Everything happened so fast.

One moment, Rey was sparring with Kylo, learning from scratch a series of advanced lightsaber techniques. It was a week after their return to the Finalizer from their shore leave, and Rey had hardly seen him – or Hux, for that matter. They'd both been so busy with their respective duties that she'd only ever seen them in passing.

The next moment found Rey lunging around him and pinning a human male she'd never even seen before against the ground with her boot on his wrist and her lightsaber against his throat. The man's grip on his bare dagger loosened and it clattered to the ground.

She wasn't even quite sure how she'd gotten there, but Rey was furious.

She knew he'd meant Kylo harm – she had seen it in his eyes during the brief moment where he'd met her gaze – and that was inexcusable. How dare someone try to take away the man she was just now accepting she might love? "Master," she growled, never once taking her eyes off the man beneath her. "He was attempting to attack you – to kill you. I could sense it. He must die. Let me do it," she finished with a savage plea.

No one would harm her men while she was watching. Rey knew enough from Kylo's teachings that this attempt would be met with execution, and she wanted to be the one to dole out the punishment. For once, she had no issue with capital punishment.

Funny how everything changed perspective when it was someone you cared about who was the potential victim.

"No," Kylo's voice rang out into the heavy silence that had fallen around them. Everyone – more than fifty individuals, last Rey had looked – had frozen, their eyes fixed on the corner where Rey had been trying to train inconspicuously with Kylo.

Rey's eyes snapped up to Kylo's in shock, but her words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. "What do you mean, 'no'?" she cried out, loud enough for every last soul to hear. She would not be denied – she would have her revenge.

"You will stand down, Apprentice." Kylo's voice had taken on a deadly stillness. He expected to be obeyed; demanded to be obeyed... but Rey refused. She could not let this stand - she was so consumed with the desire to enact her own version of justice, that she ignored his order.

Rey snarled and lifted her lightsaber, ready to swing it downwards –

She was frozen in place as soon as she started the down-stroke.

Kylo stepped in front of her gaze so that she could clearly see the disappointed – and very angry – expression on his face, his hand outstretched to freeze her mid-swing. Rey reached out desperately with her mind, immediately attempting to reconcile herself with him, but he had shut her out as cleanly as if she did not have the Force at all.

She could not speak. She could not connect. All she could do was watch and listen as he addressed her – in front of everyone.

Rey could feel through the pressure of her boot on his wrist that the attacker was still pinned beneath her, likely frozen in place by the Force alongside Rey. She had never seen him before, so he was obviously one of the newly arrived Knights or trainees.

Kylo lifted his other hand and almost lazily pulled Rey's lightsaber from her hand and into his, thumbing it off and clipping it to his belt before turning sideways, away from her. His cool gaze swept across the assembled Knights, as if looking for any more threats, before he spoke up.

"Before I address this betrayal… Rey, you need to know that there is no event whatsoever that should ever lead you to disobey a direct command by your Master. You, Apprentice, must know your place, and it is not to question the will of your Master. You will obey or suffer the consequences." He did not once look at her; did not once lift the shroud he'd covered his mind with. His voice was toneless and impersonal, as if he were speaking to a pet that was of no consequence to him. This was already wholly humiliating, but to have him treat her as if there was nothing between them… like none of the events of the last few weeks had occurred… it was like a kick in the gut.

Rey could feel derision and delight at seeing her put in her place coming from some of those in the room. They made no effort to conceal their thoughts; at least, the trainees didn't. The Knights had better mental conditioning than that, even if they did not have access to the Force. Rey felt her cheeks flushing with humiliation and embarrassment – she was frozen in place in front of everyone, and being reprimanded for something she'd done while trying to protect a man she cared for deeply.

All of her hard work at gaining the respect of the trainees and Knights over the last months, and now getting off on the wrong foot entirely with the new arrivals… Rey could feel everything slipping away from her.

"Since this disobedience was done in an effort to protect the honor of your Master…" Kylo continued, finally turning his head to look at her over his shoulder. His eyes were flinty still, though his words heralded somewhat of a reprieve for her. Perhaps there would be no punishment besides this. "That will be taken into consideration while I decide what your punishment will be. You, however…" His eyes flicked downwards to the man who was still cowering beneath the constant pressure of Rey's boot on his wrist.

Suddenly Rey was unfrozen and she stumbled backwards as feeling rushed back into her body. She barely kept herself upright – it would have made everything so much worse than it already was to have fallen on her rear in front of everyone – and pulled herself straight so that she was standing with her shoulders squared and her chin tilted up. Kylo wasn't looking at her, but she could feel the eyes of plenty of others on her, watching her every move. She refused to meet their eyes, wanting instead to flee the room and find somewhere quiet to think – but knowing that she couldn't. She couldn't risk leaving without Kylo's permission, and she knew she didn't have it.

