Rey would like to say that she and Kylo didn't spend her whole day off holed up in his apartment, but that would be a lie.

She woke up early that morning to a knock on her door.

Kylo stood there, dressed in black plaid pajama pants and a faded tee shirt.

"Let me make you breakfast," he said as she gave him an inquiring look upon opening the door.

Pulling her silky robe around her a little tighter, she laughed at the unexpected invitation. She hadn't even brushed her hair yet.

"Okay," she agreed, surprised and delighted. "I'd like that."

He stepped back to let her walk through the door and close it behind her, trailing after him to his apartment, barefoot and in her pajamas and robe.

She hadn't ever spent a prolonged period of time in his apartment and while it was always clean and his furniture was definitely nicer than hers, it always made her a little sad to see such a lack of personal items. There were no photos or knick-knacks on shelves.

Following him, she sat on one of the stools at his kitchen bar, watching as he moved around, opening cupboards and pulling out a mixing bowl and a pan. She knew better than to offer to help him... she preferred watching anyways.

"Did I wake you up?" he asked softly, pulling a carton of eggs from the fridge.

"Yes," she said honestly, then smiled. "But if you're making me food, you can wake me up early whenever you'd like."

He chuckled deeply, ruffling his already messy hair. "I don't know if I've ever met someone with an appreciation for food like you."

Rey felt her mouth twist into a bitter smile before she could stop it. Kylo noticed and gave her a questioning look.

"When you're growing up and don't know when your next meal is, food becomes this sort of holy thing." Rey picked at the hem of her robe, hating to remember those days. "I stayed with one family who only let me eat scraps and leftovers after everyone was done. And that was if they remembered. Sometimes I'd have to dig through the garbage after they went to sleep just to get some food."

Kylo didn't say anything but she could see his shoulders stiffen.

"Plutt, the last man I lived with, didn't really bother to feed me at all. But I wasn't allowed to use the kitchen so I could only eat things I could find that didn't require cooking. The options were fairly limited."

The way he was looking at her made her want to fidget in her seat. She suddenly felt bad for bringing the mood down with her depressing childhood.

"So I guess you know who to blame for my abysmal cooking skills now," she joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Crossing the kitchen, Kylo came around the counter, spinning her stool around so she faced him.

His warm brown eyes stared into hers as his hand came up to gently brush the side of her face, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'll cook for you every single day, if that's what you want," he told her honestly, the look in his eyes overwhelming tender.

Rey felt an unexpected ball of emotion rising in her throat. It had been a long time since someone had wanted to take care of her like that. And she could see in his eyes that he would do it, for her, something so silly and over the top, but that might make her happy.

She leaned forward and captured his lips in a soft, heartfelt kiss.

"You're sweet," she muttered against him. "And apparently want me to gain a hundred pounds."

He let out a little huff of laughter against her mouth, pulling away and shaking his head.

Kylo made them omelets and crispy herb potatoes, joining her at the counter to eat. There was something so lovely and intimate about sitting in the kitchen with him, early morning light streaming through the windows, enjoying a delicious breakfast.

Afterward, he picked her up and took her into the bedroom, stripping her and laying her out on his soft black sheets.

They had time today and it showed in the way Kylo explored and worshipped her body, caressing and kissing every inch. She writhed against him, simultaneously loving and hating the sweet torture.

In the end, she climbed onto his lap, letting him slide into her with a delicious ease. He held her, covering her neck and shoulders in soft kisses as she rocked on top of him slowly. Kylo looked at her like she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, letting her move at her own pace, content to smooth his hands up and down any inch of skin he could reach.

Rey had never felt more connected with someone than she did as she stared into his expressive eyes, working herself over him steadily, feeling every sensation and movement. It felt like... making love.

There was something so powerful about observing him, seeing what made him gasp and shiver, and being in control of it. When he came inside of her, moaning her name and clutching her against him desperately, Rey had the satisfaction of knowing that she had done it to him.

