Chapter 50: Biding My Time
'
It was so perfect. Hux had played a sneaky, dirty game. He had essentially poisoned her… Well, two can play at that.
"What are you grinning about?" Kylo asked her and Rey jumped guiltily before smoothing her face and looked up at him as innocently as she could. "Just wondering what Hux looks like with a broken nose."
He raised his eyebrows, clearly skeptical, but Finn spoke before he could question her further. "Well, when I saw him last night he looked pretty bad." He said and laughed. "He hasn't come out of his room today so I think it's fair to say it looks awful."
Rey allowed herself a grin at that, she could feel Kylo's suspicion waning as he and Finn talked about what Hux must look like now.
This plan would have to be carried out by Rey alone, she was fairly certain no one else would be happy with what she was planning to do, and the less people who knew the, less likely someone would give her away. She just had to set things up, and it would probably be best to let things settle for a few days too. Luckily, patience was a virtue every scavenger took to heart. And to get this right, she could wait as long as was needed.
She was surprised to find she was tired. Even though she had slept most of the day, she felt like she could sleep for another.
Finn caught her yawning and put his hand on her shoulder softly. "You look like you need to go back to bed, Peanut."
Kylo turned to look at her fully, "Yes, you do. I can take Chewie out then send him up to you?"
Rey considered protesting but then decided against it. Tomorrow would be bad enough without her being really sleepy on top of everything else. She nodded and got up.
Jess bounced up when she saw Rey stand. "I'm going up too, I'll come with you." Rey rolled her eyes but didn't argue. Everyone murmured 'Goodnight' as they left the movie room and Kylo followed them out with Chewie at their heels.
Jess moved to the bottom of the stairs so Rey and Kylo could say goodnight, before Rey went up. It felt odd, kissing him good night in such a public well lit place, but not in a bad way.
"Shall I come over after curfew?" He asked, he looked so tired Rey felt she ought to let him have an uninterrupted night but she couldn't say no, not tonight anyway. "If you don't mind." She answered softly feeling horribly selfish.
His hand skimmed her cheek, "You're not being selfish, and there is no place I would rather be." He said just as softly. Rey grimaced as she realised he'd felt that through their bond. "Perhaps we should practice blocking each other out or things may get awkward." He laughed at that but nodded, kissed her one last time, then went out with Chewie. The dog gave her a reassuring look as he left, almost as if he wanted to make sure she knew he'd be back.
Jess was quiet as they climbed the stairs together, when they got to Rey's door she said hesitantly, "Rey… We weren't told any details, just rumours... but if you need someone to talk to… I mean I know you've got Finn and Kylo but, if you need to talk to a girl… I'm here."
Rey swallowed. "Thank you… I'm okay. I'm mainly just angry really." She gave Jess an awkward smile and to her surprise, Jess flung her arms about her.
Rey patted her back, unsure what else to do or say and Jess stepped back, smiling. "Sorry. I'm just really glad you're okay. And don't worry, we'll come up with a way to make Hux pay."
Rey blinked in surprise at that then smiled. "That would be good," She agreed and Jess grinned, gave her another quick hug, then went back down the stairs to her floor.
Chewie arrived not long after Jess had left, and Rey let him in then locked her door. Even with Chewie's company, she didn't think she would be able to sleep with the door unlocked.
She settled down in her nest and Chewie happily joined her, his heavy breathing lulling her to sleep quickly.
'
When Kylo opened Rey's window he found her fast asleep, curled around Chewie, who's eyes watched him with interest.
"Hey, Chewie, mind if I join you?" Chewie rolled his eyes and gave a small groan of acceptance.
Rey stirred a tiny bit as Kylo pulled off his trainers and settled under the duvet with her, she murmured softly, arching her body against his slightly but didn't fully wake up.
Which was probably a good thing because he suddenly had a raging erection. He wrapped his arms around her and lay his head down, trying to think of anything other than her body pressed against his. Sleep was a long time coming.
When he woke, he blinked in confusion because it was still dark, it took him a moment to realise Chewie was whining softly, eyes glowing in the dim light. Rey's breathing was ragged, panicked, her body was jerking. Nightmare.
Kylo turned her over so she was on her back and kissed her, stroking her hair and face, "Rey?" He said softly, "Rey, wake up, it's okay. I've got you."