Now was not the time to push it.

Kylo unfroze the man as well and Rey watched as he slowly rose to his feet of his own volition, wiping the dirt from his clothes as he did so, and keeping his expression carefully neutral. Rey would almost respect the man for all that if he hadn't just tried to kill the man she cared for – even if she were mad at him in that moment.

"Kalex Ren," Kylo drawled, his eyes narrowing dangerously and contemptuously as he started to walk forward. He circled the brown-haired Knight slowly, studying him up and down. The edge of Kylo's robe fluttered against Rey's shins as he moved past her, but she refused to step back.

He did not look her way, focusing intently on the prey before him.

Once he arrived back in front of Kalex, Kylo's hand shot out and framed the other man's face without touching him with his gloves. Rey had the perfect vantage point over Kalex's shoulder to see the look on Kylo's face – it was the exact same one as when he had gotten into her mind all those years ago… but angrier; more volatile. It wasn't until that moment that Rey realized Kylo had almost treated her with compassion and curiosity during that fateful meeting – perhaps the recent change in their relationship contributed to her better understanding that moment upon reflection.

"Oh Kalex… you know that you cannot resist me. You have no Force-sensitivity, and even if you did I would break down whatever walls you placed between us. That's it; that's good. There is honor in meeting your fate with dignity. You always were someone I respected… even now, after all this… after you have betrayed me… I can respect you. Though, really, attacking me in the open like this? I thought you had been trained better than that by our former First Knight." Kylo's eyes drifted shut and a brief flash of pain crossed his features before he opened his eyes again and stared at the man before him in anger. "So, the Resistance got to you… wormed their way into your confidence? Or did you reach out to them? Ah… the latter. I should not have left you alone for so long, with no one to check up on you," he said, almost regretfully.

Kylo's eyes quickly surveyed the room around him. "If there are any more of you," he announced loudly, his voice frigid, "I will find you. And I will kill you."

Rey shivered, feeling as if the temperature in the room had dropped. Rey knew she had no reason to be afraid of Kylo, and yet she felt a frisson of fear roll down her spine.

And anger – there was a lot of anger suddenly filling Rey, as she realized the implication of what Kylo had found inside Kalex's mind. The Resistance had been behind this attempt on Kylo's life. The Resistance, who had always tried to say that they were the embodiment of honor and loyalty and integrity, even in times of war, had sent an assassin.

How was that honorable?

Though really, she should not be that surprised, she reminded herself. Leia and Luke had killed one child and kidnapped another when they had attempted to keep her out of the hands of the First Order, years and years ago.

At least Kylo and Hux had never tried to hide what they did from her, even from the start – at least not how they, the First Order, and the Knights operated. Yes, they might employ spies and assassins, but they never denied it. They never made grand speeches touting their integrity and honor while secretly carrying on assassinations and kidnappings.

"Savat Ren," Kylo called for his second without taking eyes off of his target.

Rey was shook out of her thoughts at hearing his voice ring out through the training room. She watched as the redhead made her way from the back of the crowd, prowling through the assembled Knights and trainees and weaving through them almost effortlessly.

"Yes, Master Kylo?" she asked as she arrived at his side, raising a brow at Kalex, who stood tall before her.

"Our rules demand confirmation of intent before execution," was all he said. It was all that needed to be said, as it appeared Savat knew exactly what he meant.

"Yes Master," she replied even as she lifted her hand towards Kalex. He didn't flinch, standing there stolidly in acceptance of what was to come. Savat's bare fingers brushed against the man's temple and she closed her eyes in concentration, focusing internally on the man in question.

After a few moments she opened her eyes and stepped back, her brown eyes glinting furiously. She raised her voice so that the entire room could hear her, though she did not take her eyes off of Kalex the entire time. "Confirmation of intent is seconded – he is a traitor, and intended to kill our Master while his back was turned, outside of our normal laws."

The Knights were silent all around them, though Rey could feel the anger and hurt at the betrayal of one of their own filling the room.

Without saying a word, Kalex dropped to his knees with his hands clutched together behind his back. Kylo stepped forward, withdrawing his lightsaber and igniting it so that its spitting and crackling provided a – rather fitting – backdrop to his words. "Do you have any last words, Kalex, former Knight of Ren?"

Kalex was silent for a moment before he spoke, loud enough only so that Kylo, Savat, and Rey could hear. "Your mother sends her regards, though it saddens her immensely to have to resort to this." He dropped his head so that his neck was parallel to the ground, accepting of his fate.

Grief warred with rage on Kylo's expression before rage won out seconds later. He lifted his lightsaber and brought it down to slice effortlessly through the man's neck. The wound was instantly cauterized, the smell of burnt flesh permeating the air a moment later, and his head rolled forward across the floor even as the rest of his body slumped to the side and fell.

