his depths.

It was so surreal to be able to literally feel what some one else was. Not just sharing the feelings between them but actually physically feeling what he felt, was mind boggling and to be honest, exhausting. Rey now knew that she had hurt him with her words and she instantly regretted it. She forgot about the situation she was in, forgot how dangerous he was and in that moment of weakness, she turned to face him.

Rey froze absolutely stunned. She was just inches from his bare chest. So close, her nose almost touched him. She couldn’t breath with out taking in his scent and it was something unique. Something that she couldn’t pin down well enough to describe but it was marvelous. Cool yet spicy, crisp, earthy and very masculine. It reminded her of the night air. She almost smiled when she realized he reminded her of the soft grass she was currently curled up in.

She swallowed when she remembered where she was. Her eyes roamed over him. He was bare from the waist up. His arms were clad in the tight black pleated armor he normally wore, complete with black padded leather gloves. When she’d seen his arm under the glow of his lightsaber before there had been no sign or reason to think he wasn’t fully clothed. She’d seen his glove and arm guards. Now staring at the black leather straps that met at the center of his chest holding those arm guards up, she was dumbfounded. Her mind literally shut down. He didn’t say anything either, he just let her stand there in her idiocy.

He was more dangerous then she could have ever imagined. He was a wall of hard toned muscle. His skin appeared bright in contrast to the black armor he wore over his arms and shoulders. He was smooth planes and ripples of dazzling milky white skin. Little beauty spots dotted his perfection like tiny points of interest on a galactic map, leading travelers along through a very detailed tour of the hard lines and muscled length that Kylo Ren was built of.

Rey swallowed painfully hard as her eyes took him in. This was a body carved by the hands of abuse and war. Both old and new scares accented the entirety of him. He was a warrior in every way. It wasn’t hard for her to imagine him as the Master of the Knights of Ren now. His age meant nothing when compared to his experience. He wore the proof of his battles like permanent medals of honor.

It only took seconds to find the larger scare in his left abdomen. That one had undoubtably come from Chewie’s Bowcaster. She traced it with her eyes. It looked like a young child had made an innocent attempt at drawing a circle. It was mostly round but sloppy, shaky, and even a bit jagged in places.

Rey’s heart twisted with guilt and fear as the desire grew within her to see what she’d done to him. She was as curious as she was disgusted with herself knowing that she wanted to look up so badly to see what damage her anger was responsible for that night. Her eyes moved over the black armored sleeve that covered the length and top of his right arm and shoulder. A thick rugged scare peeked up from behind it. It stretched the length of his collar bone up and across his traps and led to his neck… and she stopped. Rey couldn’t bring her self to look further. She closed her eyes remembering the cauterized slash she had left across his face the last time she’d seen it.

How badly had she disfigured him? That beautiful, masculine face. Was there still sadness in those eyes or had she turned them to ice? She wondered at the ramifications of such a disfiguring mark, remembering the first time she’d looked upon his once perfect face. Her heart swelled. She could feel her breath rolling off of his chest. It reminded her that he was real. That he was not just a memory of some sad tortured soul that her mind kept painting him as.

This is Kylo Ren, you hate Kylo Ren. She evoked trying to push her thoughts away from sympathizing with the very man in front of her. She’d gotten soft since she met Leia and the others. Back on Jakku she’d have never given her actions or his a second thought. It’s not like murder and death didn’t surround Rey her entire life.

But Han felt different. His death had been a loss and having nothing prior to loose, only made it all the more difficult to cope with. He wasn’t like the usual smugglers she’d run into in the past back on the dusty planet. He had a set of rules, a code if you will. He was with the Resistance and they were the right side of the two forces. They were the light and Ren was the dark. He was a monster no matter how beautiful the face was he hid behind. Her inner resolve voiced.

But he hadn’t hid behind it. He had removed the mask he wore and shown himself to Han Solo. Faced his father with all of his demons and struggles bared. His fathers last moments had been of clear love and forgiveness. Her inner light defended.

