I am so so so sorry my wonderful readers! I have been a terrible author and have taken forever to post! With moving, going back into work, laptop breaking amongst the rest of the world's current insanity it has been hard for me to get out of my rut but here I am! I am not sure if I can do the once a week update I used to especially with how crazy work has been for me, but I will do my best and know that the story is still going! Thank you guys so much for your patience!
The metal doors shut loudly behind them as Falynn and Kylo left the lab and entered back into the vast hallway much to her relief. For most of the morning after they had left the comfort of their room Falynn had found it hard to breathe. Now with the door shut separating them from the cold General, Falynn finally was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Leaning into Kylo's warmth she savored the sturdiness of his body keeping her on her feet, not caring if he felt her shaking. She honestly had never wanted to see those icy eyes ever again, and even prayed that Hux would somehow die on Tatooine while covered in dust. The Empress had not forgotten their last encounter, and the way he had grinned triumphantly up at her as she knelt over him. It was a miracle that she was able to keep the force down from the shock and fear from when her eyes met with his on the command deck. Feeling Kylo's fingers tightening on her shoulders she realized it might have been because of her husband that she had been able to remain calm. At least from everybody else, she highly doubted that Kylo was unable to read her. Especially now when she kept most of her walls down. Looking up she was grateful she could see the tension that locked his jaw, which gave away some of his feelings. Unlike the Supreme Leader, Falynn didn't have the training to read a small hint of emotions, especially with how Kylo buried his so deeply. She didn't have to read his mind or use the force to know there were several reasons why her husband would be feeling tense. The main being they were about to send a fleet to possibly destroy his mother's life. Opposing sides or not she was still the woman who gave him life. He could not hide the inner conflict from her, mostly because she herself had gone through it many times when it came to her father. Lifting her hand Falynn laid her finger over Kylo's that had become painfully tight on her shoulder. His grip immediately loosened as he sent her an apologetic look.
"I am here with you," she quietly reassured him. "Hux doesn't have power over either of us. We showed him that today."
"Something was off about him," Kylo noted darkly more to himself than to her. "I wasn't able to break through his mind and find the root of it, however I was able to pull a strange energy from him. It was unnatural like Hux's body had been tampered with."
"Kylo," Falynn moved in front of him, lifting her hands and gently cupping his face. "Whatever it is you are feeling we will figure it out." Even as she said the words Falynn felt her own anxiety rising. Perhaps she spoke the words more to reassure herself.
Eyes softening Kylo looked down at his wife, the corners of his mouth twitching ever so slightly as he brushed some strands of copper behind Falynn's ear. "Are you alright? I know what that must have been like for you. I will figure out a way to permanently send him back to Tatooine."
"I am alright," she reassured him. "I think I made it clear that I don't fear him."
Kylo furrowed his brows as if to silently say, but you do fear him.
"I have faced much worse," she lightly added. "Remember I was almost killed by giant insects while on Dantooine. I feel like Hux isn't much different."
Kylo chuckled but his smirk wasn't even close to reaching his eyes as he pulled her back to his side wrapping an arm securely around her waist. She immediately regretted the reminder, remembering what followed after. The thought had her reaching up to touch Kylo's face once more. The Supreme Leader parted his lips slightly as Falynn's fingers brushed across them. A slight shiver went down Falynn as the darkness in her husband's eyes quickly molted into hunger. The heated expression only slightly diminished as someone cleared their throat behind them. Turning around they both faced a sheepish commander whose hands were clasped behind his back.
Bowing the commander weakly spoke. "Pardon the interruption, my lord," a quick nod towards Falynn. "My lady." Before he continued. "The troops from Geonosis have made their appearance on the training deck if you wish to speak with them. I also heard news this morning that General Hux has set up more officials and Stormtroopers that he is rallying up for our airborne attack on Geonosis. I was instructed to deliver this message to you"
The poor commander was late in his message seeing that they were now just leaving the General and headed on to other duties.
Kylo's face had reverted back to cold neutrality as he coldly thanked then dismissed the commander.
Tightening his grip on her once again, Kylo led them wordlessly in the direction of the training deck. The day had barely even started and Falynn had already felt exhausted. Much of that she knew was probably from her previous physical exercises with the Supreme Leader which was a new territory in itself. Despite the sudden attack of unease and exhaustion Falynn kept her head held up as she securely stood by her husband's side.
Impressed with the Geonosis troop quick recovery Kylo felt there wasn't much purpose for them to stay on the training deck. The Stormtroopers along with the few commanders that he saw had all seemed to have fallen back to regular routine. Blasters in arms, walking in formative lines, barking out loud commands one would find it hard to believe they had experienced an attack a few nights ago. He personally thought they had wasted their time walking all the way to the training deck just to witness a regular day. Kylo's concern was with the troops that Hux was setting up, without bothering to consent with Kylo first. The General had come back more arrogant than he had been before which meant his plans went deeper than a plain attack on Geonosis. Kylo was no fool to be oblivious to that. Whatever happened on Tatooine cemented Hux's jealousy and hatred towards Kylo. Perhaps sending him there had been a mistake. He had done it originally to protect Falynn, but now he believed that had been the wrong choice. Instead of sending him farther away to continue on with his schemes he should have just kept Falynn closer.
"They seem fine," Kylo noted dryly, his impatience growing. "We should leave and not waste anymore time."
Furrowing her brows, Falynn shot Kylo a disapproving look.
Of course she would.
Kylo crossed his arms waiting to hear her words of disagreement on the matter.
"Don't you think," Kylo held back an eye roll as she started. "That we owe all of them to at least acknowledge them. They spent as much time recovering as we have...and they are not fo-...a Sith Lord or an Empress. It would be insulting for us not to at least walk down and show our faces."
