A/N - So we had a lot of Reylo last chapter, but what will happen when they reach the base? Will Leia forgive Kylo? Let's see!
lefty2u: Thanks! Glad you think so!
Guest: Aw thank you! And I definitely will!
jayjay0815: Thank you so much, that's so sweet! I'm glad you like my writing! And honestly, the first time I was watching TFA I was already shipping Reylo so hard by the time they got to the duel, so when they had their faces so close together I was just thinking kiss kiss kiss, so that's where I got my inspiration :)
Enjoy!
Rey could feel herself getting increasingly nervous as she and Chewie landed the ship at the Resistance base. She sat still in the pilot's chair after they landed, trying to calm her nerves. Chewie barked at her.
"Good idea. You take Finn in. It's best he gets treatment as soon as possible. I'll be right behind you, just give me a minute." Rey told him. The Wookie gave her an almost sympathetic look, before he wheeled Finn out of the medbay and down the ramp, out of the ship. Rey took a deep breath and went over to the supply closet door.
"You alright in there?" She called.
"I'm fine." Came Kylo's reply. "I assume we've landed?"
"Yeah." Rey said simply. There was a moment of silence.
"Are you alright? You sound nervous." Came his voice. Rey sighed.
"Well, I am nervous." She admitted.
"Why?" He asked. Rey was quiet for a moment.
"How are you going to play this off? I know I'm not supposed to act like I think of you as anything more than my enemy, but what about you? Are you going to immediately seek redemption? What's the plan?" She asked him, desperate for an answer. Rey hated not having a plan.
"I'll have to play things by ear, I suppose." Was his response. "It depends on what my mother decides to do with me." So there really wasn't a plan. That was the opposite of what Rey wanted to hear.
"Hey," came his voice again, soft and gentle. "Don't worry. Things will work out, I promise." Rey took a deep breath.
"Okay. Okay. Then… I guess I should go." She told him.
"I'll see you in a bit." Was his reply.
Hopefully, Rey thought, as she took another deep breath and descended down the ramp.
When she emerged from the ship the first person to greet her was Poe. Rey was startled when he threw his arm around her.
"Hey kid, looks like you survived after all." He joked. Rey couldn't help but smile. It didn't last long though.
"I heard about Finn, but the doctors wouldn't tell me anything. Is he… will he be okay?" Poe asked, sounding concerned.
"He should be, after some help. He's survived this long so he should…" Rey trailed off as her eyes met General Leia's, who was standing off to the side. Rey could tell by Leia's expression that she already knew. Rey stepped forward.
"I am so, so sorry." She said, but she barely got through her sentence when Leia embraced her, hugging her tightly. Tentatively, Rey wrapped her arms around the older woman. Leia pulled back after a few seconds. She offered Rey a small smile.
"It's alright, child. I just wish…" Leia trailed off, her gaze fixed on the Millennium Falcon. "I sense… a presence." She muttered. Then her eyes widened, and she turned to Rey, shocked. "My son. You brought… you brought my son here." It wasn't a question, but Rey nodded. Leia's face became a mix of grief, anger, and curiosity. "He killed Han." Again, it was a statement, but Rey nodded nonetheless. She hesitated before speaking.
"He… he regrets it, you know." She told Leia. The general stared at her.
"How do you know?" Leia asked Rey. She blushed.
"I've been in his head. He didn't want to kill Han, not really. And you were right; there's light in him. It's growing." Rey told her. It wasn't a lie. Rey knew Kylo regretted killing Han, and even if he denied it, there was light in him, and it was growing. Rey liked to think that was in some part because of her. Leia stared once more at the ship before turning back to Rey.
"We'll need to lock him up." Leia told her. "At least for now. While he may have light in him, he is still very dangerous. We can't have him walking around. Not until Luke gets back, at least." Rey blinked in surprise.
"What do you mean, until Luke gets back?" Rey asked, confused. Leia grinned.
"We discovered the rest of the map in Luke's droid, R2-D2. And I want you to be the one to get him."
Kylo waited patiently in the storage closet. He had replaced his restraints so it would look as if Rey had contained him the entire time. Now he just had to hope she did her part.
He heard footsteps outside the door and a familiar voice.
"I haven't been on this ship in so long." Kylo stiffened at the sound of his mother's voice. "It certainly brings back memories." Then the door opened and there she was. His mother, General Leia, stood in the doorway, staring at him with a mixed expression of sadness, curiosity, and caution.
"Hello, Ben." She said softly. Kylo could see Rey over Leia's shoulder.
"I'm not Ben." He replied. At this Leia smiled sadly.
"No. I suppose you aren't." She said. "But Rey here tells me you still have good in you, and I believe her." Kylo looked past Leia to Rey, who offered him a small, reassuring smile. He turned his attention back to his mother.
