The day before Kylo would be flying home, Rey was working at the cafe, trying to make time go faster through the sheer force of will. So far, glaring at the clock was proving to be ineffective. And Poe was having a great laugh over the whole thing, cracking up every time he saw her glance at the time, only to be utterly disappointed.

She couldn't believe that in less than twenty-four hours, Kylo would be home and back with her. The week had gone by so slowly and her need to see him had grown with every passing day.

The desire to be with him felt needy and it felt clingy and she was past the point of caring.

Poe had even let her swap around her days off so she'd have tomorrow and the day after to spend with Kylo. He claimed in was with his best interest in mind, so he wouldn't have to put up with her sulking around or them being all "gross and lovey-dovey while people are trying to drink their coffee." But she knew he was doing it for her.

She promised herself that once Kylo was back, they'd make plans to do something with Finn and Poe. Maybe not go out on a double date or anything, since going somewhere and being forced to be social might be too overwhelming for Kylo all at once, but they could plan something less stressful.

But only after they'd had their two days together, alone and isolated from the rest of the world, just how they liked it.

Smiling to herself at the thought of their reunion, Rey headed over to wipe down a dirty table by the front window.

She wasn't going to lie, part of her was nervous. A week away wasn't a long time but it had felt like forever. What if things had somehow become awkward between then in that time?

Shaking her head, she shoved the thought away. She still felt just as strongly about Kylo as she did when he left and she needed to have more faith in him. He chose her, she reminded herself for the millionth time, feeling a smile pull at her lips at the thought.

She gave herself a second to admire the view out the window. The sun was shining brightly today, the blue sky speckled with puffy white clouds. This time of day, the street was fairly busy, people strolling along without jackets, obviously enjoying the warmth of the day. She was looking forward to her walk home this evening, the fresh air and lingering warmth of the day.

It was purely coincidence that she was looking outside the exact second that he walked by.

Rey's eyes snagged on him and her whole body froze.

No fucking way.

Governor Snoke had just walked by her cafe.

She had only seen him in pictures before and even though he'd only been in her sight for a split second, she was almost certain it was him. Tall and bald, in a dark wool coat with a high collar, he looked like how she remembered, except the side of his face looked almost sunken in and deformed. She had still recognized him though.

The urge to run outside and chase him down was screaming through her body but she couldn't move. Her blood felt like ice, her heart pounding loudly in her chest, ears ringing.

What did she do? Did she run after him, yelling that he was a child molester and a vile, disgusting human being?

She couldn't think, she couldn't breathe, but she needed to do something.

Kylo's face passed through her mind. What if he had been here right now? What if he had seen him walking outside, just a thin pane of glass separating them?

The thought snapped her out of it and it felt like she had jolted back into her body. The ringing faded from her ears and she could hear the rasping gasps escaping her throat. She hadn't frozen that badly in years, hadn't had panic and fear grab her in such a forceful, relentless grip.

Not pausing to think, she darted to the door, wrenching it open. She had no idea what she was going to do but she had to know if it had actually been Snoke.

But out on the street, he had vanished. Whirling around frantically, she scanned for any sight of him, skipping from face to face to no avail. She must have stood there frozen for too long and he had turned down another street or gotten into a car, or maybe gone into one of the neighboring shops.

Either way, the man was gone.

Her limbs felt like lead as she slowly went back into the cafe. What in the hell just happened? What did she do? Oh god, what was she supposed to do?

"Rey?" Poe was leaning over the counter, a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." No, she wasn't. She felt like she was going to be sick all over the shiny cafe floor that she had mopped just a few hours earlier.

Poe came over and put a hand on her arm. "You're pale and shaking. What happened? Why did you run out of here like that?"

She could hardly think, she needed to get out of here. "I'm sorry, I'm not feeling well. I'll be right back."

Fleeing to the bathroom before he could say anything, she closed the door and leaned against it, chest heaving.

Okay, she needed to calm down and think this through.

Doubt filled her as she processed what had happened. What if she was wrong and that hadn't been him? She really hadn't seen him for more than a second or two, and his face was pretty messed up.

But, what if that had been him? Here, passing by her cafe and just a few blocks away from where Kylo lived? Her instincts were telling her that it was him and she had learned to trust her instincts over the years where danger was concerned.

Was it even possible that it was a coincidence he was here? Or had he somehow managed to track down Kylo?

The more Rey thought about it, the sicker she felt.

He had been walking in the direction of the apartment building. What if he was there, waiting for Kylo? He could have broken into his apartment and invaded his home.

