Rey woke to the feeling of Kylo's lips soft on her shoulder. He'd pushed up the short sleeve of her shift and was adoring her skin with his mouth, one square inch at a time. She could feel his desire, his love, and his devotion. He was consumed with her. He rolled his eyes up to look at her as he continued, baring his teeth slightly and trapping her skin between his teeth. She wasn't afraid. Instead, she smiled lazily and brought a hand up to curl it into his thick, dark hair. She made a fist. He made a growl. He didn't let go and neither did she. It felt like a dream.

She sighed and must have dozed off again, because the next thing she knew, he was kissing the underside of her chin, his nose bumping along her jawline. She smiled and squirmed slowly, releasing his hair and stretching. This time, she truly woke.

They'd made love three times before in their short history of being together. The first time had been quick. The second awkward. The third had been wonderful, finally finding their stride between them. And this time would be four. She didn't know why she counted. Maybe it was similar to those hash marks on the wall of her AT-AT home on Jakku, every time erasing a day of loneliness.

These joinings were important to her, the times he took her into his arms and they shared one another's bodies. The way he made her feel, like she was his empress or a goddess, never taking his eyes off her. The way he lost himself in her that third time, so fearlessly and fully, willing to weld their minds as thoroughly as their bodies. She was loved and adored by him.

His hand covered her breast, kneading it through the fabric of her shift. She turned towards him and pulled at his sleeping garment – a thin, flowing thing that was something like a long tunic. He lifted himself in stages so she could get it off. Then she removed her own. Skin to skin now, he returned to her then. He laid next to her, kissing her face and caressing her body. She plunged her hands into his hair and wrapped a leg around his hip.

She rocked against him slowly, wriggling her other leg under him until he rolled on top of her with a smirk at her impatience. He kissed her mouth and she opened, tasting him with a moan. She didn't dare get louder. The walls on the quarters of the Restitution weren't soundproof. They'd heard Rose giggling with Finn the night before, doing whatever it was they were doing in their quarters, so she knew sound carried. But it was hard to stay quiet. Even breathing seemed to reverberate noisily in the small room.

She wrapped her arms around him. Her legs, too, for a playful moment as she arched against him. He was all muscle. She certainly admired his strength in all the ways it showed. Even in the violence of the day before, out in the hangar bay, she'd seen control. Finesse. Care. That explosive rage had run all through her, her feeling an echo of it in her soul, but she'd also known he was paying attention the whole while. Just as he had in Snoke's throne room. She'd felt his awareness of her – sometimes more, sometimes less – but he knew her. He tracked her. He cared about her.

She wiggled her hips against him, lower down, then reached down to adjust them both. A moment later, he slid inside and her down on him. He breathed out, "Ah …" and made a purring growl in her ear. He started to move, pumping slowly at first. She wasn't as quiet. Every thrust, no matter that they were basically gentle, left her gasping.

He pulled back so he could see her face and stare into her eyes as he devoured her every response. His mind brushed against hers and she let down all barriers. This was what had made their third time so perfect. They knew each other's wants and needs. They let the bond guide them. They allowed themselves to become one in spirit as well as flesh.

Guided by her thoughts, he pushed into her harder, his arms wrapping around her possessively exactly as she wanted them. Only with the reassurance of her mind would he pound into her as roughly as she desired. She couldn't see his face, but she knew his attention was utterly centered on her nonetheless. He held her to him as his powerful form filled her to completion.

She whimpered and made low moans, feeling the climax building in both of them. She was getting louder. She couldn't stop. He knew it and he pumped harder. Her body was lighting up inside and she knew his was as well. He panted in her ear as her legs tightened around his moving hips. A moment later, they were both there – she spasming around him and he as deep inside her as he could be. She clung to him, heart racing, breathing finally slowing.