"How can you believe that?" He asked her. "I killed Han. I killed the students at Uncle Luke's Jedi Academy, and hundred more people since. And that's just me personally." Leia winced at the reminders, but she stayed silent. Rey shot him a look over her shoulder, before speaking in his mind.
Other people will only be able to get past what you did if you do. She said.
"Rey, if you wouldn't mind undoing his restraints?" Leia asked her. Rey nodded, raising a hand, and his restraints fell. "And cuff him." Leia added. Kylo shot her a glare.
"I'm not going to try to escape." He informed her as Rey nimbly placed the handcuffs on his wrist. He fought to keep his expression neutral as her fingers brushed his skin.
"And why is that?" Leia asked him. She sounded equally wary and curious. Because Rey is here. And wherever Rey goes, I will follow. He thought, but of course he didn't say it. Instead, Kylo just shrugged innocently.
A few minutes later Kylo walked between Rey and Leia down a dim white hallway. Occasionally Rey's hand would "accidentally" brush against his, a gentle reassurance that everything would be alright.
They finally stopped in front of a plain door. Leia entered something into a key pad and it opened, revealing a plain, white room, with nothing but a small cot with a pillow and a blanket inside.
"In you go." Leia said, giving him a surprisingly gentle nudge. Kylo stumbled inside, and the door clicked shut behind him. He surveyed the small, uncomfortable room. This was going to be a very long night.
A few hours after they had placed Kylo in the cell, Rey carefully peeked outside of the door of the bedroom that had been assigned to her. The hallway was quiet and empty. Not that it mattered if she was caught. Anyone besides General Leia who caught her could be easily made to forget that they ever saw her. She had a loaf of bread that she had stolen from the cafeteria, and now she kept it tucked under her arm as she made her way through the base.
When she arrived at Kylo's cell, she wasn't surprised to see that there was a guard.
"Hey, what are you-" he started, but Rey interrupted him.
"You will open this door, and allow me to enter. When I wish to leave, you will allow me to leave, and you will forget you ever saw me. If anyone comes by while I am inside, you will not inform them of my location under any circumstances." She knew it was a lot to ask, but she wanted to cover everything. The soldier straightened.
"I will open this door, and allow you to enter. When you wish to leave, I will let you leave and I-" He repeated. Rey waves him off.
"Yeah, I got it, just do it, please." She told him. Without another word, the soldier opened the door and she slipped inside.
She smiled at the sight she found; Kylo was sitting cross-legged in the center of the tiny holding cell, eyes closed, meditating. When the door clicked shut behind her, it seemed to bring him out of his trance. He blinked slowly, then looked up at Rey in surprise.
"Rey? What are you doing here?" He asked her. Rey pulled out the loaf of bread.
"I figured they wouldn't feed you, so I brought you this." Kylo stood up, ignoring the bread she held out to him, instead looking at her with concern.
"That's not what I meant. What if you get caught? They'll throw you in a cell too." Kylo looked genuinely worried. Rey shook her head.
"I don't know that there's a person in this base that can resist a Jedi mind trick, aside from Leia. Besides, who could overpower the both of us?" She asked, gently pushing the bread into his hands. He didn't resist, but he still looked doubtful.
"Luke Skywalker could, when they bring him back here." He pointed out. Rey froze at his words, remembering,
"That's actually another reason why I came here." Rey told him. She hesitated. Kylo took her hand and squeezed urging her to continue. "Leia wants me to be the one to get Luke." She said quickly, avoiding his gaze. She felt him stiffen.
"And what do you think about that?" He asked her, tone clearly carefully measured. Rey looked up and saw that his face was neutral.
"I don't want to leave you here." She admitted. "I'm afraid something will happen while I'm gone." Kylo chuckled.
"Rey, I can handle myself. The only thing I have to fear is what will happen to me when Luke Skywalker comes back." He told her. Rey looked at him, confused, and he sighed, continuing.
"I killed his best friend, his sister's love. I killed an entire school of children. I highly doubt he'll be extremely forgiving." Rey shook her head, stepping closer.
"The only one who is not willing to forgive you is yourself." She told him. "Besides, it wasn't an entire school of children." Rey reminded him gently, referring to how he had saved her from the massacre. Kylo smiled down at her, twirling a strand of her hair around his finger.
"No, I suppose not." He replied softly. He gently grabbed her waist, pulling her towards him. Before she had time to speak, he pressed his lips to hers, and anything she wanted to say slipped from her mind. When he pulled back he leaned his forehead against hers.
"You should go, before someone comes." He told her.
"I don't want to." Rey replied. Kylo gave her a stern look.
"Rey, you know what will happen if-" He started, but Rey cut him off with another kiss.
"Please," she pleaded. "I...I can't sleep. I want to stay with you." Kylo heaved a long sigh, but he nodded, giving in with a smile.