Kylo arched an eyebrow at Falynn.
It was the first time he had heard her use the title Sith Lord. The words hung strangely in the air. Kylo didn't consider himself a Sith Lord and certainly not a Jedi. A slight moment of frustration hit him, realizing he was still torn between the two as he never made a full transformation completely to the dark side. Not wanting to linger too much on the conflict that Falynn involuntarily tossed at him Kylo decided to agree with his wife. Leading them down the stairs towards the troops he did not miss the tug of a smile at the corner of her lips.
The damn woman was proud of her small victory.
He felt slightly annoyed that Falynn's words had not stayed true as it had not been a brief appearance. Kylo stood by Falynn for who knew how long as she took her time questioning each Stormtrooper and commander who had been on Geonosis. She hadn't even done the courtesy of asking brief questions. Each conversation she held with the men had been detailed and stretched out. To make it even more irritating they responded to her just as equally detailed dragging out the conversations even longer. The Stormtroopers and commanders seemed to be enjoying themselves which Kylo never thought he would ever see. Their exchanges with the Empress seemed grateful and appreciative at what she was doing for them. At that moment the Supreme Leader didn't know what to feel about his wife. Along with her fire there was a serenity of calm matching with the waters from her home planet. Kylo himself could feel the tension lifting from the soldiers. Falynn was not ruling by his side with a harsh hand such as his own but a gentle and kind one. The dawning realization tempted him to pull her protectively close to him hiding her behind his wall of his harsh darkness. Her tactics did not fare well within the First Order. Supreme Leader or not that was a truth that he could not control. Having this knowledge Kylo was a bit taken aback on how smoothly his men were all responding to her. A small laugh had even escaped from the helmet of a Stormtrooper. His wife herself seemed to be at ease as if this was the most natural thing in the world for her, to be chatting idly with troopers and commanders. The whole scene had him questioning how long he truly had been out for. How had she in such a short amount of time taken over his troops so easily? Wrapping his arm around her shoulders and turning her body away from the group of Stormtroopers she had been talking to, Kylo gave them a curt nod before leading them back towards the steps that took them to the floor above.
Arching an eyebrow Falynn asked. "We are leaving so soon?"
"We made our appearance," he reminded her. "There is no reason that the two of us need to be here any longer."
With pursed lips Falynn tilted her head as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you upset with my interactions with the officials and Stormtroopers? Aren't you glad to see that your men are back on their feet?"
"Of course I am," he scoffed. "It means they can get back to their duties in a timely manner. I am just curious," he mused out slowly. "How the hell did my wife become so well acquainted with my soldiers in such a short amount of time? Was I secretly unconscious for over a day? What kind of power did you use to charm my troops so easily? I feel like I need to keep a close eye on you now."
Letting out an unflattering snort she rolled her eyes as she explained. "I was with them when we were attacked. It was brief but I had to be quick in taking charge. Not to mention before we even left I made a point to check in on the training deck. The only thing I am really doing, Kylo, is making conversations. It is no remarkable power...just words."
"You never cease to amaze me, Falynn," he quietly added as the two of them ascended up the steps and back into the corridors.
"Should I be taking that as a compliment or not?"
"I would dare say it was a compliment," his lips twitched in a hint of a smile. "But take it as you like."
Softly chuckling Falynn tilted her head back, her copper hair moving with the movement. "A part of me believes that perhaps I am still unconscious or in a deep sleep. My husband not only gives me a blissful morning, but also compliments as well. My my what a lucky Empress am I."
Kylo felt a flicker of heat rise in him as he looked down at Falynn whose bright sea colored eyes were twinkling with mischief. Her pink full lips were half lifted into a smirk and he could still smell the perfume radiating off her waved hair. With every fiber of his being Kylo held back the urge to pull Falynn into a nearby storage unit and have her pinned against a wall like he had with her in the fresher that morning. Images swept through his mind of her long hair tangled, strands stuck to her face due to sweat, the way her lips had parted. Taking a deep shuddering breath Kylo quickly looked away from Falynn and tried to focus his mind elsewhere. As much as he wanted it now was not the time to be wrapped up in pleasure. They still had a busy day ahead of them. He didn't want to train his mind to get distracted so easily.
"Kylo?"
"I need to make my way back to the command deck," he gruffly said. "There is a lot that needs to be done in preparation for our attack on the Resistance base. Would you like to accompany me or would you prefer to find something else to do? You haven't really spent much time with Henne all morning, I would think you would like to visit with her."
"She is fine," Falynn shrugged before a wide smile spread on her full lips. "She told me she would be finding herself busy in the hangar. I thought I would leave her be."
This time Kylo did not hold back from rolling his eyes, remembering the young mechanic that the handmaiden was apparently smitten with. The reason why this made Falynn so giddy he couldn't understand, but he kept that to himself and instead just nodded pretending to.
"It will be awfully boring on the command deck," Kylo pointed out. "As I am sure you found out yesterday."
"I am sure I can find a way to make it interesting."
Tone turning low in warning Kylo spoke her name dragging it out in emphasis. "Falynn."
Waving her hand at him dismissively she promised. "I will behave I promise." Pausing for a moment Falynn stopped walking in sync with him and looked away bashfully.
Perplexed Kylo raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"I was just wondering...I want to be more advanced in knowledge of how everything works," her voice came out in a whisper, almost like she didn't want him to hear her. "I...would like to be with you to learn more. To understand how to navigate, understand signals, even know what each official is and their ranks. It is only a short amount of time before they realize just how clueless I really am. I am your Empress so I believe it is my duty to-,"
Before she could finish Kylo quickly pressed his lips against hers before pulling away.
"Don't you worry, my wife," he smiled where only she could see. "I will teach you everything."