Her eyes sprung open and he remembered that first night on the roof, where she'd been somewhere else and pulled a knife on him, or last week when he had woken her and she had sliced his face, it was the same now, though there was thankfully no knife in her hand this time. She started to struggle and he pushed calmness at her through their bond.
"Oh!" She rubbed her eyes. "Sorry, did I wake you?"
Kylo smiled in relief and amusement, "No, I woke you. You were having a bad dream or something."
She frowned as if trying to remember, then her frown deepened as she did, Kylo caught a brief glimpse and couldn't help an angry growl escaping his chest.
He pulled her against him, wrapping his arms tightly about her, she froze for a second, then snuggled against him. "It's okay," She said softly, "I'm okay."
Kylo took in a deep breath before relaxing against her, his body felt taut with anger all over again at what Hux was getting away with.
Rey turned in his arms so she could face him and kissed him softly, "Hey, calm down. You need to sleep too."
They lay staring at each other, Rey stroking his hair while he traced patterns on her side under her t-shirt. Her eyes slowly closed as he watched and when he was certain she was asleep, he removed his hand.
The feel of her skin had made him hard once more and all he could think of was how much he wanted to make her come again. How much he wanted to watch her body shake, her back arch and hear her moans as he made her orgasm again and again and again and Oh Stars! This was not going to help him sleep. Shut up brain!
He sighed in frustration and tried to empty his mind of everything but the need to sleep...
It felt like he'd been asleep for merely moments when her lips woke him again, "It's morning." She told him, the regret in her voice echoed inside him.
He sighed and nodded, sitting up for a moment while his body caught up with him, then put his trainers on.
"See you at breakfast?" He asked as he finished kissing her goodbye, she looked at him then shook her head, "You look like you need to sleep in some more. Sorry if I kept you awake."
He yawned then smiled ruefully, "It wasn't you, my brain wouldn't switch off. Either way, I will see you for breakfast." He said firmly, "I'll just consume a vast amount of coffee."
He saw her roll her eyes at him as he climbed out the window. The air outside was cold, waking him up unpleasantly and completely.
When he got back to his room he went and had a hot shower to chase away the goosebumps and take care of himself. Being tired was bad enough without adding horribly horny into the mix too.
His bed looked so inviting, but he knew Hux was an early riser most of the time and seeing as how he seemed to want to hide at the moment, the likelihood of him going downstairs early increased. And there was no way in hell Kylo was going to let that shit weasel anywhere near Rey.
He decided against waking the other Knights but stuck his head in Inagalan's door to let him know he was going down.
Ingalan was awake but still in bed reading a physics book. "Just wanted to check in before going down to meet Rey."
Ingalan immediately put his book down and swung his legs over the bed to get up, "Hey, don't worry. I doubt Hux will try anything, I'll see you at breakfast."
Ingalan gave him an unimpressed look and stood up. "I'll be down in ten minutes." He said firmly and went out to the bathroom.
Kylo snorted, then went downstairs. He found Poe, Finn and Rey in the reading room watching what seemed to be a glaring match between Poe's cat, a small white and orange ball of fluff, and Chewie.
Chewie glanced up at Kylo's entrance then went back to eyeing the little cat uncertainly. Rey smiled up at him from her armchair, but before she could say anything the little cat swiped a paw at Chewie who backed off a few steps, grumbling a whine and bowing down on his front paws.
"No, Chewie!" Kylo called to the dog. "Not in here!" The others looked at him confused and he shrugged uncomfortably, realising just how weird this was going to sound when they didn't know who his parents were, didn't know he had grown up with Chewie. "He does that when he is going to play zoomies." He said awkwardly, then cringed inside at the use of those words.
Finn's mouth actually dropped open, Rey and Poe looked almost as surprised. "What are Zoomies?" Poe asked as Rey said, "How do you know?"
They all looked at him expectantly, even Chewie. "It's when he has his loopy time, he runs around like crazy and jumps on the furniture and knocks stuff over... I've seen him doing it in the workshop."
Thankfully the little cat distracted them from asking more questions when it bounced onto Rey's lap and lay down with a particularly smug look in its eyes.
Chewie grumbled at it and before Kylo could warn Rey, he attempted to get on her lap as well. Sometimes Chewie forgot just how big he was, and the little cat jumped off the arm of the chair just before it was squashed, making it onto Poe's lap as Chewie settled half his body on Rey, with a satisfied groan.
By this time Rey and Finn were giggling like children, while Poe looked on in amusement. Kylo needed caffeine for this much noise this early in the day so he headed off to the kitchen to get some.
