Summary: Luke and Rey aren't the only ones who got snowed in.

Author's Note: Short chapter while I get back into the writing groove, and take a quick look into Kylo's head. See the end of the chapter for MORE NOTES, aaaaack!

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Kylo Ren sat on his wide, black leather couch, staring at his phone. He scowled. It might as well have been a brick. His feeds were silent. No messages for the past 5 hours. Both his wireless connection and the 5G were down. The storm, no doubt.

He made a mental note to fire the Director of Jakku Electrical Facilities as soon as he got a signal.

At least I've got power, he thought. And heat. The backup generator in his building was running strong. There was enough fuel in there for over a week.

A small smirk tugged at his lips. It'd be business as usual for him when half the city was showering at the gym, or trying to salvage the contents of their refrigerators with blocks of ice…

Kylo flinched. His mother had certainly never needed to do that…Even when hurricanes blasted the Cove, and snow engulfed whatever little house or apartment building they'd been in, they'd always been prepared. His father and Chewie had made a point of keeping the heating system in good repair…even if it had been obnoxiously loud and clunky, always waking him up at night…

Then where had that thought come from?

Kylo's entire body tensed as he realized.

Her.

It had been an especially bad storm; the one time he'd lost power in over five years of living in the penthouse. They'd woken up in the dark and cold, and he'd immediately gotten on his phone – thankfully fully charged – and gotten a repair team out to the building. After over 10 minutes of arguing, mind you, but still.

And he'd come back into the bedroom to find her gone. Or, well…she'd been running around the kitchen in one of his shirts, looking for duct tape to seal the fridge. And moving things from said fridge to the freezer.

To keep it cold as long as possible, she'd said. No ice, but there's a lot here…We'll have to eat the perishable stuff first, but…

He'd stopped her, then. Pulled her into his arms, and told her that it'd all be back to normal, soon. He'd fixed it.

She'd stood rigidly there for a moment, her dark eyes full of confusion. He'd tilted her head up, and promised that she wouldn't have to worry.

Oh…That's what all the yelling was about, she'd said, her voice quiet.

Yes, he'd said. It's fine. This won't be a problem again. Go back to bed.

Then he'd stepped back and taken in the scene. Boxes and cans everywhere. Utensils and cooking tools strewn across the counter. The steaks he'd been saving for tonight were next to the sink, the plastic already beading up with condensation…

I was looking for candles…and batteries… she'd said quietly.

What a mess, he'd said, with a frown. A pointless mess, he'd thought.

She'd stepped away, nodded, and started cleaning up. He'd watched her for a moment, and then headed to the bedroom.

Don't be long, he'd called back. The bed's getting cold…

Kylo shook off the memory. Such a silly girl…She'd never understood. She wasn't living like that anymore; such things were beneath them. And as long as she was with him, she'd never have to worry. She'd always be warm, always be safe. No checking the door constantly, making sure it was locked. No triple-checking the food budget. No secondhand clothes…

And she'd never be alone again.

Kylo was struck, suddenly, by something that Alastair Snoke had said, less than a week ago.

You can take a rat out of the gutter…but it'll never stop scrabbling.

His jaw clenched. Rey…wasn't a rat. But she'd grown up like one, learned all the habits of the worst of them. And he'd tried to make her better, tried to show her a different way, one that he'd fought for.

He looked over his shoulder. The kitchen was spotless, as always. Though he wasn't sure how long it'd stay that way. The help that came every other day certainly didn't live in the building. He scowled.

The streets had better be clear by noon tomorrow…

The snow was still falling when Rey came back to herself. She turned her head, and smiled at the soft tuft of greying blond hair peeking up from underneath the covers. Luke had managed to wriggle further underneath said covers while they dozed, his head on the pillow next to hers, his beard tickling her neck.

She grinned and glanced at the bedside clock. Her eyes widened. It was early afternoon…and here they were, still in bed, curled up with each other in their private pocket of warmth.

I really did lose track of time, she thought. HeHe made a mental note t

Not that that was a bad thing…

And she definitely knew of one way they could stay here awhile longer…

"I'll be right back," she whispered, and snuck her head under the covers to kiss his forehead.

"Mmph," said Luke. "Do you have to?" He draped an arm over her waist and tugged her closer.

