Epilogue

Little by little, the planet fades from view.

Even from the distance of space it appears to glow. A purple and green and every other color aura emanating out, flaring brightly against the background of infinite space.

Forgive Rey for being poetic, it's been a hell of a long ten days.

She should be elated to have escaped, but she's not. In it's own odd way, they were safer there on that bizarre rock than anywhere else in the galaxy. No one knew they were there. No one could hurt them. It was just the two of them.

And then the three of them.

Rey is pretty sure it's going to be a long time before she comes to terms with that. Her pregnancy doesn't even feel real. She's going to have a child. Someone else to keep alive Such a bizarre concept. And Kylo Ren, the great Supreme Leader, as the father? How utterly ridiculous.

Her scanner beeps at her. Rey flicks on the side viewscreen, already knowing what she's going to see.

The Millennium Falcon. It's there, floating aimlessly and lifelessly through the depth of open space, just like Kylo had said it would.

Rey marks the coordinates down, knowing that it may drift, but it won't drift very far. She'll come back for it, just like she had come back for Kylo.

Full circle again. Kylo is now in the hold of this ship, tied up and Force cuffed and still unconscious like he'd done to her but she can sense him stirring. No Master or Varn to help him.

Even in his sleep he likes to stroke their connection, and now she can feel him innerly marveling at it. Their bond has grown so much, but it has also become thinner. Wide and vast, but now there's a part of it that's pulling away from them both and trying to cleave to the microscopic collection of cells laying hold inside her womb.

My girlfriend is pregnant.

Kriff, what an unbearable ass. Rey should have slapped him silly when he'd said that to her. Oh, try to kidnap her, will he? No no no, that's not how this is going to work.

Truth be told, they'd sort of kidnapped each other. Both of them took their turns with it, and Rey just so happened to be the second to try but the first to succeed. She's got him and now she's not letting go.

Scavenger.

Rey smiles at hearing his voice in her head. It's just the three of them now out here in the black, the way it should be.

I'm here, Kylo. I'm coming.

Rey gives one last long and lingering look to the now pinprick of purple in the rear viewscreen. She'll come back for the Falcon, and maybe to that planet again as well. Except this time she'll bring the Resistance with her. A planet as far and remote as this would make an ideal secret base, and there's that king's ransom of wealth of kyber down below the surface.

Rey sets the navigation to autopilot. She's confident that she's disabled the tracking mechanism the First Order must have used to locate at, and the vessel's superior speed should get them back to her side in under a standard day.

Kylo smiles when he sees her.

"Scavenger," he repeats.

"Supreme Leader."

His face flickers, his eyes drifting down to her stomach. Rey self consciously tugs his tunic down lower over her body.

"How are you feeling?" he asks.

She shakes her head. Ridiculous man, shouldn't she be asking him that question? That was one hell of a stunner blast she had given him. He'll need to be checked out by a doctor, they both will need to be, but Rey isn't so sure that any medical practitioners at the Resistance will be willing to help him.

"They'll kill me. All of them. You know that, right? Shoot me with a blaster the second they take sight of me. You're bringing me to me death, Scavenger."

Rey sighs and sits next to him on the metal bench he's fastened to. She gives his bound hands a squeeze and he merely look down at her and says nothing more.

"Kylo… don't worry. Not everyone there is going to try to run up and kill you immediately. There will be plenty of people who are too afraid to and they'll just poison your food or something from a safe distance."

His expression falls flat.

"Well… thanks for that, Rey. Good to know."

Rey snuggles up close to him, hugging herself to his arm.

"Kylo, you big baby, I'm not taking you back to the Resistance. At least not at first. I am going back myself, but I'm doing it alone."

Before he can open his big, dumb trap and squack a protest, Rey shushes him with her finger to his lips.

"No, you nerfer, I'm not 'abandoning' you, we've been through this already. But I do have work to do, and sorry buddy but we can't always be together every minute of the day."

Kylo's lower lip pushes out into a very immature pout.

"But… I want to. I don't want us to be apart at all."

Rey shrugs.

"Tough. I've got to go back and repair your father's ship. I'll be gone for three or four days, but don't worry, you won't be left lonely."

Kylo frowns. Rey tries and fails to hide her inner smirk.

"You don't mean-"

"Yuh-huh, I do. I'm not taking you to met your death at the Resistance, Kylo, I'm taking you somewhere far worse."

His Adam's apple bobs up and down prominently as he gulps.

"...General Organa."

She nods, her smile breaking wider.

"Your mother. Leia has arranged for a private location to meet you. I'm sure you two have a lot to catch up on. The Resistance won't kill you, but it's entirely possible that she might."

Anxiety stars to build in Kylo, making his side of their connection prickly and uncomfortable to Rey's touch.

"I can't face her, Rey. Not after… everything."

"You're going to have to. She's waiting."

Kylo swallows again. Rey hugs him tighter still.

"What did she say? When you told her I was coming?"

Rey huffs in amusement. There's such a big part of Kylo that's still a little boy, hoping for attention and his mother to want to see him.

"She said 'she'll be waiting'. She said it just like that, but she wants to see you. She's missed you."