Savat Ren stopped the head from rolling further with her boot, flicking her gaze down at it before she kicked it lightly back towards the body. "Good riddance," she growled. She glanced at Kylo, who was busy staring at the body, trying to control his breathing as he gripped his lightsaber. It looked as if he wanted to rip into more than the flesh that he had just sliced through, but was struggling to control himself in front of everyone.

Savat turned to two nearby trainees. "You, and you," she pointed at them. "Get rid of the body – an airlock will do – and then return to your Masters for further instructions for the day. Everyone else, as you were. Now!" she snapped out the last word, as no one seemed to be moving quickly enough for her tastes. With one last glance at Kylo, Savat turned to meet Rey's gaze. She held it momentarily, though gave no indication of her thoughts, and then turned and left the same way she had arrived.

She left Kylo by himself, staring into the distance, with only Rey for company.

Rey was torn.

She didn't know what emotion to feel.

Various thoughts and emotions were vying for dominance in her mind, swirling over and over in an endless loop within her. She stared at Kylo as she was wrought with anger and horror that a mother could ever decide to send an assassin after her own son. Yes, this was war… but there needed to be lines. That was one… that was one Rey was sure she'd never be able to cross, if she ever had children of her own – in fact, it was a line she vowed, then and there, never to cross. That Leia could do something like that, and do it so impersonally… Yes, Kylo had killed his father, Leia's husband, but that had been during an attack on Kylo's base, and it had been done face-to-face… not when he wasn't looking.

He'd known exactly what had stood before him.

It wasn't the same.

Immediately on the heels of that thought was the fact that Kylo had just killed someone right in front of her – in front of everyone. She thought she might have been more upset at that fact… but coupled with who had sent the Knight, and who the target had been, Rey could only feel anger – anger at the man himself and anger at the fact that she hadn't been the one to strike the killing blow. Killing was necessary, sometimes, and Rey had seen plenty of it in her lifetime. She had even seen Kylo kill back on D'Qar, bare yards separating them as he committed to the killing blows. She was no stranger to killing people herself, either, even before tying her fate to Kylo and Hux, the Knights and the First Order.

So, no… that didn't bother her really at all – though part of her wondered if there was something wrong with her – that maybe it should bother her more than it did.

Shaking her head, Rey took a step towards Kylo, lifting her hand towards his face hesitantly, as if she were unsure of how he would react. His eyes lifted up to hers in a snap and Rey was struck by the cool, impersonal look he was giving her, as if she were a stranger intruding on his personal space – and he did not like it one whit. Rey dropped her hand, suddenly reminded of the utter humiliation he had made her feel earlier. She clenched her hands into fists and looked away.

Now was not a good time, it seemed, to offer him comfort. Especially not in front of others.

"May I be excused, Master?" she said, failing to keep her own coolness out of her voice. She didn't care if she were reprimanded for it – she wanted him to know, as best as she was able at the moment, how utterly pissed she was at the shame he'd heaped on her publicly.

"Go," was all he said, his voice devoid of emotion. His lightsaber crackled and hissed for another moment before he thumbed it off.

Rey was almost more scared that it didn't seem like he would throw a tantrum, but he had told her to go, and so she left. He had humiliated her – though she had to admit that it was deserved for she had countermanded a direct order, she wished that he hadn't been so… impersonal about it, or that he hadn't done it in front of everyone.

But…

Rey exited the training room, making her way for one of the alcoves with a viewport looking out on the stars that she had found a few weeks ago. But, Rey was forced to admit that Kylo needed to maintain the appearance of strength and power and being obeyed – especially by his own Apprentice. He had to show that he would not let personal attachments – and Rey was sure that nearly every last Knight knew about their budding relationship, however it was that they had come to learn of it – get in the way of his duties. He had to show that he wasn't weak, or else he would be challenged again and again for his position – and then killed if he lost.

Rey gritted her teeth.

She might not like what he had done to her, but she could understand it to a certain degree. There was no way she wanted Kylo to die on account of his relationship with her and Hux. She understood that. But… it was hard to let go of her anger at the humiliation he had caused her.

She didn't quite know how to handle that.

Finally arriving at the alcove, she propped her elbow on the sill, her chin in her palm, and stared out at the stars, letting them calm her as best they could.

"Hux," came Kylo's voice through the commlink. He sounded tired and dejected, and Hux raised his eyebrows at the man even though he knew he wouldn't be able to see it.

"Yes?" he drawled, not letting on through his voice that he was concerned for the man. There were too many people surrounding him in the halls.

"It's about Rey," Kylo replied shortly.

Hux blinked at the commlink, his worry ramping up even more than before. "Hang on, let me duck into a more private setting. I was just on my way back from the bridge, but I'm still in the halls."