When he got there he found Hux and Mara already there. Kylo froze in the doorway, every instinct telling him to jump the fucker even with Mara present.
He didn't have enough control over himself to go back into the lobby, if he moved at all he knew it would be towards Hux, not away. So he stayed put, feeling the blood throb in his head as his heart rate picked up.
Thankfully Mara saw him, and understood what must be the barely contained murderous look in his eyes. "Go into the common area, Hux. Now." She said as she moved between him and Kylo. Hux blanched when he saw Kylo and hurriedly went, spilling his coffee as he did so.
"Kylo." Mara said carefully. "Why don't you go to the reading room and sit with Rey and I will bring you some coffee." It was not a request.
And yet Kylo couldn't move, "Give me a moment." He said, his voice strained as he tried to fight the beast inside him.
"Kylo?" A soft hand on his shoulder, it was Rey. "What's wrong?" Shit. Rey was right, they needed to learn to block each other. But in his need to protect her, he found the strength to move away from the kitchen.
He breathed out, "Nothing. Let's go sit down." He took her hand and pulled her with him, a look of confusion on her face.
He sat down in the armchair she had vacated and pulled her onto his lap, he felt weak from the amount of willpower he had just expended. Her frown persisted, "What was that about and why don't you have coffee?"
He sighed again and Mara came in, "Here's your coffee… He is going to breakfast now and will then be somewhere else till lessons. I told him he could have twenty minutes to eat." Kylo took the mug from her gratefully, nodding his thanks.
Mara gave them all a tight smile and left. Rey fixed Kylo with a determined look and he sighed again. "Hux was in the kitchen getting coffee." He said quietly, then took a mouthful of his own, wincing as he burned his tongue.
Poe and Finn looked suitable angry and concerned over Rey, but Rey's expression was, if anything… considering. Kylo frowned.
"Are you okay, Peanut?" Finn asked her and she smiled. Smiled? Then quickly wiped if off her face as if she hadn't meant to do it. She shrugged, "I'm fine… What did his face look like?" And this time she grinned openly.
Kylo snorted. "Like shit. Both eyes were black, lots of swelling and bruising under the dressing." He was amused to feel her do a happy sort of wiggle.
"Peanut, you are so bloodthirsty sometimes." Finn said, also amused. Rey shrugged again, still grinning, "Hey, if someone paints a picture they like looking at it, right? This is the same, just with Hux's face."
Poe choked on his coffee and Finn had to pat him on the back, Kylo took that moment of distraction to whisper in Rey's ear. "I love you, my little Scavenger."
She gave him a level look but he could feel a giddy flush of pleasure surge through the bond. It made him think about last night, and he smiled wickedly.
"I think Chewie will be going back to Han after breakfast." He made his whisper low in her ear, "So, tonight, if you aren't too tired, I'd very much like to make you orgasm again. And again. And again…" The resulting heat that flooded her face and body made him feel awfully smug.
Her pupils grew large and to his delight she actually squirmed a little on his lap.
"That-" She cleared her throat. "That was mean." She said. He chuckled. "I know. But so satisfying."
She thumped him in the shoulder of the arm not holding his coffee, but he just laughed. "Peanut, why are you blushing?" Finn asked curiously, Poe rolled his eyes and thwacked him on the back of his head, though gently. "Hey!" Finn said indignantly, "What was that for?" Poe gave him a level look and his eyes grew round. "Oh." He said uncomfortably, "Right. Okay. Oh…"
The Knights arriving saved them from what would have been an awkward silence, Zainmar threw himself down on a chair yawning hugely, "I'm starving. If we are up this early, can we at least go and get breakfast now?"
Kylo met Poe and Finn's eyes over Rey's head. "You guys go, we're going to wait here for a bit."
Rey turned so she could give him a flat look before turning back to Zainmar, "Hux is over there now so we are waiting for a bit. Mara said he'll be done in about fifteen minutes but if you guys are hungry go ahead."
Zainmar's mouth twisted with distaste, "On second thought, I'll stay here. It's too early in the morning to be looking at his face."
When it came time to go for breakfast they went in a large group, which was strange. The three girls from Poe's group surrounded Rey and chatted excitedly to her.
It was amusing to watch, Rey looked like a lion in amongst gazelles, bemused and unsure how she got there and wondering why they didn't run from her.