They laid in bed, holding each other sleepily as the day went on. Rey rested her head on his arm and traced the scars scattered across his chest.

"Tell me about your father," she eventually said, anticipating the slight stiffening of his body.

"You want to talk about my father after we just had sex?" He was intentionally trying to make light of it but she could tell it was a sensitive subject.

Rey poked his firm chest playfully. "Don't make me sound like a weirdo. You never talk about him and he hasn't come to see you with your mom."

Kylo took a deep breath, giving himself a moment before speaking.

"My father... he died a few years ago."

Rey flattened her palm against his chest, feeling the beat of his heart. "I didn't know, I'm sorry."

"No, don't apologize... How could you have known?" He was trying to sound unaffected but she could hear the unresolved pain in his voice.

"How did he die?" she asked gently.

"I actually don't know." Rey glanced at his face, only to find his eyes firmly fixed on the ceiling. "It was after I left so I only found out about it from the news. A sickness of some sort was what it said."

Rey bit her lip, sadness crashing over her. For Kylo to have not been there when his father passed, and to hear about it from the news... She couldn't imagine the emotions he had felt, the sorrow and pain.

"He found me once, a few months before he died," he said softly, obviously heavy with guilt. "I'm not sure if it was a coincidence or if he had tracked me down somehow. He asked me to come home, told me he was sorry for not being there for me."

There was a heavy pause but Rey let him take his time. She already knew how this was going to go.

Kylo swallowed heavily. "I told him to leave me alone, that he wasn't my father anymore. That I could never forgive him and that I never wanted to see him again. Then I left him, just standing there in the street and he watched me go without a word. I found out that he'd died two months later."

Though he sounded steady, a tear slipped down his face from the corner of his eye. The regret he felt must have torn him up inside. That he had never reconciled with his father before his death would probably haunt him forever, to some degree.

"Will you tell me about him?" she asked, leaning up to kiss the salty track left by his tear.

Contemplating for a second, he seemed uncertain about what to say.

"He was a good man," he muttered. "But not a very good father."

"It's okay to think that, even though he's gone," Rey told him, knowing he probably felt conflicted.

He shrugged, shoulders lifting against her. "He wasn't always like that. When I was a kid, he meant the world to me. I wanted to be just like him and even though I don't think he planned on being a father, he wanted to be a good one."

"But then, he and mother started having problems and he left to travel a lot. I think when he came back and saw that I was becoming a bit of a mommy's boy and was bookish and quiet, he just didn't know what to do with me. I wasn't the son he imagined having and we both knew it."

"That couldn't have been easy to deal with as a child." Even though Rey's parents had abandoned her and obviously didn't care about her, she didn't have to grow up seeing their disappointment every day. She supposed she was lucky in that way.

Kylo shrugged again. "He was an honest man, couldn't hide a thing in his face or his eyes. My mother loved and hated it."

Though she wouldn't tell him, Rey thought he must have inherited his expressive eyes from his father.

"What about you? Did you love or hate it?"

"I couldn't hate him for, not when he still tried up until the last time I saw him," he admitted quietly. "But I couldn't love something that pushed us apart. I think I could have appreciated a lie, even if I knew it was one."

Rey could understand that. She lied to herself every time she went to a new family, telling herself it was her home and she would be loved and accepted there.

"Was there anything you did love or hate about him?" she questioned.

Kylo laughed softly. "You're especially inquisitive today."

"Excuse me for being interested in your life," she sniffed.

"I just can't remember the last time I was asked so many questions," he explained, running a finger up and down her arm. "It's strange to talk about something I've kept to myself for so long."

Rey immediately felt bad for prying. "You don't have to answer if it's making you uncomfortable."

Kylo was quiet for a second, like he was trying to figure out how he felt.