Kylo didn't reply; he simply let Hux navigate his way into the office of one of his subordinates – empty, thank goodness – and reply when he was ready. "What is it? I finally finish catching up on all my work and you two are causing trouble?" he teased lightly, just enough that Kylo would notice and no one else, as he tried to lighten the mood.

Kylo sighed, and Hux was even more worried. "What?"

"She's angry at me. I haven't seen her since the… incident earlier this morning, and she's shut herself off from me. I can't find her, and I don't want to push, but I'd like to make amends. Could you find her and… bring her to me in my quarters, along with yourself?"

Hux clenched his free hand into a fist. He'd heard about the assassination attempt on Kylo through the grapevine. At first he'd been upset that Kylo hadn't told him himself, but had understood why he might not have wanted to talk about it. That anger had quickly morphed into anxiety that he had nearly lost Kylo, before they could even truly get to know each other more intimately. Anger that he had nearly lost someone he cared for, and he hadn't even been there to possibly prevent it.

"Wait. What do you mean, she's angry with you? What did you do?" Hux asked sharply, shoving everything else aside for the moment.

Kylo was silent for a moment before replying wearily, "You know how the Knights have started pushing me a little? Testing me? They've seen how Rey and… well, they've seen that I have a weakness now, and thus think that I am weak. And they believe that I allow her too much leeway. I've heard whispers. I'd been ignoring them, but watching Rey, and so far she's given me no cause to reprimand her. Well, until today. During the incident she disobeyed a direct order from me in front of nearly everyone on board so far, and I had to… discipline her."

Hux clenched his eyes shut, imagining exactly how well that had gone over with Rey. "You didn't," he said finally, though he knew that Kylo wouldn't lie about something like that. "What did you do?"

"Just reprimanded her verbally in front of everyone," Kylo answered, his tone defensive. "I had to, for her sake as well as mine."

Hux was still surprised at the whole incident. "I understand the need for discipline," he replied curtly. "I just didn't expect insubordination from Rey. She's smarter than that." He frowned, tapping his chin idly with the fingers of one hand. He'd had to discipline subordinates before, for their sake as well as for his own reputation, to prevent future occurrences. Even though the thought of Kylo having to do that to Rey, of all people, was a little painful, he understood that it would be safer for her – and for Kylo – in the long term… even if it did cause her anger in the short term. "I'll see if I can find her," he finally agreed.

Kylo huffed angrily, sounding as if he wanted to order Rey to appear before him, and Hux cut in before he could speak. "I'm doing this as a favor Kylo, to help our… to help Rey. There are plenty of other people you could have had fetch her, besides the General of all people, but I understand why you're asking me. I'll see what I can do."

Before he could shut the commlink down, Kylo muttered a barely-heard 'thank you,' and closed the commlink on his end.

Hux rubbed the bridge of his nose before making sure his uniform was tidy and straight, and then stepped back out into the hall. He started walking towards the training facilities, but brought his commlink up to contact Davidson. Maybe she could help him find Rey through the video feeds – and she'd be discreet about it, too.

That was all he could ask.

He found her propped up against the ledge of a viewport in an alcove – set in a hallway where she'd last been seen on the video feeds. She was sleeping, and had been for who knew how long – so he took a moment to observe her form with a smile before waking her up. He touched her shoulder lightly with the tips of his gloved fingers.

Rey startled awake, jumping up so quickly that Hux had to jump back a few feet to avoid her flailing arms. She reached for her hip to a lightsaber that was curiously not there, and then frowned angrily as she dropped her eyes to her belt.

Crossing her arms, she looked up at Hux, her eyes finally catching up to who was standing in front of her. She relaxed slightly, though she was still frowning. "What?" she asked grumpily.

Hux raised an eyebrow at her – damn it, he was doing that often around her and Kylo both – and replied. "I was sent to check up on you, and see if you were willing to accompany me."

"By who? To where?" she asked suspiciously. "No wait, don't answer that. To Master Kylo's."

Hux paused before asking quietly, in a gentler tone, "You're really mad at him, aren't you?"

"Yes!" she answered quickly, her eyes narrowing. Though moments later her shoulders drooped and she brought one hand up to cover her eyes. "No, I'm not. Well, kind of. I… understand why he had to do what he did. I think. But… the way he did it, so impersonally, so cold… in front of everyone? It humiliated me." She dropped her hand and met Hux's gaze, and he could see the sadness in her eyes, mixed with the dregs of the anger he'd expected.

"I understand," Hux whispered. "Will you come with me? Kylo and I both have the rest of the evening off, and we can all speak more privately in his quarters if you're willing to see him. But if you don't want to, I will make your excuses for you, and support you in that decision."

Rey looked at him for a long moment with a calculating gaze that reminded him so much of Kylo that it was eerie. Finally, she nodded. "Let's go."