Kylo doesn't answer, his head dropping to rest on top of her own. They breathe like that, sharing each others company in peaceful silence. Rey can feel his thoughts swirling, all the fears and dread striking him now as the full magnitude of him returning home dawns upon him. She pokes gently at his mind, surprised when he lets her right in and doesn't try to resist her snooping.

"I dreamed about her just now, when I was unconscious."

Kylo's voice is a soft rumble, and Rey pulls away to look at him. He's staring out at the rear viewport where the planet used to be.

"Your mother?" she prompts, nudging at his shoulder with her hand.

Kylo shakes his head, his eyes drifting down to meet her own.

"No. Not her. Our daughter. She came to me in my dream."

Rey stares at him. Kylo stares back, his expression softening the longer he looks at her.

"Our… are you sure?"

Kylo nods. His reaches out for her, straining with the short limits of his cuffs. Rey immediately takes his hand in her own again, though what she's offering him she's not clear on.

"How?" she finally asks.

It's not possible. It's physically not. Their child doesn't exist yet. It's too early.

"It was a figment of my mind. I saw her as an adult. She looked just like you, Rey. Absolutely beautiful."

Sadness starts to lace through his voice and Rey knows exactly why.

"You don't think you're going to be there, do you? You think you're going to die before she grows up, or maybe before she's even born."

Kylo nods, swallowing again and there's a shimmer of wetness to his eyes.

"Well, you're wrong again, Kylo. You told me that everything was going to be okay, and now I'm telling you that right back. We'll figure this out. I promise."

He still doesn't believe her. Stubborn git, is it really so hard to have a little faith?

"I love you, Rey."

She sighs and closes her eyes, snuggling her face into the side of his arm.

"Did you hear me?" he repeats. "I love you."

"I hear you. If you're expecting me to say it back-"

"I know. That's what you're supposed to say. It worked for my parents when they were courting, now it's our turn."

Courting? Oh how fancy. And yes, Rey has heard the stories. It was sweet for Han and Leia, but it wasn't them. She and Kylo will never be like that, no matter how hard they try.

"How about I do one better?" she suggests. "How about I offer a way for us to while away the time having a little fun?"

His head picks up again, and Kylo eyes her suspiciously.

"You don't mean-"

"Kinky prisoner sex? I think I like seeing you in chains. I think I like being able to do whatever I want to the naughty Supreme Leader of the galaxy."

He raises an eyebrow. Rey changes position to straddle his lap so she can kiss him. Her blood is already starting to heat up already at the thought of riding him hard. Maybe she'll use her mouth on him, too. They haven't done that yet, though they've tried practically everything else.

When Rey pulls away from their kiss, Kylo's eyes are dark. Victory is hers. She moves to slide back and get started, but he stops her with a clearing of his throat

"Rey, are you sure that's it's safe for us? For you, I mean… since..."

Rey rolls her eyes. This is going to be a very insufferable nine months with him, isn't it?

"Kylo, I'm one day pregnant. I'll be fine."

She drops down to her knees before him, rubbing her hands along the top of his legs and licking her lips as she contemplates the task at hand.

"Well… only if you're totally sure."

He starts to firm up against her palms. Clearly the man doth protest too much.

"Kylo, I'm not even showing yet."

"You will be."

There's more than a trace of masculine pride in his voice when he says that. Rey rolls her eyes and starts to work him free of his pants.

"Yes, Kylo, you successfully knocked me up. Congratulations. Let's screw to celebrate your conquest."

She palms him, working him to full hardness as she ponders the best angle to go about taking him into her mouth.

"Rey?" his voice rises in pitch as he realizes her intended objective. "One more thing?"

She hums against his thigh, resting her head and waiting.

"What happened to Hux? Did you kill him?"

She smiles then, kissing and nipping her way back up his leg.

"I left him on the planet with the stormtroopers. I'm sure they'll all have a lovely time there until someone bumbles along and rescues them. Who knows? It might even be my side. The General will make a fine catch for us, won't he?"

Kylo snorts, an incredulous downward smirk decorating his lips.

"For your bumbling side?"

"Shut up."

His smirk becomes a smile.

"Rey, I love you. I've never loved you more. Now say it. Please."

He's not going to let one this go, is he? Well fine, since it apparently means so much to him…

"I know you do, Kylo. I know. Now, if that's good enough for you, would you oh so kindly stop talking for a few seconds? There's something I very much want to get started on."

Kylo huffs, rolling his head back as she strokes his length.

"Such a taskmaster. You know that if I break out, I'm going to treat my prisoner exactly the same way you're doing to me?"

Rey smirks, wriggling closer between his bound legs, and getting to work.

"I'm counting on it."

Then, for the next seven minutes, a miracle happens: Kylo Ren finally, finally shuts up.

Until he cries out her name, but Rey is going to allow him that, just this one time...

THE END

Author's note:

Well, we made it! This is the end of this story but there most certainly will be a sequel… at some point. I have a supremely narcissistic breakdown of the fic on the next chapter here, and if you don't want to read all my rambles about the plot and structure (heh) then please at least read the last two paragraphs of ch23 because I have a message to share with all of you!