Glitter and Gold

Chapter 9

30 ABY – Near Corellia

Despite their burgeoning friendship, Vex and Kylo Ren have never spent much time together. But now they'd been shoved together into one set of quarters they were not allowed to leave. They were expected to produce a child.

And after weeks, it was awkward. It wasn't exactly the physical part that made it so weird. It was literally everything else.

Should they kiss? Should he hold her after sex? Before it? Should they sleep together in the bed? Did they need space?

Tension was only building between them. They were stuffed together in her admittedly small chambers with nothing to do besides copulate. For some people, that might be heaven. But for Kylo Ren and Vex, they had the expectation of producing a child hanging over their head.

It's been weeks, and nothing. They were both losing their temper with each other, and beyond intercourse, they interacted little. Kylo Ren had taken to reading the few books loaded on one of her datapads, over and over, while Vex had begun to tinker with the parts of her demolished nanny droid.

Vex was beginning to wonder if they would ever conceive. No doubt Snoke was becoming impatient. More than a month gone by, and nothing happened. She and Kylo Ren were stir-crazy from their semi-imprisonment.

Finally, Vex had decided to turn to the Force. She settled on the floor before her bed, crossing her legs and setting her elbows on her knees. She drew in a deep breath, closing her eyes. She reached out, her spirit mingling with the Force.

It wasn't even a moment before she was interrupted. "What are you doing?" Kylo Ren questioned, ruining her focus.

Vex let out a frustrated breath. "I was trying to meditate. Let the Force guide me," she said, trying to dive back in.

"You think that will help us?" he asked skeptically, running a hand through his hair.

Vex sighed, rolling her eyes. He stood ominously before her, looking cynical. "Well, we've tried everything else." She patted the space before her. Kylo Ren looked down at her for a few moments, apparently measuring the odds, before he sat down before her on the floor, mirroring her position. "Maybe together, the Force will show us the way," Vex suggested, holding out her hands.

Kylo Ren heaved a sigh, placing his hands in hers. She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. He followed suit. Both reached out, seeking the Force that moved around and through them. Show us the way, Vex called. Kylo Ren stiffened in surprise, hearing her call.

At first, the Force simply swirled around them, leaving the question hanging between them unanswered. Then suddenly the flow of it changed; churning around them in almost agitation. Behind the closed lids of their eyes, colors and images began to appear, showing them the way.

We must join in spirit, Kylo Ren thought. Vex squeezed his hands. They turned their focus from the Force to each other. You must lower your walls, he called to her. Vex drew in a deep breath. It was easier said than done – she had lived so long with the walls of her mind impenetrable to all but Snoke – the logistics of doing it were alien to her.

Vex visualized the wall in her mind. Instead of bringing them down, she instead created a door. The door, she whispered to him. At once, Kylo Ren reached out to it. Vex flinched, the sensation different, but not unlike how it felt for Snoke to invade her mind. She felt Kylo Ren everywhere, seeking to understand her. His hands tightened on hers. Let me see you, Vex called.

All at once, she felt his presence recede from her mind. She followed, seeking his own mind out. He took her idea, fitting a door into the walls of his mind. Vex was gentler when she opened the door, feeling him stiffen under her hands. Once inside, she could feel his yearning even more powerfully.

Kylo Ren longed for what everyone did. Understanding. Family. Love. She felt the reservoir of pain and anger lingering just beneath his overlying desires. She could feel his disappointment and resentment over past hurts, festering like an infection. She saw how he resented his mother and father, how he'd been betrayed by his uncle.

Vex felt sorrow and empathy for him as she looked upon what had led him here, to Snoke. How the old man had been torturing Kylo Ren from within his mind for years before he'd lured him to the First Order. His life has been pain just as hers has. We can share our pain and become stronger, she called as she withdrew from his mind.

Their eyes snapped open in the same moment, hands still entwined. Kylo Ren's gaze was dark with yearning, a fine tremble running up his jaw. His lips pursed almost as if he wanted to swallow the words before they came.

Vex saved him from having to. She leaned forward, pressing her lips to his for the first time. In the weeks they've been trying to conceive, not once have they kissed. It was too personal. But not after they'd bridged their minds.