Hux led Rey through the halls, walking in silence the entire way to Kylo's quarters. Most everyone was at dinner at this hour, but Hux couldn't drum up any hunger whatsoever.

"Are you hungry?" was the only thing he'd asked.

"No," she'd replied, sounding as if she were surprised at her answer.

Hux nearly asked her if it was because she'd never really not been hungry before, but chose instead to hold that question back. He felt it was a rather… rude question to ask while walking the halls, but he also didn't really want to ask her – for fear of what she'd answer with.

Grateful that there was no one in the hall when they arrived, Hux used his override code on Kylo's door panel – something he'd never done on Kylo's quarters before, mainly out of respect – and ushered Rey in before him. "Kylo?" he called out. He may have used his code, but he would at least offer the man the courtesy of alerting him to their presence.

"In here." Kylo's voice came from the back of the hall leading from the entranceway. Kylo's quarters were arranged differently than both Hux's and Rey's and, although Hux had been here a couple of times in the past, Rey found herself looking around at the layout curiously. There were a few open doors off of the light-grey hallway, leading to an open living room, an extra refresher, an armory – though that one was closed, Hux knew what lay behind that door – and even a kitchen. There was one room to the right of the hall, just before the large bedroom at the end, that had always been closed and locked – and today was no exception.

Hux had always been curious as to what was behind that door. He had some guesses, based on knowledge of Kylo's past and rumors that he'd heard, but he valued his life too much to pry where he knew he was not welcome.

Rey eyed it curiously and was about to open her mouth to ask what was inside the door, just as she'd done with the armory, but they were too close to where Kylo could easily hear them and he gripped her upper arm and held a finger up to his lips, shaking his head. She immediately understood, though she pursed her lips before nodding.

He dropped his hand from her arm, squared his shoulders, and entered into Kylo's bedroom with her following right behind.

Kylo looked up from where he sat on the edge of his bed as they entered his room. He'd stripped down to pants and a tank top, both in black, and was busy oiling a lightsaber – Rey's lightsaber… Vader's lightsaber.

It felt odd in his hands, but he couldn't seem to keep from touching it.

Hux stood slightly to the side of the entranceway, letting Rey enter and get a full glimpse of him sitting on the bed. His eyes brushed over Hux briefly before settling on Rey. He said nothing, and she said nothing… they simply stared at each other. Her gaze was guarded, and he could still sense nothing from her mind.

Slowly, he wiped down the lightsaber a final time, careful not to hit the switch, and then set the cloth down before offering it to Rey, palm up.

Rey looked startled for a moment, as if she hadn't expected to get it back, and then tentatively walked forward until she was standing directly in front of Kylo and he was forced to look up into her face. She was looking at the lightsaber in his hand, but hadn't taken it yet, so Kylo lifted his other hand and gripped her wrist to draw her forward another step. He placed the hilt in her grip, wrapping her fingers around it.

Only then did she speak, as she drew her hand back and clipped the hilt to her belt. "Thank you. I hadn't expected it back so soon." She drew in a shuddering breath as if she was gathering courage, and Kylo watched her face closely. She looked as if she couldn't quite believe what she was about to say, but met his eyes in any case.

"I'm sorry," she let out on a breath. "I shouldn't have done that, putting you on the spot in front of everyone where you were forced to make an example out of your disobedient Apprentice, and –"

She was cut off with a startled squeak as Kylo pulled her down cross-wise onto his lap, one arm around her back and the other over top of her shins to hold her in place. He buried his face into her hair and spoke before she could start up again. "It's okay. I'm sorry, too. I could have gone about that in a much better fashion, but…"

"But what?" she asked sharply, catching on that there was something more at work.

Kylo sighed heavily. "The Knights think I'm growing soft, especially where you're concerned. For your safety, and mine – and Hux's, actually – I needed to demonstrate power over you in a harsh way, and also needed to make a show of strength in general. Oddly enough, that assassination attempt couldn't have come at a better time, but I'm sorry you had to get caught up in it all."

Rey pulled her head back to look him in the eye, one hand reaching up to caress his jawline. "Oh Kylo… I'm sorry about what happened." Her face immediately went from saddened to angry at the memory. "What he said was awful –"

"Shh," he cut her off quickly.

He didn't want to explore that.

He wasn't ready to explore that just yet.

Unfortunately, it was too late, and Hux had crossed the room in quick strides to sit beside him on the bed. "What did he say, Kylo?" Hux demanded. He paused briefly, then asked another question, "You've done a recent sweep for listening and video devices, I presume?"

Kylo nodded curtly and then sighed again. The General would learn soon enough at least part of the story, so he may as well tell him the rest. "I'll tell you, and then we move on. I don't want to dwell on this topic – not tonight. There's already enough that I want to talk about, and I have hardly had any time to hold either of you in my arms of late – or just to spend time with you alone."