"It's a good strange, I think." He sounded surprised and it warmed her heart to hear. "And to answer your question, yes. I loved that he would take the time to explain and show how things worked to me, always patiently. That he never got irritated by my millions of questions. That he taught me the difference between right and wrong and the gray in between. But I hated that he left."

There was nothing to really say about so they just laid there in silence for a minute, holding each other.

Rey gently traced a thin scar right below his collarbone. He had a number across his torso, little white slashes marring his smooth skin.

"Are these all from Snoke?" she asked tentatively, needing to ask but hating to even say his name.

"Yes," he murmured, arm tightening reflexively around her.

Rey bit her lip as she brushed her fingers over several more. "They look painful."

"They were." He took a deep breath. "But I'm not afraid of pain anymore."

The simple way that he said it felt like a punch to the heart. Just looking at the map of scars across his body, she couldn't begin to fathom the depth of suffering he went through.

"What are you afraid of then?" she whispered. This sad, brave, beautiful man who still managed to cling to shreds of hope, who let himself be touched and intimate with another person, after all he went through... surely he couldn't be afraid of anything.

Rey twisted slightly and propped herself up so she could study his face. He didn't look annoyed or upset with her questioning, just uncertain.

"I'm afraid of letting my mother die alone and without knowing that I still love her," he responded softly. "And of being restrained, without control."

The first one was obvious, and at that moment, Rey swore that she would figure out a way to bring Leia and Kylo back together to heal. But the second was so oddly specific that it took her a second to figure it out.

"Something to thank Snoke for?" she said, hearing the hatred in her own voice.

Kylo's eyes went dark and he looked away. "Yes. He always tied me down or restrained me in so way, just to do it, for the power and control. There was this- this room in his basement where he would always take me. It had this crimson-colored furniture, so he didn't have to worry about blood, and black floors, so glossy they were reflective. So I would always have to look at myself when-"

He cut off suddenly with a violent shudder.

"I'm sorry," he choked out, putting a hand over his eyes. "You don't need to hear that."

Rey wasn't going to lie, it was difficult to listen to this. Not because she was disgusted or ashamed of Kylo, but because of the horror of his situation. The thought him tied up and forced to look into the reflection of his own eyes while Snoke abused him made her feel slimy and shaken to her very core.

She pulled his hand away from his face gently, kissing his palm. He wouldn't look at her, eyes closed and lashes damn.

"Never apologize for sharing anything about yourself," she whispered fiercely. "Not to me."

Rolling over, she straddled him, hovering over his hips. She leaned down, pressing soft lingering kisses to every scar she could reach.

Rey kissed the marks until he stopped shaking beneath her, until he opened his lovely eyes and watched her, his expression raw.

She let him pull her up and kiss her until she was gasping for air.

...

Rey stayed the night, thrilling in being able to sleep in bed with Kylo. He had woken her up, whimpered and twitching, but she had rubbed him soothingly until he calmed back down and drifted to better dreams.

Knowing that she had helped him, even just for one night, had sent her back to sleep with a smile on her face.

But in the morning, she had to pull herself away. They had skipped over a lot of stages of traditional dating and living next door to each other added to the strangeness of their situation. But she wasn't clingy and as much as she wanted to spend her second day off in Kylo's bed, she really needed to shower and brush her teeth.

He surprisingly nodded when she told him she needed to go home.

"Good, I actually have a surprise for you today. If you want to shower and get dressed, we can leave after?" He phrased the whole thing hesitantly, like a question he wasn't sure he was allowed to ask.

Rey shook her head, thinking they really needed to work on him constantly expecting her to say no or not wanting to spend time with him. If only it wasn't so fucking adorable.

But more importantly, did he say a surprise? For her?

She agreed quickly and he chuckled.

"Do I get a hint?" she asked, slipping out of bed and trying to find her clothes. Kylo watched her move around the room naked, undisguised heat in his eyes.

"Uh... I hope you like it."

