Symphony for the Dark (Kylo Ren x Reader)

11

"Would you mind showing me your face?"

The question hung in the air. Unanswered. 

"Why?" His voice was softer than you'd ever heard it.

"I want to see... I want to see how my music makes you feel," You're so worried you've made the same mistake again. 

Kylo lowers his gaze to the ground.

Immediately, you feel the regret surging through your body. "Forget it, I'm sorry. That was uncalled for and-"

"No, don't apologize." He raises his hand, motioning for you to be silent. However, he doesn't lower his hand. Slowly, displaying just how difficult it was for him to do this, Kylo's hand went to the helmet covering his face. Both hands reached around to the back of the mask, simultaneously activating some sort of mechanism that released part of the helmet- making a hissing sound that was barely audible through the holographic communication.

As Kylo pulls his helmet away from his head, your breath catches in your throat. 

With the helmet gone, he seemed to avoid looking at you. Locks of wavy, dark hair blocked any view of his actual face. Seconds pass before he raises his gaze to meet your own, and what you saw was beyond striking. 

A pale face, dotted with beauty marks and small scars. He must have been around the same age as you, maybe a few years older. Although the image of Kylo Ren was just different shades of blue, you could still see so much more. He was tired. He was troubled. He was human. 

"Thank you..." You smiled at Kylo, not breaking eye contact with him. "It's nice to see the face of-... of my friend." It may be unprofessional and out of line to call the commander of the First Order your friend, but you felt like you needed to say it.

He keeps looking at you, giving no physical or vocal response to your comment.

You turn back to the piano, after a moment longer of admiring the man who sat millions of parsecs away- yet in your living room at the exact same time. With hands on the keys, you contemplate what you should play. 

Before you can play the first notes of a common nocturne, Kylo's voice catches you off guard. "Thank you."

He sounds so different. His voice is resonate, deep and unexpected- almost as unexpected as his comment. 

Gently, you let your fingers press the keys of the piano. "I don't know why you're thanking me, this was my request after all."

The music fills the conversation. You secretly chose this song in an attempt to calm the trouble that was evident on Kylo's tired face, hoping to ease his burden in the best way you knew how.  

"(Y/N)," This was only the second time you had heard him call you by your first name and the way it sounded, without his helmet, was so different. Just like last time, you feel something deep within you stir at the way your name falls out of his mouth. You kept playing, but Kylo kept talking to you, "Why do you treat me the way you do?"

His question throws you off guard, and you stop the music for a moment. Why do I treat him the way I do? I should be terrified of someone like him- and sometimes I am. I'm terrified to start a casual conversation with this man, but after time I feel so... connected to him. He's the second most powerful man in the entire galaxy, and I just called him my friend- I got him to reveal his face to me. What am I even doing? 

"I... I don't know, Commander. Honestly, I could ask you the same question and I doubt that your answer would be any different than mine- I just- I don't know. There's something about-"

"Me?"

"Yes. I can't put my finger on it, but there's something," You and Kylo lock eyes, his are dark and yours are curious. The two of you stay staring at each other, and you feel as though he's studying you and you know that you're doing the same. His face is remarkable. 

"Please, continue the music." 

You give a small smile and pick up where you had left off. It was odd. This whole situation was baffling. Although you could see his face, you couldn't pick up on any emotions he may have been feeling. Kylo seemed to be made of stone. Even his voice was just as emotionless as it was when he had his helmet on. You thought you might be able to see how he felt, but he just looked so... conflicted. 

You were so focused on the music, that you wouldn't have noticed how Kylo was watching you. He felt so exposed without his helmet. There were only a handful of people who had seen his face, and now he can add you to the list.

You. He felt like he could say that he knew you, like he could also call you a friend. He loved to watch you make such beautiful music. The way you held yourself as you played, how you commanded the keys, how you're eyebrows furrowed as you built the music louder and louder... it was all so foreign to him. He had never enjoyed music before now, and he couldn't explain what changed his mind.

As the you closed the end of the song, you turned to look at Kylo yet again. He looks exhausted, or at least as exhausted as someone can appear through the blue light of a hologram. "You should get some sleep."

He shakes his head ever so slightly, "I actually just woke up."

"What? You call me in the morning?" You could have sworn that Kylo called you at night because of how much time he was willing to waste with you. 

"Not exactly, its... complicated."

"Oh... okay," You drop the topic and try to suppress a yawn. "Well, I guess I might have to go to sleep. It's pretty late for me," You pause and look out the window at the opposite side of the room. "Commander, I know how to answer calls from you, but how do I make a call to you?"

You could have sworn that his lips curled into a smile, but it was only for a fleeting moment.