He kissed her ear tenderly, then her cheek, then her mouth. His dark eyes were enraptured by her. She finally relaxed and he did as well, resting on his elbow and drawing up a knee so he wasn't smothering her with his size. They nuzzled and petted and she felt so good. It was exquisite. She had never felt like she belonged so much.

"I love you," she told him.

"I love you, too," he answered. "I feel this resonating through us both. It's so beautiful."

She laughed softly. "I have a place in your heart." She touched his chest. "That's all I've ever wanted – someone to be with, someone who cared, who understood."

"You can be with me forever if you like," he offered. For a moment, they stared into each other's eyes. She still hadn't said yes. He didn't accuse. He wasn't even sad and she was sure because she felt his emotions. Her lips parted to say something, but then his eyes flicked towards the door as though he heard something. He rolled to his side. His tone changed from soft and dreamy to more guarded. "We'll need to get cleaned up. No built-in refresher. I don't think I noticed where we're supposed to go."

"It's on the other side of the hall." She let the moment pass and got up, picking up her shift from the floor and putting it on. She didn't even know what to say except that she trusted she'd know when the moment was right. She handed him his tunic or whatever it was called. "Do you think anyone's up?"

"I think so," he said and there was something to his voice that was so certain that it might as well have been 'yes'. He pulled his tunic on.

She opened the door to get the awkwardness over. It wasn't like no one knew they were together. Finn had told her originally that the room he'd later moved in to was hers and she'd obviously declined it. But where she'd only expected to deal with one person, maybe two, they were all there – Rose and Steel sitting on the couch with tools arranged between them and Finn on a chair drawn up in front of them. The object of their attention was the broken clasp of Steel's helmet. The door to Nera's room was open. She was inside, sitting on the bed, apparently meditating.

Rose blushed and kept her head down. Finn gave her a tight smile, which told Rey everything she needed to know. Yes, they'd heard. Her mostly, she assumed, as Kylo had been quieter than she'd been. Rey's face went scarlet, even though a part of her rebelled at the thought they'd been doing anything improper.

Steel was even less shameless than Finn or Rose. "Well, you two seem to be having a good morning!" he said cheerfully.

Kylo nodded absently, poking his head around the corner of Nera's room to check on her. Face hot, Rey went back in the sleeping area to gather the clothes they'd change into after using the refresher. Kylo turned back to her, stopping in the doorway of their sleeping chamber. "Why are you embarrassed?"

"What? They were out there!" she whispered, although she didn't know if it did any good.

"I could muffle you next time."

She glared at him, but then the glare softened. He wasn't being sarcastic or snide. It was a genuine suggestion, just as he was sincerely baffled. "No," she said. "Just go. Go." She turned back to the drawers she'd put their things in the day before. He left.

But Kylo only went as far as the door to the corridor, where he stopped and looked uncertain.

Steel leaned back, looking up at him, and asked, "What happened on Naboo?"

Kylo looked down to him. "Treaty negotiations." Steel gave him a look like that wasn't the answer he was looking for. Kylo tried again. "My mother's funeral?"

"Was there a wedding I wasn't invited to?" Steel said bluntly.

Kylo grimaced. "There was no wedding on Naboo."

"On the Finalizer, then?"

"No."

"Why not?" Steel asked. "She seems nice. All it takes is a signature from a captain, or so I've heard, right?"

Kylo frowned at him. "Do you remember what you told General Dameron yesterday?"

Steel thought for a moment, then made an 'ah-hah!' face. "Mind your own kriffing business!" he said, pleased to have found the answer.

"Yes," Kylo said.

Steel nodded, smiled, made a mock salute, and said sarcastically, "As you command, Lord Ren sir!" Then he turned his attention back to the helmet and minded his own business.

Rey came out of the bedroom and looked at Kylo standing next to the door. "Why are you still here?"

"You didn't say how far to go."

Rey sighed in exasperation. He was so earnestly awkward at times and so ridiculously suave the rest. She knew which one was the act, and it wasn't the awkward one. "To the refresher," she said patiently.