"You couldn't find a closet to sleep in?" He teased her. Rey shrugged.
"Mine is stuffed to the brink with random junk. I was gonna try one of the supply closets in the hall, but with my luck someone would walk in on me first thing in the morning." She told him. It was a lie, and he knew it. She hadn't even thought about a closet. Her first thoughts had been to go to Kylo.
Kylo chuckled, taking her by the hand and leading her over to the small cot in the corner of the room.
"Well, this cot's not supply closet, but hopefully it will do." He teased. Rey couldn't help but smile. He gestured for her to go first, so she climbed onto the cot, moving over so she was against the wall. Kylo slid in next to her, pulling the blanket over the both of them. Once situated he wrapped his arms tightly around her, and she snuggled into him, eliciting a chuckle and a kiss to her forehead from him. Rey felt her eyes begin to shut of their own accord.
"I thought you said you couldn't sleep." Kylo teased her softly. Rey didn't open her eyes, already half-asleep.
"Well," she mumbled, "it turns out I don't need a closet. I just need you." And with that exhaustion overtook her and she fell asleep wrapped in Kylo's arms.
"Rey! Rey, wake up!" Rey awoke to Kylo shaking her.
"What? What is it? What's wrong?" She asked, wearily. Kylo was already pulling her off the small cot.
"Leia's coming, that's what. You need to leave, quickly." He urged her, shoving her towards the door.
"Wait!" Rey said, and he stopped. She turned back to face him. "Don't I get a kiss goodbye?" She asked with a smile. Kylo huffed impatiently, but he leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.
"There. Now go." He ordered her. Rey just shook her head.
"What kind of kiss was that? Come on, Kylo, you can do better than that." She teased him. He smiled, but it was strained. He was worried about Leia fining them together, but Rey could sense Leia too, and they still had a bit of time.
"Rey, as much as I would love to, I can't start that now, or I won't be able to stop, and then we'll get caught." He said exasperated. "Now please, hurry."
"Fine," she conceded. "But you are making up for that later." Rey told him. Kylo smiled.
"Gladly." He replied, before shoving her out the door.
Kylo was reclining on the cot, arms behind his head, when the door opened, and his mother entered. He sat up immediately.
"General," he greeted her. Leia raised an eyebrow.
"Be- I mean, Kylo, you're my son. You can at least call me Leia, if not 'Mom'." She told him. Kylo stiffened at her words.
"Why would you want that?" He asked her. He knew she heard the underlying question; why are you so willing to forgive me? Leia hesitated.
"I've lost so much over the years. My adopted family was killed, my entire home planet destroyed. I discovered I had a father, than lost him before I could even come to know the good side of him. I discovered that one of my best friends was my twin brother, and for a while I had him. But then even he left me. After that… incident, Han and I became estranged. And now he's gone, and I realize that all that time spent squabbling was wasted." Kylo looked down, feeling a pang in his chest. Those last two were his fault entirely.
"I'm sorry." He whispered. And he was. He was sorry he destroyed the Jedi Academy. He was sorry he killed his father. He would regret those things for the rest of his life. Leia sighed.
"I don't have much left," She told him. "I'm not going to let another person go. I know there's light in you Ben, or Kylo, or whatever you want to be called. It doesn't matter. You are still my son. Your apology just proved it." Kylo, to his shame, felt tears well up in his eyes. He quickly wiped them with his sleeve.
"I'm still dark." He told her. "Yes, I have light in me. But so do even the darkest of people. It means nothing." Leia nodded, smiling.
"You're right." She agreed. "It doesn't mean anything. But what does matter is which path you chose to go down. And I have a feeling that there's a very compelling force that will get you down the right path." His mother was smirking, and Kylo was confused. What did she mean?
"Anyway," she continued. "I just came to bring you this." She opened the door and the guard outside handed her a tray of food, before closing the door once more. She handed the tray to Kylo. He didn't know what to say.
"Thank you." He said finally. Leia smiled.
"You're welcome." She replied. "If I could I would release you, but I need to wait until Luke gets back so he can clear you." Kylo nodded in understanding. "I'll leave you alone to your thoughts." She concluded. As she made her way to the door, Kylo looked at his food. It didn't look bad; it definitely wasn't prison food.
"Oh, and Kylo?" He looked up to see Leia had turned back to him.
"Yes?" He asked. Leia smirked.
"Rey is a lovely young woman. I would hold onto her if I were you." Kylo was on his feet in an instant.
"How-" He started but it was too late. The door clicked shut, and Leia was gone.
A/N - Looks like Leia is ready to forgive Kylo after all! But it looks like she knows about him and Rey! I wonder how? And it looks like Rey may be leaving soon to bring back Luke! How will that turn out? We'll have to see!
~Sadie