She could just imagine the smug governor inside Kylo's apartment, touching his things with his slimy fingers, acting like he owned the place. Destroying whatever little security and comfort Kylo had managed to find in his home. Leaving a black stain behind, a filthy taint on his possessions and space.

She could see him walking into Kylo's bedroom and stroking the soft fabric of his blanket, touching the bed where she and Kylo had spent hours, kissing and talking, making love-

Her thoughts were getting out of hand. Rey was freaking herself out, turning Snoke into a monster when he was just a man.

He was just a man, she reminded herself. And if she even suspected someone was in Kylo's apartment when she went home, she'd call the police. Even fancy governors weren't above getting arrested for breaking and entering.

The real problem was, she had no way of knowing for sure if it had been him or not. But if she told Kylo she had seen Snoke here, so close to his home, he could panic. If she didn't tell him and it turned out that he had tracked him down, Snoke could show up at his apartment. He could assault Kylo or blackmail him, among other things.

Oh god, what did she do?

She went over to the sink and splashed cold water on her face with tremblings hands.

Staring into her wide eyes in the mirror, the realization that the man who had abused and nearly destroyed Kylo had possibly been within a few feet of her struck her like a blow to the gut.

The disgusting, monstrous excuse of a human who had nearly driven the man who she... the man she cared for to commit suicide, had walked right past her cafe.

Bile rose in her throat.

She gagged and spat it out, rinsing it down the sink, stomach churning.

Thoughts like that wouldn't help. She needed to pull herself together and be strong. Kylo needed her to be strong and protect him right now.

Well, she couldn't hide in here all day. Poe would be wondering about her and she still had to work. But she didn't know if she could go back out there and pretend like everything was okay when it clearly wasn't.

There was a soft knock on the door and Rey jumped.

"Rey? You okay in there?" Poe's concerned voice floated through the door.

She went over and flip the lock with shaking fingers, opening the door.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I'm feeling pretty sick, I think I might have eaten something bad."

Poe's brown eyes were worried. "You look terrible. You were fine earlier, did it just hit you all of a sudden?"

Rey felt awful lying to Poe but there was no way for her to explain what had actually happened.

"Yeah, it came out of nowhere. I'm sorry, I'll get back to work." She stepped out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

He grabbed her gently by the arm, like he was afraid she'd fall over, and guided her to the counter.

"There's no way I'm letting you work like this," he told her sternly. "I'll call Rose, she has the afternoon off so I'm sure she won't mind covering for you."

Now she felt even worse. She couldn't just tell Poe she was magically feeling better but she hated getting sent home for something like this. But she also knew she needed to go home, to her apartment where she felt safe and could calm down, and figure out what she was going to do.

Rey opened her mouth but Poe cut her off. "No arguments. Do you want to wait for Rose to get here so I can drive you, or do you want to walk? Some fresh air might be good if you're feeling nauseous, but I don't mind giving you a ride."

She supposed that settled that. Relief washed over her, just for a second, before it was overrun with anxiety.

"I'll walk," she told him, not wanting to put him out even more.

She grabbed her purse and jacket, apologizing to Poe again, but he just waved her off, telling her to take it easy. As she headed for the front door, the sick feeling intensified, physically affecting her.

What if she saw him on her walk back? It hadn't been very long and if he went into a shop, there was a chance their paths could cross. What would she do if she saw him?

That was the question Rey asked herself the whole walk home, unable to find an answer. Though it was warm out, she wrapped her jacket around herself tightly, unable to stop shivering. Her eyes darted around constantly, trying to take in every face that passed her on the street.

By the time she made it back to her apartment, her knees were weak and she felt lightheaded. Her adrenaline had been going the whole time and now that she was home, it left her weak and shaking.

BB meowed in concern as she collapsed on the couch, trembling and nauseous. He hopped up and curled next to her, giving her a concerned butt of his head.

"It's okay," she told him, sinking a hand into his thick orange fur. "It's okay, I'm okay."

She took a deep breath, weaving her fingers together tightly, trying to stop the trembling. First thing first, she needed to figure out if she had actually seen Governor Snoke. Freaking out over this before she even knew if she needed to, wasn't a good idea.

Though she felt it in her gut, she had to know for sure.

She wiggled her phone out of her pocket, opening up the internet browser and typing in Snoke's name.

Her finger hovered over the search button. The scaring on the man's face has been distinctive. Though Snoke hadn't had it in the pictures she had seen of him, those had been from years earlier. A recent picture should be all she needed.

Holding her breath, she hit search, bringing up the most recent images and clicking on the first one.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Governor Snoke stared at her from the screen, the left side of his face sunken in, just like how she had seen. This picture had been taken a few weeks ago, the Governor making an appearance at some sort of political event. The smug, confident look was still on his face, despite being disfigured.