Still, she couldn’t just accept that. She couldn’t get past the anger. Rey imagined red paint splattered across his face where the scar would be. It would always be there to remind him of what he’d done. She hadn’t intended on marking him but the connection didn’t go unnoticed. She’d struck him right where his father’s hand had touched him so lovingly only minutes before. There was a fleeting moment of satisfaction and she knew she should be ashamed at the darkness of her thoughts. She knew Han wouldn’t have wanted his son marred in shame over what he’d done. Han had the love to forgive him and that alone should be enough for Rey to get over it. Rey remembered the emotions she’d felt through him in the after math and again when she’d brought it up just seconds ago.

He would never be able to move past what he’d done, even if he wanted to and that was her fault. Tears welled up in her eyes. She fought to keep them from falling. How could she be responsible for such hate, such destruction? She’d called him a monster but she’d been only a strike away from killing him herself. She admitted shamefully to herself. And Maker, if she didn’t think about it often since.

Kylo looked down on her in anger and then in awe as he listened in on her internal struggle. He hadn’t initially meant to pry but she was so open and it did concern him. He reasoned. Her inner battle mirrored his own and since he was the cause, he felt guilty over it. He could feel her mentally withdrawing from him but he wouldn’t allow it. He had waited to long to have her here, to have her this close. He wanted to share with her what the scar meant to him. He wanted her to know that it was a reminder of her and not of his father.

When he thought of what he did to his father it was because he chose to not because she or anyone else needed to remind him. He would never forget and he didn’t want to. He’d done what he thought he had to do at the time and he couldn’t change that now even if he wanted to. Her scar was the only good thing that had come out of his life in a long time. A part of him died that night with his father. Another part came to life when she had marked him, unknowingly claimed him as her’s. Kylo Ren was permanently branded. He would always belong to her now and wether she knew it or accepted it, she belonged to him too. He suddenly needed her to understand how he felt about it.

He clipped the hilt of his lightsaber to his waistline and he grabbed her left hand with his right. He gave her no time process what was happening before he held it over the right side of his face. His fingers stayed over hers as he slowly guided them along the scar. Rey didn’t look up. She didn’t even open her eyes. Her fingers trembled against his skin as she blindly studied him. She traced the thin smooth line from over his brow, down his cheek to the hard line of his jaw.

He didn’t breath while she touched him. Kylo had run his fingers over this scar so many times since she’d given it to him that now without falter, he delicately moved her along with surgical precision. He stared down at Rey as he held her hand under his. Her fingers left a hot trail over the sensitive flesh as they explored. She wouldn’t look at him and he desperately wanted to see those wild hazel eyes looking up at him like the night she’d done this to him or the night he discovered their Force bond. He led her fingers down until they rested on his jaw line. He wanted to bring them further down, wanted to feel her traces the tissue down his neck and over his shoulder but he could feel her hesitation growing. Her resistance while touching him was building and he didn’t want to her to fight him. Not so soon after he’d just gotten her skin on his. When he stopped guiding her she tried to pull her hand away but he kept it in his. He wasn’t ready to let her go just yet. Kylo pulled against her when she tugged and instead of letting her hand go, he brought it to his mouth.

Her head snapped up and her eyes opened wide. She saw past his face, past his scar, she could only see the deep pools of darkness that were his brown eyes. They were soft and hard, strong and weak all at the same time. They held more then one kind of power and right now they were focused on her. He pressed his lips against the soft pads of her fingers. Large tears rolled down her soft face. She flattened her free hand against his chest in an attempt to push off of him but his left arm snaked around her back and he pulled her against him, pinning her hand between them. She pulled her other hand free from his loose grasp and tugged it away from his mouth.

In an attempt to regain control Rey balled her fist intending to strike him. Again he countered her. He caught her wrist with his hand and pulled it out to the side of his face. She didn’t have the arm strength to fight him, especially while hers was extended so awkwardly. Though he was bent to meet her, he was still much taller and she couldn’t use her weight to help pull her arm free. She felt ridiculous pulling against him. If she had been looking straight ahead, her face would have been pressed into his chest but when he’d trapped her, she was looking up at him and so she was stuck looking up at him now.

