"Sir, there's a general waiting for you—"

Kylo sighs, dropping his datapad on the table and gesturing for his protocol droid to send the visitor in. He's never disturbed very much while he's working due to his still rather infamous temper, so the fact that this man has been waiting to enter his office for the past twenty minutes is strangely amusing.

He enters with a resolute look on his face, but his Force signature belies his terror. He stands straight and gives his Emperor a military salute, but as Kylo gestures for him to sit down he shakes.

It's a strange feeling, to understand why people fear him now. Rey refuses to be feared — sometimes, in his opinion, she's much too kind to their underlings — but he's always been like this. And even now as he's actively trying to be better, his efforts seem to be working across the galaxy as a whole, but not with his high command. Those who are left, at least. His cleaning of Snoke's closet had almost led to anarchy. His mouth twists as he remembers Hux, executed in clear view of all he'd hurt. Good riddance.

The man doesn't seem to want to talk first, so he gives himself the honors. "What, general," he drawls, "seems to be the issue that has led to such a dramatic overture on your part?"

"Sir, the main cabinet has been dealing with . . . an unusual disturbance lately."

He raises his eyebrows. "Which is?"

"The Empress."

He leans back, shocked and a little angered. The majority of his officers on the newly built Supremacy have enough common sense to not attack his wife of all people in front of his eyes. He may have turned over a new leaf, but Rey is still a tough spot, and he supposes that she does, in a way, have him curled around her fingers. She's the reason for the vast majority of his reformations, anyways. Reformations he'd ensured his generals were all on board with.

His stare is a little intense, he supposes, as the man suddenly blanches before turning red as lava. "Oh, no sir, not . . . not the Empress herself. We value her, of course. It's just . . . her creature."

He squints. "Her creature?"

"There is this . . . I believe you call it a porg, sir . . . which has been ruining some of the electrical work on the upper deck. Due to it being under the Empress's protection, most personnel simply lets it be . . . and it's been racking up its fair share of expenses lately. I was wondering if you could ask the Empress, perhaps, to limit where it is allowed? Or to communicate with it? It's—it's getting a little out of hand."

He sits, staring incredulously at the man in front of him. A porg? With a quick sigh, he pushes his chair back and stands, the general matching him. With a quick nod of his head and an internal smirk at the man's discomfort, he shakes his hand. "I will have a conversation with her, general. Please see yourself out."

The man runs, leaving Kylo to cover his mouth with his gloves as he shakes in mirth and stares at his uncharacteristic stride.

Rey comes in later than usual for dinner that night, something which he's come to expect on Zhellday, as it's when she spends the day with the techs. He waits for her to shower and change before they settle in for their meal, her buns bouncing and her face bright as she recounts the issue she'd solved with the ship she'd been repairing. He stares at her lightly as she swallows up her soup, and she questions him after a few minutes.

"Is everything alright?"

"I . . ." he wants to put his face in his hands. He has no idea how to address this odd and strangely domestic situation. He doesn't get much of this. "A general came to see me today. With a complaint"

"Oh. That's strange. What did he say?"

"Actually," he takes in a deep breath. "It was something to do with you."

She raises her head up at him and then looks back, seeming barely affected. "What was it? Was I 'too strong willed' about the Outer Rim outposts again? Or was it indentured servants on Polis Massa?"

"Not political."

"So, then?" she stares at him. "What happened, Ben? You're blushing."

"Do you have a pet?"

"What?"

"Do you?"

Rey's turning red now. "Berry is not a pet! He's a porg. He hid in my ship when I left Ach-To."

"You have a porg. Named Berry?"

"I . . ." she turns her eyes downcast. "I didn't think it was a big deal."

He's confused now. "I mean, it's not. It's a porg. How long has he been here?"

"Eleven months."

"Why didn't you . . . tell me?"

She drops the soup spoon into the empty bowl, and it clatters. "I didn't think you really liked living creatures."

"I like you—"

She laughs a little. "It's a little bit different."

