A/N: A big thanks to SirenBanshee. You are one amazing beta!
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They rushed the Architect and Rey's visit to the Academy to balance any rumours that may erupt due to the supply ship. Efren was keeping his ears open but, so far, nothing had reached him yet. Given the remote location of Base Z, that didn't mean nothing had started circulating yet.
So, three days later, they were scheduled to depart in the afternoon. Accounting for time differences, they would reach the Academy sometime late night, being early morning at the Academy.
"Take your saber with you," Kylo said, holding Rey in their bed well past the time they usually started their day.
"Won't they recognise it?" she asked. "What am I supposed to tell them if they ask about it?"
"They won't expect you to carry a saber so I doubt they'll even contemplate it being one," Kylo countered. "If they ask, say it's a personal experiment or something and change the topic."
"You make it sound so easy," she muttered, pulling up his hand to kiss his knuckles.
"I can't send anybody with you to protect you," Kylo said. "And carrying a staff will be much more noticeable than your saber. Take it with you so I can be at ease."
Rey hummed in acquiescence.
"I don't like seeing you leave so soon after finally having you here," Kylo said.
"It's already been over two weeks," Rey countered.
"Nothing compared to the time we spent apart."
"You really are turning into a sap," Rey teased.
Kylo pushed her back onto the bed. "That's entirely your fault," he claimed.
"And how is that my fault?" Rey giggled. "You don't hear me saying such sappy things."
"It requires only your presence."
"Then it's a good thing I'm leaving for a few days. You'll have time to sober up."
He looked at her, slightly affronted and slightly worrying that he was somehow annoying Rey. She seemed to catch on and gently smiled at him.
"I don't like leaving either, Ben," she said. "But I also want to see that Academy."
"You want to see their shop."
"I want to see their shop," Rey agreed. "I couldn't care less about where they sleep but that shop!"
Kylo laughed, then groaned as he spotted the time.
"We should get up," he reluctantly said. "We still have to tell Thomas you're coming along."
"Do you really have to tell him who I am?" Rey pouted, watching him as he stood from the bed and stretched. "Can't we give him the same excuse as we'll give the Heads of the Academy?"
"He will treat you with the respect you are due," Kylo answered.
Rey sighed and followed him out of bed. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her chest against his back. "Please?"
He turned in her arms and kissed her.
"Nice try," he said with a smirk as they parted.
Rey scowled at him and he laughed.
Not long after, they were both in Kylo's office, waiting for Thomas to arrive. Derek was pushing papers under Kylo's nose, miffed by his late arrival, until the door opened and Phasma announced Thomas' arrival.
"Good morning, Supreme Leader," Thomas said with a bow. "You wished to give me some orders concerning my trip?"
"Yes," Kylo said, walking around his desk. Rey joined him from where she'd been perusing a tablet on a cushion in the corner. "Rey will be coming with you. She is especially interested in the Academy's shop."
Thomas gave Rey a perfunctory nod. "And in what capacity will she be joining me?" he asked.
"As my partner."
Kylo clenched his teeth, trying hard not to laugh at the mental eyeroll Rey sent him through their bond.
"Your...partner," Thomas echoed, blinking in clear confusion.
"She's your Supreme Duchess."
"Supreme Duchess?"
"And a Force User."
"A Force…" Thomas' eyes grew wide as he turned to stare at Rey. "Rey?" he said. "As in, Rey, the Resistance Jedi?"
"She's not a Jedi," Kylo said at the same time as Rey protested those same words.
They looked at each other and grinned. Rey took his hand and turned her attention back to Thomas, who was now staring in dumbfounded disbelief at their joined hands.
"I'm starting to enjoy these introductions," Rey said.
At that, Kylo did start laughing, startling Thomas.
"Partner," Thomas muttered. "A partner. Supreme Duch-" He paled significantly, thumped his hand against his heart, and bowed, low. "Supreme Duchess! I did not give you a proper greeting. Please don't kill me."
Rey gaped at him. "Excuse me, what?"
"I apologise for my rude behaviour. Please spare me."
"Ben," Rey exclaimed. "What kind of rumours about me are circulating the First Order?"
"Hmm," he answered. "I guess that you're powerful."
"Yes," Thomas said. "Powerful."
Kylo eyed him, grinning. "And fierce."
"Very fierce," Thomas echoed.
"And pretty."
"Pretty too. No, not pretty. Yes, still pretty. Uhm."
Rey laughed and Kylo joined her.
"Rise, Thomas," he said. "We're just messing with you. You're not about to die."
"Sir?" the man said with a small voice, daring to look up.
"Why would I kill you for not greeting me when you didn't even know who I was?" Rey said. "Besides, I don't kill people."
"I do though."
"Ben!"
He chuckled at her and she slapped his arm.
"Stop scaring him." She turned towards Thomas. "You're not going to die, or get punished. In fact, once we're on the ship, nobody is supposed to know who I am."
"May I ask why not, Supreme Duchess?" Thomas asked.
"Changes need to be made before the First Order can safely be told about our connection," Kylo answered. "I'm telling you now so you will treat her with due respect."
"Of course, sir," Thomas was quick to reassure.
"She'll be pretending to be part of a research and development team working on Tie Fighter radars," Kylo continued. "I took notice of her after she made a breakthrough in the research and granted her the opportunity to see the Academy's shop. A colleague of hers spoke of it with great fondness and pride so she wanted to see for herself."
"What if they ask about that colleague?" Thomas asked.
"I'll sadly shake my head and tell them he died recently. Hopefully that will keep them from asking more questions," Rey said.
"Am I, uhm, expected to protect you in case something goes wrong?" Thomas asked. "I'm not much of a fighter."
Rey shook her head, smiling. "No, I'll bring my saber."