He continued before they could react to that, closing his eyes even as he pulled Rey in against his chest, tucking her head under his chin. "A Knight attacked me; one who had switched allegiance to the Resistance. Rey prevented the attack. You heard most of that I'm sure, though maybe not the part about the Resistance. In any case, he told me, with his last words, that my… that General Organa sends her regards. That she wished it hadn't come to this."

Rey let out a choked sound, as if she wished to speak, but controlled the urge. Kylo was immensely grateful for that. Hux, however, had stilled, and Kylo could sense the fury rising in him. Before it could get out of hand – before Hux could order attacks that would likely be ridiculously ill-advised at the moment – Kylo leaned over, with Rey still on his lap, and captured Hux's lips in a quick kiss.

It was just long enough to calm Hux down by the time Kylo drew back, and he accepted with a nod when Kylo said, "I don't want to talk about it right now. What I do want to talk about," he continued, propping Rey's feet over Hux's legs so that the other man could sit closer, "Is why the Knights are here."

Hux cast him a startled glance at the same time as Rey lifted her head and exclaimed, "Finally!"

Kylo smirked at Rey and rubbed his fingers up and down her legs beneath her loose training pants. "Well, it's more than just the Knights. I hope you will forgive me – forgive us – but we held back on telling you one of our… larger plans until we could be sure of some of the particulars. We weren't exactly sure how you would react to it, either, though now we are much more confident in how you feel on the subject."

Rey was listening to him, wide-eyed, leaning back from him slightly so that she could see everything that crossed his face.

Hux spoke up, "Are you sure you want to go into this now?"

Rey shot him a glare. "You both promised not to keep things from me."

"Okay, okay, you're right," Hux replied quickly, arching a brow at her even as his lips twitched upwards. "I didn't mean anything by it."

Kylo picked up his hand and waved it between their faces, calling attention back to him before he dropped his hand back to Rey's thigh. "Just, let me speak and then you can react, okay Rey?"

She nodded, continuing to hold herself back so that she could watch his face. She already looked slightly suspicious, though mostly curious. Kylo averted his eyes slightly so that he wouldn't see every nuance that crossed Rey's features as he explained the situation.

He glanced down briefly as Hux's hand joined his where it rested on Rey's thigh. Hux rubbed his thumb across the back of Kylo's fingers, helping to soothe his nervous energy.

"I called the Knights home – to the Finalizer, that is – as part of a contingency plan I've had in place for years. We – Hux and I – only recently decided to join our resources together in this venture. We'll be patrolling on the Finalizer's normal route, though obviously making for Jakku, but then we will be plotting a course into First Order space with as many ships as we can be sure of whose General's loyalties fall with us. In the meantime, I will be – and hopefully with your help, Rey – determining the loyalties of my own Knights. The Knights have always been a separate entity, and loyal to their Master alone, but recently there has been a bit of a blurring of the lines, if you will… though I have tried my best to prevent it from occurring, it is hard to do so when we are tied so tightly with the First Order."

He took a breath, thinking of the best way to speak his next words. "While we were quite sure of your feelings on the matter, like I said, we wanted to wait for a few things to fall into place before we spoke. It's a delicate matter, and will require you to guard your thoughts more than ever before. You've done much better of late, but occasionally, still, you project a touch too much. We're… well, we're going to kill Snoke." He didn't quite know what to say after that admission, and a heavy silence descended upon the room. Hux clutched his fingers once and then continued to rub his knuckles, and Rey practically stopped breathing.

In the quiet, Rey's mind finally opened and brushed against his, as if testing the veracity of his words. Kylo wordlessly offered her what memories he thought she might wish to see, but she did nothing with them. Instead, she chose to accept him at his word – or rather, accept the conviction he pushed at her through the Force.

"Why?" was all she finally said, separating from his mind again as she asked, though not shutting down like she had before. She was there if he wanted to reach out, which he took comfort in knowing, but he left her mind alone for the moment.

Kylo knew exactly what she was asking. He'd never said the words aloud, but found that he suddenly, desperately, wanted to speak them. He gripped Hux's hand and placed it over Rey's knee so that the other man could balance her over their laps, and then reached up with his free hand to grip her chin so that he could bring her eyes to meet his. "He threatened you," he said simply. Yet, those words weren't enough on their own, even as she frowned.

He tried again, attempting to put his feelings into words like he never had before. "He… something recently came to light. When paired with my history with Snoke," he spat the name, "and his implied threats towards you, we knew we had to do something. Especially with… especially with how much I – we – care for you."

"What happened?" she asked quietly. "If I can ask," she amended immediately, her eyes darting to the side as she blushed, embarrassed.