There's a strange pause for a minute before he looks into her eyes again, not able to stop the hurt from bleeding into his voice. "Rey. Did you think I was going to hurt Berry?"

"No!"

He gives her a reproachful look and she sighs. "Maybe at first, a little bit. I knew you'd find him annoying. And then I kind of forgot about telling you."

She looks rather downtrodden, so he pushes his meal away and walks to her, lightly putting his arms around her shoulders. "Well, it seems like Berry has been eating the consoles on the upper deck. Do you think you can make sure that he stops that?"

Rey pulls her head up, snuggling against his chest, before it finally hits her. "He's been eating the consoles? Oh, that little . . ."

He laughs and waits for her to get up before pulling her closer. "And maybe after you discipline him, we can be introduced? I have a feeling I'll like the little terror."

"Yes," she smiles. "It seems you both have a proclivity for destroying expensive equipment, anyways."

"Hey—" she runs towards their room with a giggle, and he shouts as he runs after her and tackles her onto the bed.

The creature, in all its orange and grey and white adorableness, seems to look at him with contempt when Rey introduces them. It turns out that he's been living in the corner of Rey's study, which he doesn't tend to frequent anyways.

"Why Berry?" he asks her as they start a staring match.

"The only plants that really grew on Jakku were Tuanulberry bushes. It seemed to fit him."

Jakku. He can sense the pain behind her words as she says them aloud, and reaches out to her using their bond for a second. She gives him a light smile before leaning down and letting her fingers run over the creature's wings. "Hey, Berry. Have you been bothering the techs and eating wires by any chance, lately?"

The creature lets out a shriek which makes him cringe, but Rey doesn't seem to mind. "Really? Are you sure?"

It lets out another, slightly pitiful squawk. His wife sighs as she leans down closer to the ground and collects him in her arms. "You have to try, okay?"

After another whimper, she looks at him with softness in her eyes. "I know, it's fun. I like it too. How about I get you some spare wires to play with? And, you know," she gives Ben a mischievous look, "maybe we can get you a room of your own now, too."

Berry narrows his orbs towards Ben again, and he moves back a little. Rey laughs at his awkwardness. "This is Ben! He's my husband," dedicatedly listening, she follows up. "Yes, he's related to Luke. He's going to be nicer to you too."

He gulps. "Right. Er, Berry . . ." he feels ridiculous talking to a shrill piece of fur, but he looks at Rey's blinding smile and surrenders his persona for a second. "Nice to meet you."

Slightly straighter in Rey's arms, the porg slowly reaches out one of his fluffy wings. After a second of self-reflection, he reaches out one of his fingers and touches it. Rey's smile is worth it.

He's reading up on the mining agreements his engineers had sent him when his droid's monotonous voice fills the room again. "The general from last week on the personal issue is here again. He tells me he wishes to say his thanks. Should I—"

Kylo ponders it for a second — it's asinine, and he's a busy man — but he's in a good mood as he signs off on the last document. "Let him in."

The man enters and waits for a second as Kylo gestures for him to take a seat. "Not necessary sir, I just wanted to thank you for—" he stops and stares at his Emperor's lap for a second.

He glances down, wondering — oh. Berry is on his lap, and apparently fast asleep. The porg is practically weightless, so it doesn't feel like much.

He feels a strong urge to blush or hide the porg or mess with the general's mind, but he ends up sighing and placing Berry on top of the records he'd been going through. He lets out a soft sound as he readjusts to the table.

"General," Kylo squints. "You manage on-board affairs, do you not?"

"Uh, yes, sir," the man seems to be more embarrassed than Kylo, outright staring at his desk.

"Please send a team to my quarters tomorrow evening. I am need of a new room."

After a quick affirmation the man is on his way again, and Kylo looks down to see Berry staring at him with a strange light in his wide eyes. "Shut up," he groans. "Little terror."

He gets a shriek and a nudge for his trouble, and moves the porg into his lap as he gets back to work. Berry curls up and falls asleep once again.