"By all means," Kylo dryly said. "If something happens go stand behind her. It will be the safest place." He turned serious again. "Know that we can communicate through the Force. If need be, I can see what she sees and hear what she hears. If you treat her badly, I'll know."
"I won't, Supreme Leader," Thomas said. "Of course I won't." He tilted his head in thought. "Will you be going by a different name?" he asked Rey.
"No. The risk of suspicion is bigger if I don't respond to my supposed name than if I have the same name as, well, me."
"You will call her 'Miss Rey'," Kylo said.
Rey now physically rolled her eyes at him. "It's no big deal," she said.
"It is," he returned. "Hierarchy, Rey."
"I know, but it's silly."
"You'll get used to it."
Rey huffed. "'Miss Rey' it is," she agreed.
"Good," Kylo said, turning back to Thomas. "You'll leave at the foreseen time this afternoon. Until then."
It was a clear dismissal and Thomas bowed again in response. "Supreme Leader, Supreme Duchess," he said, before turning and walking out.
"That shouldn't have been so much fun," Rey said, sliding into his arms.
"You really are a little minx, aren't you?" Kylo asked, leaning closer and tipping her head back with a finger.
A cough had them both jump in surprise and, if the embarrassment coming through the bond was any indication, Rey too had forgotten about Derek's presence.
"I'm, uhm, going to train a bit," she said, still giving him a peck on the cheek before rushing off.
Kylo threw Derek a look that failed to impress the man.
The day progressed as normal and both Rey and Kylo were at the afternoon Force training with the Knights when Phasma walked in.
"The ship will be arriving in twenty minutes, sir," she said.
Kylo nodded. Burman, Dot and Ember wiped the sweat off their foreheads and walked out.
A little play had been prepared for what Efren had confirmed was a very, very gossipy pilot. Communications had prepared an excuse to get the pilot out of his ship. Kylo didn't know what they were going to tell him and it didn't really matter as long as he had a good look at the hanger because, in the hangar, both Burman—who was difficult to miss due to his sheer size—and Dot would be standing guard in full Knight armour.
Once he was out of his ship, Kylo would then enter the hangar with both Phasma and Ember at his shoulders, Rey and Thomas trailing behind. They would walk halfway to the ship before Kylo would have a last few words with Thomas and send them off.
During its approach to the hangar, the pilot could not miss the construction going on around the main compound. Hopefully, the pilot would divulge all this information wherever he went and either he or someone else would add one to one and come to the realisation that Kylo was building a base for the Knights.
"Let's get your bag," he told Rey before turning to Phasma. "Has Thomas been alerted?"
"Yes, sir. He'll meet us at your office."
After a nod, he took Rey's hand and walked to his rooms to get Rey's overnight bag. Once there, he pulled her into a hug before kissing her deeply.
"I'm going to miss you, Ben," Rey said as they broke apart.
"Me too," he said. "Come on. Let's not force Elisa into coming up with too many excuses to keep the pilot out of his ship."
Thomas was already waiting for them, his own bag slung over his shoulder. Not long after, Ember arrived in full armour as well.
"The ship was entering the hangar when I went to check on Burman and Dot," she said. "They're both in place."
"Good," Kylo said. He turned to Rey and squeezed her hand once. "Tech Researcher Rey," he said with a smile.
"Supreme Leader," she answered, smiling up at him before her eyes started twinkling in mischief. "Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity," she gushed. "It is truly an honour."
Ember snorted and Phasma shook her head at Rey's antics. Thomas was blinking at them with a look on his face that was somewhere between surprise and disbelief. Kylo huffed a breath, placed a kiss on Rey's forehead, then let go of her hand. He walked out of the office and towards the hangar, confident that the others would follow.
They found the pilot looking slightly haggard as he was apparently signing a ridiculous amount of papers, Ivyest standing next to him with an apologetic look on her face. Kylo could see the way her eyes wrinkled with mirth though. The pilot looked up as they entered, his eyes widening with what could only be excitement. His gaze shifted from Kylo to Phasma, to Ember, then to Burman and Dot. Kylo suppressed the urge to smirk.
As planned, he stopped halfway to the ship and turned towards Thomas. "Learn as much as you can from Natasha and Andrea," he said. "They had good ideas when I met them and they've no doubt developed a few more since."
"Yes, sir."
"And I'm entrusting Tech Researcher Rey to your care," he added.
"Ben, really?"
Kylo grinned, gazing at a pale Thomas while ignoring Rey's outrage.
"I understand, sir," Thomas finally answered.
After a satisfied hum, Kylo looked up and towards the pilot, who was still staring at them. He nodded once before turning and leaving. He felt like he couldn't properly tell Rey goodbye despite having done so earlier. Walking away like that, without looking back, just felt wrong. He tried to brush the feeling aside but didn't fully succeed. He was glad to be back in the training hall where he could focus his attention on teaching the Knights the Force. Eventually though, he ended up sparring with Ember to burn off his unease.
Going to bed on his own that evening felt horrible. Due to the time difference, Rey was probably napping on the ship in order to be fully awake when they arrived. They would reach the Academy around what would be 4 in the morning for Kylo. He figured he could open their bond and see whether or not she would appear on his bed but he felt silly for even thinking about it. What had he become that he couldn't even spend one night without Rey?
Still, his sleep was fitful and he woke up bleary-eyed and with a foul temper. He decided to switch his usual morning training with Rey to sparring with Phasma. They were meeting each other blow for blow until Rey's distressed voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
"Ben," she exclaimed.
Kylo faltered slightly in surprise and only just managed to block Phasma's attack. She halted though, having noticed something was off.
"Rey," he said both through the bond and out loud.
Phasma withdrew. She wasn't wearing her helmet so Kylo could clearly see the worried look on her face.
"They know. Ben, I think Natasha and Andrea know who I am."