Kylo Ren was staring down at her and suddenly she felt like there was a lack of air in the room. Her lips parted to allow more oxygen in and out of her heavy chest. Ren’s eyes dropped from hers to her mouth and she felt her cheeks flush. She was embarrassed, flustered and excited by the way her body responded to his. Rey shivered under the intensity of his gaze and that made her uncomfortable. She didn’t like the lack of control she had around him. Her stomach was heating and she didn’t know if it was from outrage or something else.

“Let me go.” She attempted demanding, but it came out more of a whisper.

“When I’m done.” He said forcefully.

Her brows rose at his domineering response but she didn’t have time to retort before he silenced her. In one smooth motion the arm behind her back curled and lifted, scooping her around the curve of her lower back and waist just enough that her toes were barely left touching the floor, and his mouth captured hers. She instantly pictured the angry waves crashing against the cliff side. He forcefully led her lips with his and suddenly she was on fire. In that moment, she would gladly welcome the grasping hands of the viridian swells amongst the jagged teeth of the rocks below. Let them pull her under until she couldn’t breath. She didn’t care, she couldn’t think to care. All she could do was feel. Her hand was smoldering against the heat of his chest and she could feel his heart beat under her palm. He was pulling her under like the waves and she was powerless to stop him. Her eyes closed as they rolled in her head. She stopped fighting him then. Her body or her mind, was in shock and she became unable to process what was happening or who it was happening with. She couldn’t catch up to the world around her. Every thing was happening so fast and she was moving so slow.

Just as Rey thought she’d drown in him, his mouth broke the seal over hers. His lips softened and he gently moved along hers. She shivered under the delicate touch of his mouth over her swollen lips. All she could do was follow. Her insides were liquid and she felt her legs starting to shake as her knees weakened. He pulled away and rested his forehead along the bridge of her nose. She was stunned into silence as he breathed over her mouth. The soft black waves that framed his face tickled along her skin, sending chills all the way down to her toes. They stood pressed together for several seconds before she came back to her senses.

What the kriff just happened and why hadn’t she stopped it? Her inner voice was as furious as it was confused and she could barely make out what it was saying. Then he spoke over her mouth and she didn’t care.

“When it’s not just a dream… imagine what that will feel like.” His eyes closed as though he were doing just that. “Imagine what it will feel like…” He spoke into her mouth adding emphasis to the last of his words. “When I’m really touching you.” His breath rolled along her chin and neck. She felt it in small puffs over her collar bone as he exhaled.

They way he finished the last sentence made her quiver and she literally started picturing his words in her head. He’d said it as though he were sure it would happen. Like it was predetermined and set in stone. Her skin sizzled and she felt her body responding in ways that shook her… no, terrified her! Somewhere in the middle of it all his grip on her had loosened. She felt her feet flat on the ground again. She focused on her footing. She let her mind feel the solid ground beneath her and she used it to level herself. She didn’t know when her balled fist had relaxed but now his leather clad hand was pressing against her skin. His fingers were bending over her knuckles to force her palm open against his. Her mind threatened to go blank again but she caught it just in time. She imagined resetting it like a droid on the fritz. She blacked everything out and rebuilt the world up around her. Rey shook her head and Kylo knew his time with her was up.

“That’s never going to happen.” She said finally finding her voice.

She jerked her hand out of his and he didn’t stop her. He let her go then and to both their surprise, she didn’t fall. Bully for me. She thought. Her legs still felt weak but she held herself up just the same, pretending to be unaffected by their recent contact.