Rolling her eyes, she wiggled her shirt over her head. "That's not a hint. But I'll let it slide, just this once, since you're obviously inexperienced in the art of hint-giving."

Kylo threw his head back and laughed, the carefree image making Rey pause and admire him.

"How dare you mock suck a sophisticated skill?" Rey tried her best to sound outraged. "I'm outta here."

She stomped out of his room.

"Does that mean you don't want your surprise?" he called after her, obviously suppressing more laughter.

She poked her head back in the room. "Well, I didn't say that..."

Kylo grinned. "I'll see you in an hour."

...

An hour and a half later, they were driving down one of the main city streets, in an area close to the cafe. Kylo refused to tell her where they were going and she was fidgeting in her seat with a mixture of nervousness and excitement. Surprises made her anxious, but in an intoxicating sort of way, like how you enjoy being afraid when you're watching a scary movie.

She watched out the window for any indication of where they were going, but she wasn't very familiar with this area so it wasn't until they turned into the parking lot that she realized.

Rey gasped in delight and could tell that Kylo heard her from the small smile on his face.

"I've been meaning to come but I was afraid I wouldn't be able to leave," she admitted as they parked in front of the animal shelter.

Once inside, he went and spoke quietly with the red-haired, motherly looking woman at the front desk. Rey took the chance to study the shelter, impressed with how clean and nice it looked. It was very open and welcoming, a display selling various pet supplies and two doors with cartoon cats and dogs on them.

Kylo came and took her hand as the woman came around her desk and led them to the right door.

"We put him in the playroom for you," she told them with a kind smile. "He's a lively one, a few of our volunteers are rather attached to him."

Rey smiled at the thought of the stray cat getting all the attention here. He always had been a little charmer.

They stopped at a wall of glass and inside the room, the stray batted lazily at a toy mouse on the floor. Rey was relieved to see there were no visible signs of the injury he had sustained.

Her breath caught as the woman opened the door and gestured for them to go in.

"Just come back to the front desk when you're finished," she told Kylo, closing the door behind them.

The cat immediately perked up, turning to see who was visiting.

Crouching down, Rey had a moment of nervousness that he wouldn't remember her. But he let out a little chirping meow and ran over, rubbing his head into her outstretched hand.

"Hey buddy," she whispered, feeling unexpected emotion rising in her throat. His orange coat was glossy and clean, free of matting, and he was obviously healed up. His golden eyes were just as sweet as always. And when he climbed into her lap, he was heavier than she remembered.

"You're getting those three square meals a day, huh?"

He meowed indignantly, purring like a little engine on her lap.

Kylo sat down next to her, tentatively reaching over to rub the cat behind his ears.

"Hey there, hero," he teased, scratching his chin. "How am I supposed to give you a hard time now, huh?"

Rey rested her head against his shoulder, pushing down the lump in her throat.

She didn't want to be overdramatic, but this cat could honestly be the reason she was still alive. And she couldn't thank him or explain to him how much it meant to her that he had protected her that night. He'd been her friend almost since she started working at the cafe, making her feel less alone during a stressful point in her life.

Kylo wiggled a feather toy in front of the cat, chuckling when he just rolled over and stared at him, obviously wondering why his belly wasn't getting rubbed.

The minutes passed but Rey didn't want to leave. What if someone adopted him and she never saw him again? Obviously, she wanted him to go to a nice home but she couldn't imagine not having him in her life.

"I don't want to say goodbye," she told Kylo wistfully.

He gave her a strange sort of smile. "Well... you don't have to if you don't want to."

"What do you mean?"

"If you want, he's yours." Kylo watched as her eyes widened. "You can bring him home with you today."

Rey spluttered, completely thrown. "But- but- the adoption fees? And my apartment, the landlord said no pets!"

He looked amused by her concerns. "I've taken care of everything here, you just have to answer a few questions and fill out some paperwork. And I spoke with the landlord. After a little convincing, he agreed to let me pay a pet deposit, with the assurance that the cat wouldn't be an issue and that we don't tell any neighbors."