"Just for a little bit," she said, smiling. "I promise…" She kissed him again, this time on his lips. Luke smiled against her and kissed her back, warm and firm.

"Hurry back," he murmured. "It's cold out there…"

Rey grinned and looked around the room. Strategy was key, for this sort of thing. Luke's shirt – her definite first choice – was somewhere on the stairs. I'm pretty sure, anyway…Her eyes fell on her open closet, and then the half-open sock drawer.

Aha!

"Get ready," she whispered. "One…two…three…" She jumped out of bed and dashed toward the closet. Luke yelped and tugged the covers back up over his head.

"Stay there!" she said, and tugged a huge grey bathrobe out of the closet. She threw it at his head and ran to the dresser. She dug through the back quickly, finally dragging out a huge blue-and-red-checked flannel shirt. She put it on, along with a pair of oversized, wooly socks.

Luke looked at the bathrobe, and then back to her.

"Don't you want this?" Rey shook her head.

"I'm good…look!" The shirt came down low, almost to her knees. "And pull that under the covers…warm it up." Luke cocked an eyebrow, and did as she said, shivering as it touched his legs. "Now, stay there…I'll be right back…"

Rey headed out into the upstairs hallway, wincing as the cold air hit her. It was much more obvious out here, though the boiler was clearly hard at work. She laid her hand on an exposed pipe near the stairs, and grinned. The apartment wasn't going to get anywhere near hot, but it'd do.

She headed down the stairs and tugged the space heater – still running, she noted with a wince – into the kitchen. She kept to the tiles and busied herself with loading up the coffee maker.

The fridge was, against all odds, still alive. Finn's genius at work, she thought, shaking her head. She still moved three bags of ice from the freezer to the fridge. She arranged them in a circle around the milk, eggs, and the vegetables she'd planned on using in a stew this weekend. If the freezer failed…they'd last a bit longer.

It took a few minutes for the water to heat up. Rey walked into the living room and paced to keep herself warm, sticking her hands deep inside the long sleeves. She circled the room, checking the windows carefully. Poe had done an excellent job reinforcing the decades-old frames, and they'd lasted for a long time without incident…but you never know. The windows took up nearly the entire wall; if something broke, she would have a serious problem.

Fortunately, everything was intact. Rey smiled a little, relieved. The old bones of the building might rattle and creak in the wind, but they were solid. She stood on the carpet facing the couch, coffee in hand, and looked out over the expanse. Everything was still, the kind of hushed quiet that only a sudden snowfall could bring. She took a few steps forward, pausing at the line between cold and heat. The pipes clanked as the boiler room pushed hot water up to her apartment. Cold seeped through the glass in front of her. She could feel the divide, could move in and out of it, almost as though it was a physical thing.

And standing there, she was keenly aware of the fact that there was only glass and old brick between her and the storm.

But it was enough. And they could reinforce it if they had to. They could huddle together under the covers if the power went out, or the boiler died. They could light candles when it grew dark, and cook their meals on the hot plate in Luke's apartment…Or the fireplace…

Rey smiled, and headed back upstairs.

Luke was considerably more awake when she entered the bedroom. He was sitting up in bed, wrapped up in the bathrobe, but still very much under the covers. She climbed back into bed and passed him a mug. He grinned and tugged the covers back up over them both.

"Good afternoon," she said, after they were thoroughly cocooned.

"Same to you," said Luke. He raised his mug and clinked it against hers. He grinned, watching her face, his eyes focused, and, perhaps, a little surprised.

Rey wrestled down a pang of anxiety.

Surprised that I'm here? She thought, not quite considering what kind of surprise it was.

She smiled instead, stacked pillows up behind them, and settled in against his shoulder. They watched the storm.

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Authors Notes 2:

AUUUGH I'm sorry for the long update gap! Long story short, I got a new job, and it proceeded to thoroughly kick my ass. Weekend wipeout ensued. But...7 months later...I think it's settling down. And, frankly, November is the PERFECT time for this story.

...And the fact that I have about a month to wrap this up before Ep 8 drops has not escaped me. The Goal is finishing this in 3 chapters. **hugs everyone** You guys are SERIOUSLY THE FREAKING BEST for sticking with this story. You all ROCK!