Little Bird (Kylo Ren x Reader AU)

Salvaging Your Souls

Since before the foundation of Gilead, and especially since, you'd hated the morning time--hated being shook from your dreams, hated the cold expanse of your empty mattress, hated opening your eyes with the knowledge that there was no one who cared if they were open at all. Each morning, you thought to yourself--you could've died in bed, a corpse to the sunrise, your existence just as meaningful as it had been before you'd taken your last breath.

But for the first time in years, when you opened your eyes, there was someone looking into them. The mattress was warm and safe. And you were not alone.

Kylo Ren's face was soft and vacant, scattered with slots of yellow daylight, watching as you pulled yourself into the realm of the living. You'd never seen him like this, almost serene, studying you with honest curiosity, hazel irises shimmering like mossy ponds. You could see the new skin of his scar, count the little dark moles on his skin--two above his left eye, one at the right side of his lips, another near his long, lovely nose--and the smattering of tiny freckles over his cheekbones.

It was only then you realized you were strewn across him, curled around his torso with his arm around your waist, your legs tangled in his, staring up at him from the pillows of his massive chest. Heat whispered over you--both of you were still naked, in bed, locked in the addictive sensation of the other's embrace. You snuggled closer to him, the intimacy inspiring a distant pulse between your thighs.

He drew in a breath through his nose and exhaled. For a minute, neither of you said a word.

In the silence, thoughts battered you--he was your Commander, this was impossible, you had to turn him into the Resistance, and what about Johana--but you stuffed them away. You could allow yourself this before it was stolen from you, allow yourself the memory of your name on his lips, his words of praise in your ear.

Unless, of course, he'd been serious about you sleeping in his bed. But still--

"You got what you wanted." It was a question, not a statement.

You nodded, kissing the hollow of his sternum, reveling in how firm and warm it was against your lips. "I still want more," you said, skating your hand across his smooth skin. "It's a start."

Kylo considered you again--more severe, this time, piecing something together in his mind. You froze under his scrutiny.

"What?" you asked with a half-laugh. "What is it?"

"Hux is having an affair with his Handmaid."

Your face burned. "I... what?"

"You said you won't take whatever is given to you. She does." He looked to the wall, pausing, then back to you. "She told Hux about you. He used his relationship with her to get that information."

"But..." Your mouth was dry. You hadn't meant to expose her. "I mean... what does that matter?" One of your fingers traced a line under his clavicle, and you bit your lip in an attempt to seem playful. "You're sleeping with yours, too..."

He frowned, shoving two of his own fingers into your mouth, crooking them onto your tongue--you gagged. "She tried to have you killed," he said. "Neither she nor Hux care anything for your life--it's only because of me that you still live. Your indiscretion stops now." He wiggled your jaw back and forth. "Do you understand?"

Another pulse between your thighs. You nodded.

"Good."

Kylo's hand fell to your neck, and he pulled you into a tender kiss, sparking heat on your skin. He held you there, nipping your lower lip before releasing you with a pat of your cheek. From the corner of your eye, something shifted, and you glanced down only to see a tent in the sheets, owed to his eager erection. You swallowed, throbbing to your toes--you'd forgotten morning wood was a thing. But you hoped it had something to do with how he felt about you, too.