Hi all. Thank you for your feedback, it is deeply appreciated and motivating. On another fanfic site I added tags so that readers have an idea of what this fic is about. Without spoiling anything I'll list the tags here so you know what you're getting into. Themes of this fic are:
-Enemies to lovers trope
-Uneasy allies
-Consent issues
-Non consensual touching
-Enthusiastic consent
-Mature Sexual content
-Fix-it-Fic
-Redemption
-Mortis Realm
-Sith Alchemy
-Rey Nobody
-Restoring Balance
-Force ghosts
-Slow burn.
-Dyad drama
Sorry for the mini novel. I'm also a nerd for all things Sith and will be using canon/non-canon books as references. Did my best to proofread but I have a heck of a migraine and these things last dayyssss for me. TY for reading.
Kylo Ren stands in a private room adjacent to the command center. He gazes through the one-way window as General Hux paces from one end of the bridge to the other, expertly overseeing the fleet personnel as they prepare to launch into hyperspace to enter the Esstran sector. Kylo swallows thickly, not wanting to imagine Rey's reaction when she finds out how far he is taking her from the Resistance. From the people she considers her family.
Kylo turns away, his expression is somber, his eyes downcast. Gone is the fierce aggression, the unhinged behavior, and hot temper. Here, now, he is a man with too much on his mind and without the energy to hide his weariness.
In front of him the fertility husk necklace from Pasanna rests on a tall narrow stand. The beads and effigies have been painstakingly rethreaded to restore the necklace to its original state - the condition it was in before he snatched it from Rey's chest.
"Tell me again, about the Aki-Aki," Kylo says, his back turned to the only other person in the room: Officer Kandia. In response to his order Officer Kandia promptly marches to his side, her hands clasped neatly behind her back.
"For the last few decades the Aki-Aki clans have lived in harmony. The majority of clans are matriarchal and they reject most current technology. They find their indigenous traditions preferable," Kandia's tone indicates her disapproval of the Aki-Aki's cultural philosophy. She continues.
"The children are raised by communities, by groups of elders known as guardians. Ancestral worship, family, and fertility are important themes in their ideology. It is quite primitive, Supreme Leader."
"Are they known for being Force sensitive?" Kylo does not look up as he speaks.
"Not particularly. Statistically they do not have an overabundance of Force users. However, they do have shamans, seers, and mystics. The shamans conduct ceremonies that are meant to connect with the spirits of their ancestors. Some of them claim to have visions of the past and future."
"The Force is not shamanism or ceremonial magic," Kylo idly waves her words away, irritated by his insubordinates ongoing ignorance regarding the Force. He asks the real question that has been on his mind.
"Why would the scavenger be singled out and gifted such an item? Why her?"
"The Aki-Aki have a reputation for welcoming strangers. The scavenger appears to be of child bearing age, it may have been given to her for that reason alone. To celebrate the new life she will bring into the galaxy someday. Or rather, the life that she might have brought into the galaxy," Kandia quickly amends her sentence. She closes her eyes for a moment, throat bobbing nervously as she swallows.
Kylo knows he is expected to execute Rey. The flagship is buzzing with talk of her arrival, of how foolish she was to enter his personal quarters. The First Order assumes his relentless pursuit to capture Rey has been to avenge Snoke's death.
How wrong they are.
He senses Kandia relax when he does not reprimand her for speaking as though Rey will live, and she motions towards the necklace.
"May I?"
Kylo nods, granting her permission. She delicately lifts the necklace from the platform and turns it over between her gloved fingers.
"The beads are hand dyed with powder made from a plant species that are near extinct on Pasanna. Fertility necklaces are usually red or pink, the orange color is an outlier," she elaborates, her voice curious.
"Why is the color significant?" Kylo asks, his tone sharp and demanding.
Kandia is a competent intelligence officer, no doubt about that, but it is her analytic skills that set her apart. She has been relentless in her assistance to help Kylo obtain Rey, and she unloads everything that she has learned.
"According to the Aki-Aki orange rejuvenates the spirit, especially in times of grief. It embodies compassion, balance, and warmth. An optimistic color bestowed on those they believe to have bright spirits."
"I see," Kylo responds, wondering if the Aki-Aki who singled out Rey was indeed Force sensitive. Everything about the necklace seems too specific to be a coincidence, and he wishes the alien that had chosen Rey could be interrogated.
That opportunity has long passed.
Kylo slowly turns to Kandia and senses her heart thud against her ribcage. His dark, dangerous gaze sets her on edge.
"Have two full meals sent to my quarters within the hour."
"Yes, Supreme Leader," Kandia says, bowing her head in acknowledgement. It is an order outside the realm of her normal duties, but she does not question it. The officer turns on her heel to leave, and Kylo Ren hears the door shut.
Finally, he is alone. A rare occurrence these days.
He tosses a glance at the chrono and knows it is only a matter of time before the Force suppressant binder will need to be recharged. As incredible as the suppressant technology is, it does have limitations.
Kylo reaches out through the Force to sense Rey's presence. She is inextricably linked to him, and the suppressant cannot completely numb their bond. But it is fractured, and unexpectedly painful. Like a wound not properly cauterized. Kylo shudders to think what might happen if their bond was severed - if such a thing is even possible. He can't imagine the horror, the agonizing pain.