It had been him. That repulsive, horrid man had walked right by her cafe, just strolling down the street like he belonged there.

As Rey stared at his picture, her emotions slowly pulling her into a deep, dark hole, Kylo's name popped up across her screen, her phone vibrating in her hand. It startled her so bad that she almost dropped it.

Oh god, Kylo was calling her. What did she do? She hadn't had a chance to even think this through.

She had to answer the phone. "Hello?"

"Rey?" Kylo's voice was concerned and for a second, she thought that he somehow knew. That he had found out even though there was no way he possibly could have. "Poe texted me and said he had to send you home sick. Are you okay?"

Oh. Of course he did. She floundered for something to say.

"I'm fine, I think I just ate something bad," she finally said, willing her voice to sound normal.

"Are you sure? You sound weird."

She forced a smile into her voice. "I'm just a little tired, but I feel better now that I'm home and sitting down."

"Okay." Kylo didn't sound convinced but he dropped it. "If you still aren't feeling well tomorrow, text me and I'll grab you some stuff on the way back from the airport."

That's right, he was coming back tomorrow. Oh hell, what did she do?

She made a noise of agreement into the phone, desperately trying to get her thoughts straight.

"I'm excited to come home to you," he told her softly, undisguised emotion in his voice. "I miss you. Everything has been so hectic here, I want to just get back and spend some relaxing time with you."

Jesus Christ, she wanted to cry. Here he was, so excited to come home, and she had the bomb of all bombs to drop on him.

"I miss you too," she croaked into the phone.

The was a moment of silence from his end. "Are you sure everything is okay?" he asked.

There was her opening to tell him. She opened her mouth but the words got stuck in her throat, choking her as they refused to come out.

No, she couldn't do it. Not over the phone, not when he was in New York alone. She couldn't do that to him.

For half a second, she just wished that she never had to tell him. If this was all a coincidence, he'd never have to know and she'd never have to tell him. They could just keep going on like they'd been going.

No. She couldn't do that to him. Wouldn't and couldn't risk it.

But right now wasn't the time to tell him.

"Really, everything is good. I'm just excited to see you tomorrow," she told him, pushing away thoughts of Snoke so Kylo could hear the genuine warmth in her voice. "I switched around my days off at the cafe so I don't have to work for the next two."

"What are we going to do with two whole days to ourselves?" he teased.

Rey forced out a laugh. "I'm sure I can think of a way to keep you occupied."

"I'm sure I'll never guess what that is," he responded playfully.

As much as she was loving their banter, Rey couldn't keep talking to him right now, not with what had happened so fresh, the words dancing around on the tip of her tongue. "Well, thanks for checking up on me, I think I might actually go take a nap. I'll see you tomorrow though."

"I can't wait," Kylo said before disconnecting the call.

Rey stared down at her phone, wondering if she had done the right thing.

No, she had made a good call, she told herself, slumping back into the couch, BB immediately slinking into her lap. Kylo would need support if he panicked after hearing that Snoke had been just a few blocks away from his apartment. Which would be understandable, as she had panicked after just thinking she had seen him.

They had been foolish, she realized, enjoying finally being together and not talking about Snoke. Kylo obviously hadn't wanted to talk about him at all and she hadn't wanted to bring ruin their weeks of happiness by bringing him up.

Snoke had been the unspoken thing between them this whole time and they'd both been blissfully ignoring it. But now, he was here to wreck the blissful little universe they had made for themselves.

Rey ran her fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp.

What they needed to do was talk about Snoke and what they were going to do with him. The trauma Kylo had enduring and kept buried for so long wouldn't be easy to drag back up and confront, and Rey hated that she would have to bring it up and make him face it, but he needed to. And she would be here for him,

Snoke couldn't be allowed to go unpunished for what he did and Rey couldn't live with having to look over her shoulder constantly, afraid that he had found Kylo.

They needed to bring Governor Snoke to justice. To make sure he could never again hurt anyone else. To make him pay for all of the pain and suffering that he had brought into this world.

For Kylo, and for young Ben Solo.

So I've officially planned out the rest of this story and I'm excited beyond words. It took me days and days of scribbling but I think I finally have a plan that I'm satisfied with. I'm also working on ideas for my next Reylo story after this one is complete (don't worry, we still have a ways to go) and I think deciding which story I want to do next will be the hardest part of it haha.

Anyways, I hope everyone had a great week and a relaxing weekend. I know I say this every time but thank you all for the insane support you all give me. Nothing makes me happier than seeing the wonderful comments you leave for me. The love and kindness you can find in a fandom are the greatest ever and I will fight you on that. Love you guys!