"You may," Kylo said. He was quiet for another moment, gathering his thoughts. She let him, staring deeply into his eyes. "Years and years ago, shortly after I joined the Knights… I had a lover. A woman named Janna. She was important to me in a way that other lovers I'd had weren't. She was… killed, and it didn't take me more than a few years to realize that Snoke had been behind it. But I couldn't prove it. I still technically can't," he growled, frustrated. "It's long in the past, but…" He stopped short as a tear leaked out of the corner of one of Rey's eyes.

"Are you… crying for me?" he asked incredulously. He had expected jealousy, perhaps even anger, maybe a touch of sadness, but this…

She nodded frantically, her eyes starting to swim with more tears. "That's so awful," she whispered eventually. Her eyes darted towards Hux and he must have been having problems controlling his own expressions, because suddenly Rey was asking, bewildered, "You too?"

Kylo looked towards Hux, and sure enough there was an expression of anger crossing his face. "Yes," he choked out. "I… hadn't known until about a month ago. He… Snoke rubbed it in my face as he threatened you with the same fate as Leif, just to keep me in line. He has to go," he growled.

Rey looked back and forth between the two of them, her expression more open and honest than they'd seen it before even as she tensed on his lap and under Hux's hands. "I'm… oh my stars, I'm so sorry that that happened. He… fuck," she bit out, anger coloring her voice and features. "He needs to go; you're right. I already felt that he needed to go – he's ruining the cause of the First Order, and is just insane, but this…" Her features hardened. "This is unforgivable. For what he did to you, he needs to die. And soon," she snarled.

Kylo couldn't help but let a corner of his lips curl up in a slight smile as he let out a soft breath of laughter. Her eyes shot back to his and he spoke up before she could lay into him. "I'm pleased that you're on board this with us, but your spunk and enthusiasm is… well, honestly, it's kind of cute, though it needs to be toned down before you go haring off after Snoke by yourself – which would not work," he cautioned seriously.

Rey's expression was caught between laughter and anger, but she settled on a mixture of the two as she lifted one of her hands from her lap and lightly smacked his chest. "Kylo!" she gasped out in disbelief. "Don't… don't call me cute at a moment like this!"

"Hmmm," Hux cut in. "But you are, and we're tired of talking. You agree, we agree, and that's enough for now." He trailed his hand up her legs and then up to her belt where he unclipped it and let it drop to the floor. "Now… I believe we all have the rest of the night off?" he asked happily.

Rey gasped as Kylo suddenly stood, Hux following him a moment later. He turned around and tossed her on top of the covers of his bed, her black clothes blending in nearly seamlessly with the sheets. She lay there, simply looking up at them in bewilderment – but also with increasing arousal as the men started to divest themselves of their clothes. Kylo felt frantic, and all it took was a quick glimpse of Hux's eyes to see the desperation within him as well. They were caught up in the memories of their lost lovers, and faced with the reminder that their current one wasn't safe and protected as surely as she should be.

Kylo was the first to strip fully, having been wearing a lot less clothes than Hux was in his uniform. Hux was also taking the time to drape his clothes over the back of Kylo's chair, in an effort to preserve them from wrinkles.

Kylo rolled his eyes at Hux even as he placed one knee onto the bed, skimming his hands up Rey's legs. He pulled his hands back and began to unlace and pull off her boots before he returned to her pants. They were halfway down her legs, revealing inch after inch of delectable skin, by the time Hux knelt on the bed beside Rey and began to pull her tunic and shirt off over her head.

She didn't try to cover herself, but she did try to reach towards Hux's erection, so near her face, with a hungry look glazing her eyes over. Hux reached down and quickly grabbed her wrists, pinning them above her head as he leaned over her. "Not today, sweetheart… let us do this for you. Well, not just for you. We take pleasure from giving you pleasure, and we need to… Kylo, a little help?" Hux, normally very verbose, failed to find the right words, and instead dropped his guard and let Kylo skim his thoughts, as they'd occasionally done in the past.

Kylo trailed kisses up Rey's outer thigh before stopping at her hip and speaking against her skin as she squirmed beneath him. "What he's trying to say – and what I agree with completely – is that we just need to be reminded that you are safe and sound; that you're in our arms and real. Let us give to you, and don't worry about our pleasure right now." Kylo normally would have laughed at the ridiculously romantic drivel coming out of his and Hux's mouths, but for once he had no urge to do so – he was completely serious.

A small part of him was frightened at that, but he ran away from the thought by latching onto one of Rey's nipples with his mouth as he angled himself onto his side on the bed beside her.

Hux mirrored him on her other side, dropping her hands before he lay down, and her breathless gasp turned into a gasping moan. Kylo ground against Rey's hip at the sound and watched with heavy lids as Hux's mouth pulled on the bud in mimicry of Kylo's own lips. Even as Kylo's hand reached out to caress Hux's face lightly, Hux's hand drifted down Rey's body to dip between her thighs.