The Flagship yields into a subtle lurch, a sign familiar that they have left hyperspace, and Kylo shakes his head. They have entered the Esstran sector and Hux has standing orders to send coordinates to the Night Buzzard. The Buzzard is helmed by his dark Knights, and their sole purpose has been to track and hunt the scavenger. Their approach to tracking her has been predatory, and Kylo senses their perverse interest in Rey. Interest in her power, in all the ways they want to force her into demonstrating her abilities before killing her.
In their minds they have fabricated hundreds of intricate, torturous deaths for the scavenger. Kylo pretends to be pleased.
What he needs now is a viable reason for extending her life while she is in his care. He needs to protect her, and he is going to have a hell of a time doing it if she refuses to cooperate.
Kylo reaches for his mask and readies to leave, but his stare lingers on the necklace.
Anger swells in him as he remembers the startling vision that came to him the first time he touched it. The Force resides in all things, even objects, and he aches to know if Rey saw the same possible future he did.
He begins to peel off a glove and pauses. His hand was not bare when he first came into contact with the necklace. He leaves it on.
Kylo cautiously raises one arm, his hand quivering as it hovers above the orange beads. He suddenly draws his hand back, shaking out it out aggressively to regain some control. He slowly inhales and before he can change his mind he grasps the necklace.
Just like before, Kylo begins to feel himself disappearing from the concrete world. The outlines of the room become hazy, and the podium the necklace rests on dissolves into nothing. His entire sense of self, his orientation, his awareness of gravity, all vanish. Kylo's breath stills in his throat as the fantasy - or is it a nightmare - plays out.
A hearty wail pierces his eardrums, and Kylo looks down.
He cradles a male infant in his arms, and the baby calms as Kylo tenderly sways him back and forth. The baby has a crown of black hair, thick and soft; his cheeks red and healthy, his hazel eyes open, staring directly at his father. He is absolutely perfect, and Kylo gazes down at his son with protectiveness in his eyes. He traces a finger along his son's tiny nose, he examines the miniature fingers.
His son feels like balance. Like peace.
Before he can lose himself in the miracle of his child, Kylo glances up, his eyes desperately searching for Rey.
There she is.
She looks at him, at both of them, with love and affection. Her cheeks are flushed and tendrils of hair stick to her sweaty face. She is exhausted, but her eyes are bright with joy. She looks so beautiful, so happy, that Kylo blinks back tears. She has given him everything he could ever want, and in that moment he knows that nothing could be more sacred than the life he has created with Rey. He leans down to cup her cheek, whispering words of love as he kisses her eyes, her cheeks, her nose, her mouth -
A terrible sound disrupts the moment. Their son lets out a shrill, blood curdling wail. It is not the typical cry of a newborn, it is painful and afraid. The baby is inconsolable, his face turning bright red, tears rolling in fat droplets down his cheeks. He twists, trying to seek some comfort in his father's arms, but nothing helps. Rey's expression contorts into one of panic and Kylo passes their son into her embrace, but the baby only cries harder.
"Ben?" Rey's accent grows thick under duress, "Do you sense it? What is this?"
White-hot fury boils in Kylo's veins, because he knows what this is. He hears the echo of the decaying voice slithering inside his son's mind. The voice that carries the weight of decades of terror, violence, and a gnawing hunger for power. It is a voice he knows intimately, for it claims to be the one he's heard his entire life.
Kylo snarls in the back of his throat and whips around in wild circles, seeking out the owner of the voice. The black cloaked, pale, rotting monster claiming to be Palpatine. He's come for the next generation, for Kylo's own flesh and blood. A silent scream rips through him, nearly bringing Kylo to his knees. He thought he had slain that snake, he thought he had conquered his tormentor.
"Ben," Rey cries, snuggling the baby close to her chest, "how can we help him?"
The last sound he hears is cold, mocking laughter.
Kylo jolts back to the present as his vision fades. Nausea floods his system, and he licks his dry lips.
As it did last time, the vision leaves him with more questions than answers. He unfurls his first, the one wrapped around the necklace, and finds his glove embedded with shards of broken husk and orange powder. In his shock and outrage he has crushed it.
It's fine. He has seen enough. As he dusts his off his glove, Kylo ponders.
In what future does his tormentor exist while he unites with Rey? In what impossible realm does he come back home - does he have a family with Rey as Ben? The potential of that man returning, Ben, was extinguished the moment he drove a saber through his father's chest. Redemption is beyond him now, such transgressions are not worthy of forgiveness.
Kylo violently shelves the memory to the deepest recesses of his mind. He tries to focus.
Visions change and the future is uncertain. What he has seen may never come to pass. But if there is a possibility that he has a future with Rey, he will fight for it. He will fight for their son, should they have one. Those pieces of the vision are the ones he will cherish and hold onto.
As things currently stand between them, telling Rey a future exists where she bears his child is a swift way to get a punch to the face. Kylo has enough self awareness to keep that bit of information to himself - especially after the way he handled her earlier.
Force help him, Kylo can still feel her skin jump and move through her clothing as he bent her over his desk. In his mind he can see her chest expand and contract in fear, he can still sense her pulse frantically fluttering as his hands roamed all over her body.
Shame washes over him in waves. Kylo hopes their next encounter is more verbal and less physical.
For now.
One thing remains undeniably clear: whatever the future may hold, they need to destroy the decrepit creature residing on Exegol together. Together, they are ferocious and unbeatable.
He has to convince her.
The mask hisses as Kylo places it over his face, and he stalks back to his quarters to the most precious thing in his life: Rey.