Rey's jaw felt like it was hanging down to her knees. "You didn't have to do that! I- I don't even know what to say."

He took her hand in his. "Don't feel pressured to say yes if you don't want to. I didn't want to be presumptuous but I wanted everything to be lined up if you wanted him."

"I've never owned a cat before," she said weakly, smoothing her free hand down his soft coat. He reached back to give her finger a raspy lick.

Kylo laughed softly. "I think you just feed them and pet them and clean their litterbox." His smile faded, eyes going serious. "He can keep you company and you can take care of each other."

Rey's heart swelled at his words and the thought of bringing the cat home with her. She'd never taken care of another living thing before, could she give him the life he deserved? But then she thought about coming home every night to him waiting for her, curled on her lap while she read or hanging out in the kitchen while she cooked. Kylo was right, they could take care of each other.

"I want him," she said confidently, feeling the rightness of the words.

Kylo's answering grin just confirmed that she'd made the right choice.

...

The woman at the front desk had been thrilled to hear that the cat would be coming home with them. She had Rey sign a few things, giving her paperwork on his shots and microchip, sending another woman to get him packed up in a carrier.

"We'll be sad to see him go," she said honestly.

"He's a special cat," Rey agreed, unable to wipe the dumb smile off of her face. He was a special cat and now he was her cat.

Kylo helped her pick out some supplies, a litterbox, food and water bowls, food, and a collar, complete with a little silver bell.

"Is this your first time adopting a pet together?" the woman asked kindly, ringing them up.

"Oh..." Rey floundered for a second. They weren't really adopting together, the woman made it sound like they were taking him home to play with their kids in the yard.

"We don't live together," Kylo interjected awkwardly, twin pink spots on his cheekbones.

The woman just smiled knowingly, bagging their supplies up.

The cat was brought out in a carrier, meowing happily when he was handed over to Rey. His golden eyes peered out at her.

She and Kylo thanked them, and she carried the cat protectively to the car, both arms wrapped around the carrier, while Kylo loaded his arms with all the bags.

The drive back to the apartment was pretty quiet, Rey wiggling her fingers through the holes to pet the cat, Kylo watching her out of the corner of his eye. He had this warm smile on his face that made her want to kiss him senseless.

Inside her apartment, she let the cat out and he scurried around, sniffing things curiously. He eyed the coffee table suspiciously, reaching out a paw to touch it then jumping back. After watching him for a second, she turned to Kylo, knowing she probably looked ridiculous with her wet eyes and cheeks aching from smiling so much.

"Thank you," she said, wrapping her arms around him, resting her head on his chest. "This is the best surprise I've ever gotten."

"You being happy is all the thanks I need," he told her softly, running a gentle hand through her hair.

She stood on her tiptoes, pressing a firm kiss to his lips.

"I need to name him," she muttered against his mouth before pulling away.

Kylo watched the cat for a second as he rubbed against the couch then flopped over to roll on the carpet, fluffy belly up.

"How about Butterball?" Kylo said, looking like he was trying not to laugh. "Poor guy is packing on those pounds."

"He's healthy!" she defended. "We can't name him that, it's disgraceful for such a majestic creature."

He gave her an incredulous look. "He's chubby. It's a fitting name and you know it."

Rey giggled, not able to deny it. The cat was definitely rocking a plump belly but it just made him more cuddly.

"Okay," she admitted. "Butterball is a good name. But we're calling him BB for short."

Kylo grinned triumphantly. "BB it is."

Yay, the heroic BB kitty is back! I know everyone was hoping he would end up with them somehow, it made me feel so predictable but I couldn't not have Rey adopt him. I know the beginning was a bit slower with lots of talking, but I want Rey and Kylo to start learning little tidbits about each other and slowly get better about sharing. Thanks everyone!