AN: Another short chapter, but we're in a shifting period, bigger and better things to come, so bear with me. Much Love - M
_
Her heart felt as though it was spinning, she fought to control the palpating feeling in her chest, keeping it from spreading to her lungs. In that moment she couldn't separate the driving need to bury herself in his embrace and the searing fear and doubt in every action she had taken that had brought them together. She remembered, enveloped in his arms, the feeling of his lips still fresh on hers, that he was dangerous and so far from the possibility of redemption. For a moment the control and trust she had always felt with him, was slipping, the thought was fleeting though. She became selfish and distracted as his hand brushed her cheek and his gaze met hers, his eyes holding a rare gentleness. He spoke her name and she crumbled when the rarest smiles touched his lips, the gesture was even reflected in his eyes. He looked so young and undamaged, and she couldn't resist. Her hands slipped up his chest, feeling the erratic fluttering there, before moving up and around his neck to pull herself closer to him. He obliged, tightening his grip on her waist, holding her up against him, his free hand knotting in her hair. With a deep sigh they slowly released each other, leaning into one another's arms. She looked up at him as he brushed her hair back from her face. She immediately hated the new and horrifyingly wonderful way he was able to silence her, her mind began drifting to more exquisitely terrible ways he might distract her. She recalled the thoughts he had let slip to her, - - Her head leaned back as another hand reached across her chest to her neck, teeth grazed her jawline - - she looked up at him, he could see the familiar image flit through her mind and smirked in response.
"You haven't slept." She murmured, noting the dark rings around his eyes and his heavy tired movements.
"No" he agreed his grip on her loosening reluctantly, more of his exhaustion showing.
"You were avoiding me." She noted.
"That's taking an awful lot of credit." He scoffed, releasing her and reaching to remove his cloak.
"Though not entirely inaccurate." She said gently, reaching up to the collar of his tunic, unfastening the dark constricting garment, uncovering his scarred neck and chest. One hand smoothed over the deep pink scar along his shoulder. She felt him tense just a fraction before relaxing as he reached up and finished removing the outer tunic himself, discarding it on the floor beside them.
"It doesn't matter." He said dismissively, his tone was still quite gentle though, mostly tired. He turned and moved towards his bed, pulling back the covers. He paused and as if on cue, he felt her hand rest against his bare back. His muscles unknotted under her touch, her hand lingered for a moment before sliding away as he turned to face her. "There is a lot of work to do. The destruction of StarKiller – much of the fleet was lost." He muttered, glossing over addressing actual loss of life. He sat down on the bed and "The ranks will have to be refurnished." He was slipping back into working, his mind began to wander back to his mission, to all the things he needed to do, to all the work that needed to be done.
She could sense something in his gaze, he wanted something, to ask for something but he was holding back. Her questions fell silent in her throat as his hands found their place at the curve of her waist.
"Whatever you need." She said, answering the unasked question, whatever it was "I've already told you I'm here." He watched her, for a moment, she didn't know what he would be asking of her, what he wanted her to do. She didn't know what she was agreeing to. He pulled her towards him, guiding her onto the bed to lay beside him.
"I need to sleep." He said the resignation in his voice clear. She hummed in agreement and in a moment that felt out of reach and impossible, even as it occurred, the two drifted to sleep, side by side uninterrupted in comfortable silence. She held onto consciousness as long as she could to watch the rare scene of a sleeping Kylo Ren, his expression untroubled, his mind quiet. She kept the image in her mind until finally, it faded to black.