He hadn't had much opportunity to explore Rey's body down there the last time they'd done this, and so Kylo watched in fascination as Hux took the time to brush his fingers up and down her entrance. Kylo could hear the wetness that was already there – he could see it as Hux pulled his fingers back slightly.

Rey arched her back all of a sudden and Kylo knew exactly where those fingers had gone. He watched hungrily as first one elegant finger, then two, disappeared within her depths, keeping his mouth on her nipple, sucking it all the while.

Hux angled himself a little better so that he could brush his thumb across her clit, even as he sunk a third finger into her, stretching her even further. Kylo pulled back from her breast and propped himself up on one elbow so that he could look upon her face. He pulled his hand back from Hux's cheek and rested it on Rey's face, stroking it reassuringly even as he saw the slight flash of discomfort get chased away by even more intense pleasure. She was panting even as her eyes might and held his, Hux's hand and mouth working away on her body.

Kylo could tell that Hux was rocking himself against Rey's hip much the same as he was doing, enjoying the sensation of her skin against their glans even as they brought her pleasure – well, Hux was doing most of it, but Kylo couldn't bear to interrupt the other man playing so well with her body.

Kylo was amazed at how incredible just rubbing against her body felt. The little sounds she was making – the mewls and gasps and moans – and the sounds of Hux's fingers sliding wetly through her arousal, as well as the sounds that Hux was making as he drove himself against her skin as he pleasured her… all of it was making him harder than anything he'd ever experienced before. He was close – embarrassingly close – yet he didn't care if he was going to come within minutes of starting all this. It just felt so fucking good, and he couldn't stop… wouldn't stop.

Rey brought her hands down from where they'd been resting above her head and sunk them into both Kylo and Hux's hair, holding Hux to her breast and bringing Kylo down to kiss her. He swept his tongue out to meet hers, delving into her mouth even as her little gasping, mewling sounds grew in intensity.

Kylo hit the right spot against her hip and within moments of frantic rubbing – coupled with the sounds he was pulling from her from his kisses sending shivers straight to his toes and back up his spine – he was gasping as he came against her skin. She drank in his shuddering breaths with her mouth until he finally pulled back, looking down at her with heavy eyes. She had a smug look on her face even as she panted in pleasure – one that only women got when they'd pleasured a man well – and he couldn't help but kiss her again before collapsing his head onto her chest. His eyes tracked down the perfect swell of her body and then latched onto the sight of Hux's hand rhythmically circling her clit and plunging in and out of her body.

It wasn't long before Rey was keening against them, her body thrashing beneath their restraining grips and arching as she climaxed. Kylo looked up at the last moment, desperate to see Hux's face – and he wasn't disappointed.

The other man looked as if she were milking his cock instead of his fingers as she pulsated over his hand, and it wasn't long afterwards that Hux brought his own rocking to a stuttering halt as he came against Rey's hip. He'd long since pulled his mouth from her breast, instead letting it fall open and closed as pleasure coursed through him, his eyes fluttering shut.

Finally, Hux collapsed on Rey's breast, mouth close enough to Kylo's for Kylo to shift just a little and capture with his own. They pulled back, Hux placing a kiss on the underside of Rey's jaw even as Kylo ran his fingers up and down her stomach. She was so lethargic that she didn't even react to what should have been a ticklish touch – or perhaps she wasn't ticklish at all. Kylo didn't know, but he'd find out another time.

"That…" Rey finally caught her breath enough to speak up softly. "Wow. Thank you. For…" She choked on a sob and Hux and Kylo looked up at her, panicked. "Thank you for everything," she continued, meeting both of their gazes before closing her eyes and letting her head drop back.

Kylo knew – and he could see that Hux did as well – that she was talking about far more than the pleasure they'd just found together. She was thanking them for everything they were willing to do for her – everything that they already were doing for her. Hux and Kylo shared a glance that bordered on serious, but turned soft as their eyes drifted back towards the woman between them; the woman who had brought them all together; the woman who they were willing to upturn their lives for.

Reassured once more, Kylo shut the lights off with a thought and they adjusted themselves on the bed until they were under the covers, still wrapped around each other's bodies. Rey may have been in the middle, but Hux and Kylo made sure to lace their fingers together over top of her stomach as her heartbeats and already-slow breathing lulled them into sleep shortly after her.

Note: Well, I hope you like it! They're still progressing at the pace that's right for them, so bear with me. :P

I'm also trying to keep weaving that damn, pesky plot in here.

Don't be too hard on Kylo. :(

Please let me know what you think. I'm always happy to hear from readers - concrit is welcome, of course, though if it's a lot, please feel free to PM me with it on tumblr (I can be found there under the handle juuls). All messages are welcome, though hate is discouraged of course!

Happy weekend, and again thank you for your continued support as I repost this work!