After what seems like an hour of fiddling with the device next to her bed, Stella manages to set the alarm (she thinks) for the next morning. Sleep doesn't come as easily this time around. Despite her exhausted body, the anxiety in her mind about what this job could be keeps her wide awake. She tosses and turns late into the night before eventually drifting asleep. The alarm beeps wildly, jolting her awake after a few hours and she groans, slamming her fist against it to shut the damn thing up. This is going to be a long day.
She drags herself out of her bed, keeping the comforter around her as long as possible until she trudges into the bathroom. Her hair isn't awful, despite the lack of products. (She's certain Kylo Ren has products for his hair that he isn't sharing.). She pulls it back into a loose braid, draping the braid over her shoulder and securing it at the end with the hair tie that rarely leaves her wrist. A few pieces fall out around her face and she shrugs, knowing without pins this is as good as it'll get. She applies a little bit of makeup, using it sparingly to make sure it lasts a while, and returns to the bedroom to get dressed. The button down and pencil skirt fit like they were made just for her. Stella tucks the blouse into the high waisted skirt and slides the jacket over her shoulders. Before even acknowledging the shoes, she turns to the full length mirror on her closet door and glares at her appearance.
The blaster doors to her apartment open with a hiss, and uninvited, Kylo Ren enters the living quarters. She rolls her eyes, hearing his heavy boots stomp against the floor. "Ever year of knocking? Oof!" She yells from the bedroom, stumbling back against her bed as she struggles to put the black heels on.
"Are you ready yet?" His voice is masked by the changer in his helmet, leaving him sounding monotone and emotionless.
"No. I'm not wearing this."
"Stella."
"Nope." She pokes her head out of the bedroom door, thankful to have a real door instead of automatic blasters for once. "Kill me instead." Beneath the confines of his helmet, a smirk tugs at the corners of Kylo Ren's lips. A huff of air releases from the mask and she's scoffs. He's laughing at her. "I'm serious! Why do I have a skirt and heels?! I happen to know that women on this ship have uniforms with pants and boots. Give me that uniform."
"Those are reserved for the military officers."
"Sign me up." She grumbles, slipping back into the bedroom and tugging the door closed. Her efforts are wasted however, as Kylo lifts his hand and holds the door open with the force. "I'm not a heels kind of girl, Kylo. I can't even walk in these."
"Come on, Star." He purrs, coaxing her out of the room.
Butterflies swarm her stomach at the nickname and she pinches the skin on her forearm, punishing herself for reacting to it like a schoolgirl with a crush. "Fine." She groans, staggering out to the living room. Her eyes remain locked on her shaking ankles as she stands in front of him, propping a hand on her hip. "Happy?"
Kylo Ren can't help but drop his jaw at the girl. Thankful for his mask, he drags his hungry eyes up her form. The baggy sweatshirt she had arrived in hid the curves that this uniform hugged every inch of. He cocks his head to the side, noticing the art etched into the skin of her left ankle. "You have a tattoo?" He questions, finding his voice once again.
"Hm?" She looks down, almost having forgotten about it. "Oh yeah. I have a couple actually." She turns to the side, giving him a better view of the crescent moon and stars on her ankle. "I have a really big one going up my right thigh and hip, and one on my ribs."
"Hm." He nods, admiring the little design. Just one more intriguing detail about his mysterious Stella. His thoughts darken, wondering what the artwork on her hip looks like. "Come on." He jerks his head up, mentally scolding himself. "You're going to be late."
Stella exhales softly, watching her feet as she staggers in the heels. She manages to make it across the ship without falling and begins to find a rhythm to walking in the damn things. She's positive that Ren is drastically slowing his usual pace to accommodate her and she almost smiles at him, before remembering what a jerk he was the previous night. He leads her to one of the offices she recalls passing yesterday. The clicking of keyboards and hushes voices in the office come to a deadly silence as they enter. The power his very presence commands makes her already weak ankles threaten to give out further.
"Commander Ren." A woman no older than her breaks the silence, inclining her head to Kylo with a bewitching smile. "This must be our new recruit. How kind of you to escort her!" She eyes Stella, lips twitching into a judging scowl at her. Is she honestly flirting right now? Stella squares her shoulders, extending a hand to the woman with all the confidence she can muster and forces a fake smile.
"Stella Tompkins." Her sickeningly sweet voice is new to Kylo and he catches himself laughing beneath his helmet. While there was never a doubt in his mind that she could hold her own, it leaves him swelling with pride to witness. "Pleasure to meet you."
The woman limply shakes her hand. Her unnaturally silver hair sparkles in the fluorescent light of the office, giving her an otherworldly glow. Her eyes are a piercing green, brightened by a coal line drawn around them. Even Stella has to admit that the woman is gorgeous. She finds herself intimidated by the modelesque woman and shrinks back a bit. "Lennox." Even her voice sounds lyrical. "Follow me, I'll get you set up."
More walking. Stella groans internally, attempting to match the speed Lennox sets across the space. Ren remains in the doorway for a moment, eyeing the awkward yet fascinating girl as she tries to fit in to his world.
Lennox leads Stella to an empty desk and begins explaining the basic day to day duties. "In this sector, we process the datachips from the Stormtroopers blasters and submit reports to Captain Phasma." She begins. "You are expected to be in this seat at precisely 0800 hours every morning and remain here until 1700 hours. I do not tolerate tardiness." Her explanation of the job drones on, reminding Stella of her first day as a temp at a law firm. (A job that she kept for a total of 4 days before going insane.) "Do you think you can handle this?" Lennox asks, feigning concern.
With a bitter smile, Stella nods. "Yes ma'am." She begins pressing buttons on the touch screen, following the written training guide to her right and easily falling into the monotony of the desk job.
The hours pass slowly, but 5PM rolls around eventually and she stands from her desk. Tilting her neck side to side to crack the kinks out, Stella follows the crowd of her colleagues out of the office and into the bustling halls. Her feet are throbbing in the unnecessarily tall shoes. She kicks them off, holding the heels in her hand and limps her way back to her quarters.
The doors slide open, and she smacks a palm against her forehead at the sight of Kylo Ren resting against her couch. "You really shouldn't make a habit of this, you know." Stella tosses her shoes aside, almost hoping the heels snap off as they thud against the floor. "People will start to talk."
He shrugs, resting his elbows on his knees as he leans forward. "We have tracked the location of the Resistance ships. Supreme Leader is sending me on a reconnaissance mission for a few days before Hux leads an attack."
She flops onto the couch, as far from him as the loveseat will allow, and kicks her feet up onto the coffee table. Her ankles cross in front of her and her head drops against the back of plush couch. "Oh. You're here for information." She rolls her eyes, hating herself for thinking his visit was anything more. "The movie opens on what I assume is the attack. I can't really tell you what is going to happen on your mission." She rolls her neck to look at him. He stares at her for a moment, searching her eyes for a lie. After a moment he nods and rises from the couch.
"So, you and Lennox huh?" She grins, tossing out the comment nonchalantly before he gets to the door.
"Excuse me?" He sputters, jerking around to face her.
Her palms raise in surrender as she giggles. "Oh come on. It's pretty obvious she is into you. You two have a history or something?" Stella wiggles her eyebrows suggestively.
"Don't get into too much trouble while I'm away, Star." Kylo grunts, turning sharply and leaving before she can catch a glimpse of his reddening cheeks.
She can't help but laugh loudly as he rushes from the room, confirming, in her mind anyway, her suspicions.