Kylo watched her eyes smolder even as she looked away. He was amazed at how well she held herself, even as he felt his own body rock from their sudden intimacy. He watched her closely as she feigned normalcy. He could see how flustered she really was but he didn’t bring attention to it for fear he may embarrass her. He’d already gone to far. He hadn’t meant to kiss her but when her lips had parted under his eyes, he lost his self awareness and his body took over where his reason should have. She had so much more control over herself then he did. He marveled at her strength. The way she caught and brought herself back under restraint. Physically her chest heaved and her body shook ever so slightly. Even her fists were balled tightly at her sides. All while she was mentally pretending as though nothing had effected her. She was trying very hard to convince both of them of that, and he found it endearing. The harder she tried, the more amused he became. She held her head high and she clearly made an effort to look through him rather then at him. He couldn’t help it then, she was adorable and it made him smile. It was genuine and warm. An act he hadn’t done since he was a boy. He corrected the mishap quickly. His lips pulled to a straight line before she could see it. Thankfully she was to focused on looking at anything but him.

He was fire and she was ice. And Maker, he loved the way they melted together. He smiled inwardly.

It reminded him of the first time they’d challenged each other in the interrogation chamber. She had won there, but he was sure this victory would be his given enough time. “We’ll see.” He said mimicking his first challenge to her. His eyes were dark and mischievous. A small smile played at the right corner of his mouth and when he spoke, her eyes flew to his lips. She stared at his mouth for a second to long before she finally looked away.

Yes, she could win battle after battle, it wouldn’t matter in the end because he would win the war! He thought as he stared at her wild eyes.

Without warning green pierced through the darkness filling the small space between them with the same color as the grass she slept in. It separated them like the ravine had back on the Starkiller base. Kylo stepped towards Rey but he was already to late. His eyes caught her’s for a brief moment. They were wide with fear as she stared at him through the emerald light and then… she was gone. With their connection severed, she woke from her dream in a startle leaving him alone in the dark room.

Kylo reached for her with his mind but he was met by a strong force wall. It was far to potent to come from just her mind. “Skywalker!” He hissed. Kylo yanked the hilt of his lightsaber free from his waistline. It shook in his hand matching its masters unstable fury with an anger of its own. He ignited the plasma blade as he screamed his agitation into the air. He slashed and struck repeatedly at the beams and droid dispersion panels cutting his way through the room. He Force pulled the training bags, ripping them from the ceilings and hacked at them one after the other. Next he dismembered every single training droid in the room. After that he took his rage to the walls, slashing and pummeling with a combination of his blade and fists until his knuckles bled in his gloves.

When he finally found the red over his vision clearing, he stopped. His lightsaber retracted and the room was silent except for his heavy breaths and the dying sounds of sputtering electrical wires strewn about. He pressed his forehead into the wall just inches from where a thin glop of molted metal was starting to run. Heat lingered along his face tickling the sensitive flesh of his scar and he thought about her fingers. It had been months since he’d seen her. Since Luke had walled her away from him, he’d barely even been able to brush her mind with his over the long spans of time.

How long would it be until he found her again? How long would it be until she unintentionally drifted to him as she had tonight? Months… years…? He wouldn’t survive that long with out her. He stayed with his head pressed into the wall savoring the fleeting heat of the quickly cooling blood-like metal until it finally solidified, denying his already longing skin the heat it so craved. After several more moments of self wallowing he reluctantly pulled his head from the surface. He stretched his neck and rolled his shoulders in an attempt to release some tension before turning on his heels and heading to his private medical bay. He mentally sighed. He hated the kriffing med bed!

Luke stood over Rey, his green lightsaber illuminating his scowl in a frightful way. She scrambled to her feet, her eyes never leaving his. He looked wild. His hair whipped hard in the wind. His eyes glowed against the green of his plasma blade. His beard had grown scraggly and his robes bellowed behind him. Other then his appearance there was something else off balance about him. She couldn’t figure out what it was but something was changing in him and she’d seen it slowly developing over the last few weeks but now it happened at a rapid pace, seemingly right before her eyes.

“Master?” She found herself blinking up at him as though trying to identify who he was. Except for the clothes he wore and even they were not as tidy, he didn’t look a thing like the man she had met that first day she arrived on the island. His lightsaber retracted and he walked away from her without a word.

*Hey guys n’ gals thanks for reading! Please repost repost repost! * -DarkGuardian-

#reylo #kylo ren #rey

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