Chewie escorted them to the refectory, then after pushing his head lovingly into Rey's side, he took himself off in the direction of the workshop.
"Will he be okay on his own?" Rey asked, looking sad that he had gone. Kylo let Poe answer, rather than remind them of his outburst earlier. "Oh, don't worry about him, you worry about whomever he meets." Poe laughed as they went in.
Kylo and the Knights immediately scanned the room to check for Hux and nodded to each other when there was no sign of him. Kylo felt himself relaxed slightly as he picked up a tray.
This was the first time he'd eat a meal with Rey he realised, then mentally kicked himself over how stupid that sounded.
As they chose a table and he sat next to her, he frowned at her tray, "Is that all you're having?" Most of Poe's friends laughed as if he'd touched on an old joke, and Finn gave him an understanding look, "She never eats much, unless it's breakfast on Saturdays."
Rey glared at them both, "I'm sitting right here you know. And it's plenty." Kylo looked from her tray to his, then to everyone else's, then back at hers, he opened his mouth to suggest she had more, but a warning look from Poe and Finn shaking his head and drawing his hand over his throat stopped him.
Rey treated him to a glare anyway before starting to eat. Kylo turned to look at Ingalan and he just shrugged and started eating too.
Kylo watched her as she ate, oddly fascinated. She didn't chew much and ate in a quick, furtive way as if she expected someone to come and take it all away at any given moment.
Once she was done, way before anyone else, she went off to get herself some tea. Kylo leaned over to Finn, "Does she always eat like that?" He asked quietly.
Finn nodded unhappily. "Yeah. I'm hoping she'll get over it soon. I don't know how she doesn't choke or waste away. She is eating more now than she did when she first arrived though."
Kylo wanted to ask if Finn had been like that too when he'd first arrived here, but didn't feel like he knew him well enough to ask.
When the bell rang signalling five minutes to start of lessons, Kylo left Rey reluctantly. Strangely, although her shoulders were a little tense, she seemed fine, even through the bond.
Even though she only had Finn going with her. At least Hux wasn't in her year. He watched as she walked away, Finn's arm casually flung around her shoulder. There was some nervousness coming through the bond, but mainly he felt determination.
He shook his head to himself as he went the other way with the others. Even with the bond he had a feeling he was missing something…
'
After the first few lessons, Rey got used to the stares and whispers and let them slide off her like water of a bird's feathers.
She was aware of Kylo occasionally reaching out to her through their bond, as if he were just checking she was alright. It was sweet, but she needed to work on walling up certain things. His anger was all fiery and without thought. Of course, sometimes hers could be too, but you don't survive somewhere like Jakku if you can't shut your mouth and pick your battles. It was always best to keep people guessing, especially your enemies.
As it came near to lunchtime, Rey remembered they had fencing later and felt a flare of excitement at the prospect. After keeping things together all day it would be good to… release some of her pent up energy.
When she and Finn entered the refectory she came face to face with a startled Hux. She could see his eyes flick behind her as if he were searching for Kylo and Poe. His eyes turned calculating as he realised she and Finn were alone, and there was the barest suggestion of a smirk around his mouth.
Finn bristled, shoulders and chest almost puffing up, "Fuck off, Hux." He snarled. Rey couldn't find it in her to feel fear though, all she could see was Hux's ruined face and she grinned at him as he attempted to loom over she and Finn. "I wonder how much it would hurt being punched in an already broken nose?" She asked Finn casually, who just gaped at her.
Hux flinched visibly and two of his lackeys moved to stand between he and Rey. Rey grinned even more, "I thought so." She said, somewhat smugly, "Come on, Finn."
They got out of her way as she pulled Finn along with her to collect trays. "Holy shit, Peanut, you can be so… cold sometimes. Are you okay?"
Rey was still grinning, "Oh, I am awesome." She told him happily. "Did you see his face? That isn't going to heal straight."
Finn barked a startled, disbelieving laugh, "Peanut, I love you, but you are crazy." Rey shrugged.
They sat and started to their meal, talking about their English lesson which was next. Rey felt Kylo arriving and turned to smile at him as he came through the door with the Knights.
She gave him a little wave then turned back to Finn while Kylo and the Knights got themselves food.
Finn dimpled as Poe and the rest arrived just after the Knights. "So, how's it going with you two?" She asked, quietly before the others got there.