At first, he held her hands tighter. But when their lips parted, Vex gently moved her hands to hold his face, fingers tangling in his hair. Kylo Ren was looking at her with something akin to wonder when she kissed him again, his lips finally moving to respond to hers.

His arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer to the warmth of his broad body. There was an electricity to them now, where it had been utterly absent before. Vex felt burning hot, unable to tear her lips from his for but a moment to catch their breath when absolutely necessarily. One hand stayed entangled in his hair, but the other began to swiftly move down his body.

Suddenly she was airborne, as Kylo Ren stood and carried her the short distance to the bed. He dropped her down on top of it, his hands leaving her as he urgently began to take off his clothes. Vex took very little time to decide to do the same, tugging her shirt over her head and tossing it aside before starting to work on the band covering her breasts.

In very little time, he stood bare before her, reaching to replace her hands with his own. It was the first time their intercourse had been consumed with anything but duty – now it was hunger. Kylo Ren made swift work of the pesky band around her chest, and then the leggings covering her lower half. Then he paused, looking almost unsure.

Vex sat up, reaching her arms out to him. He leaned closer and she wrapped both arms around his upper body, dragging his sweet mouth to hers, fervently set on devouring it. Kylo Ren's hands began to explore her body, touching her breasts and painting searing red lines of desire down her body with his fingers.

It wasn't long before he was inside her, taking control and driving her swiftly towards completion. Vex wrapped her arms around him, panting and crying out each time he drove against her sweet spot, and his fingers stroked the bundle of nerves just above where their bodies had joined.

"Vex," he growled, his ministrations speeding up as his release approached. "Look at me," he ordered, fingers tracing along her jaw.

With some effort, Vex pried her eyes open to find his fixed upon her, heavy and warm and intense as he drove her towards her relief. Her climax found her suddenly, stars bursting behind her eyes as she cried his name, "Kylo!"

He followed quickly after, spending himself inside her. Kylo Ren's heavy body went limp atop her as he recovered, breathing harshly. Vex tightened her arms around his middle, her breath coming out just as quick. He pressed soft kisses to her neck before rolling off to the side. His muscular arms quickly wrapped around her, keeping her pressed against him.

"Wow," she murmured, looking up at him, chin pressed to his chest.

Kylo Ren nodded in agreement, exhaling heavily. He stroked his fingers lightly up and down her back, lulling her towards sleep. "Did you mean what you said?" he asked suddenly.

Vex cracked one eye open, looking back up to him. "What?" she asked.

"About sharing our pain. Becoming stronger." Kylo Ren said.

Vex nodded. "I don't know how," she admitted, reaching up to trace a finger along his lips. "But I will," she promised, tapping a finger to his lips, which curved up in the tiniest of smiles. Vex couldn't help but return it, laying her head back against his chest. His arms squeezed her just a little bit tighter.

/

Kylo Ren woke from a deep, peaceful sleep to the alarm chime of the door, signaling there was someone on the other side. Probably to deliver breakfast. But he didn't want to get up – he was so comfortable. Something, or someone, soft and warm nestled into his side.

He cracked open one eye, finding Vex curled up against him, burgundy locks spread over his arm. Her little breaths were calm, warm air brushing his chest. She was still asleep, and he wasn't going to disturb her.

He closed his eyes again, knowing the person outside would enter and leave the food on the table in the other room even if he didn't get up. Kylo Ren focused on the door to the bedroom, using his power to slide it shut.

Then he turned onto his side, burying his nose in Vex's wild, fragrant hair; holding her closer. The Force inside him, his spirit, sought to mingle with hers. So he reached out, the Force around them circling almost like a protective bubble. He could feel Vex's spirit, quiet and peaceful, despite the darkness that Snoke had inflicted upon her. But there was something else.

Kylo Ren's brows furrowed, focusing on that little seed of otherness that he felt within their bond. His eyes shot open and he pulled away, looking over Vex carefully. The little seed was clean and new. It had not been there yesterday. That little seed had taken root in Vex's womb.

Vex was pregnant.

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