Finn smiled sweetly, almost looking shy. "He's amazing! I can't believe he likes me." Rey gave him a playful but gentled punch on his arm, "Don't say that! You're wonderful. Of course he likes you, if he didn't he'd be stupid."
Finn laughed and pulled her in for a quick hug as Kylo slid into the seat on Rey's other side.
"Hi," She said as she turned to him, very aware of their audience as he kissed her in greeting. It felt so foreign and yet so right at the same time.
"How was your morning? Any problems?" He asked, and she foolishly smirked when she thought of her run in with Hux, "Nothing much."
"Why are you grinning like that?" Kylo asked and Finn choked on his mouthful of water. Rey elbowed him in the ribs surreptitiously, "Just pleased to see you." She told Kylo as Finn choked again.
Kylo frowned, "Does he need help?" Rey shook her head, "No, he is just being a drama queen."
Finn took another drink of water then gave her a disapproving look. "If you don't tell him, someone else will. Loads of people saw, Peanut."
Rey rolled her eyes but conceded the point, Kylo was already looking angry, "It was nothing, okay? Hux was leaving as we came in, that's all."
Kylo had the audacity to look at Finn, "What else happened? Did he touch her?"
Finn looked nervous, "No, no, he didn't touch her. She threatened him and he flinched. It was pretty epic actually."
Kylo still didn't look happy but Javiell and Leonmar chuckled. Kylo took her hand, "Maybe don't antagonise him anymore?"
Rey almost gaped at him, "I didn't. It wasn't even a proper threat, I just asked him an innocent question, that's all. Either way, I don't think he will be getting in my way again."
She smirked as she felt through the bond Kylo attempting to hide his amusement, even admiration, though there was concern and anger mixed with them.
He pulled her to him for a kiss, and she closed her eyes, I'm fine, honestly She thought at him, and he jumped slightly and looked at her with wide eyes, I heard that! he answered and she winced, somehow that had come through rather loudly. He looked sheepish, "Sorry." He said softly and she smiled. "That's okay, guess we just learned something new. You should eat, your food is getting cold."
He nodded absently and started eating. She watched him as he ate, he did so mechanically, absently, cutting everything properly whereas she just hacked at things. She wondered if he tasted things or if it was just something he did because he had to.
"Hey, Scavenger." She looked up at Zainmar who was leaning towards her slightly, "We're training after school this afternoon, you want to join us?"
Rey smiled, "Sure." Even better than fencing.
"Are you sure that's a good idea, Peanut? Won't you be tired after our last class? You were really ill last week and you haven't done much since."
Rey waved a hand at Finn dismissively. "I'll be fine."
Kylo leaned around her to look at Finn, "Why, what's your last lesson?"
Rey rolled her eyes, "Stop ganging up on me. We have fencing last. So I'll already be there, it's perfect… unless of course you are worried about losing, again?"
The Knights chuckled, "I think you may be stuck there, Kylo." Ingalan said dryly.
Leonmar nodded, "Very neatly done, Scavenger." Rey smirked as Kylo sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine… We can even see if you're any good at fencing."
"She's brilliant." Finn said staunchly, "And she's only had one proper lesson."
Kylo snorted derisively at that, "We'll see." He said and went back to his food.
As she waited for the others to finish eating, Rey considered the bond she and Kylo shared. If they could hear each other, feel each other's presence and know each other's emotions, then perhaps they could purposefully push things onto each other… She considered trying it now but thought she'd wait till they were sparring. If it worked like she thought it would, that would be a much more entertaining time to test it.
'
A/N; Ugh, I know, more filler. God will it never end? I hope so 0_0
My sleeping tablets have stopped working so I am currently a zombie which means way more mistakes and fuck ups, so huge thanks to Autonomee betaing and making this readable.
Next update Wednesday or Thursday.
This kind of felt like a milestone, (or at least a nice round number) so I thought I'd run a little competition. I have no idea whether this sort of thing is done, but thought I would give it a try.
The prize: I will (attempt) to write a drabble or oneshot for the winner, probably Star Wars based, but I will consider Wheel of Time or Mulan, possibly other things. You give me a prompt as detailed or as vague as you want. It could even be a deleted scene or alternative scene you wanted to see from this story.
All you have to do is write me a summary for this fic. Because, let's face it, I am monumentally shit at them.
But, it must not mention the force bond connection because I like it being a surprise. I'll run this till Saturday 7th April, 7pm GMT.
I will get your story written by May the 4th. I can email it to you, or post it here, it is up to you.
