Bonded | Kylo Ren x Reader |

~Water's Edge~

"I love you."

You stop dead in your tracks, tears already wet on your face. Slowly, you turn to face him. Were you imagining things? Had he really said it? This couldn't be real. You suck in your breath. "What did you just say?"

He shifts, swallowing the lump in his throat. "I love you. Stars, I'm sorry that I couldn't-"

Kylo is cut off by your arms wrapping around his neck and your lips crashing against his. His arms snake tightly around your waist, feeling you tremble in his grasp. He shudders and pulls away from the kiss, pressing his forehead against yours.

You sob. "You're so stupid, Kylo Ren."

You watch with a swelling heart as a genuine smile cracks across Kylo's face, revealing his deep dimples around the corners of his lips. With a weak laugh, you reach out to trail your thumbs over them. He pulls away and grips your hands tightly, looking you up and down to take a good, long look at you. Kylo bites his lip. "About Syala..."

"Forget Syala. I don't want to talk about her. Next time we go to a planet, you better tell me if you slept with the leader or not." You joke lightly to mask the pain in your voice. "And promise me you'll take into account what I said. About all of this."

Kylo chuckles. "I promise."

You could only hope he would keep it.

After Kylo's confession, the two of you had to sit down and have a long talk. It was uncharacteristic of him to be so open, but you knew that he figured it would be for the best. He was in no position to turn down anything that would help the relationship. You found out a lot of things during that conversation. More specifically, what Kylo had been up to for the past seven months. It had surprised and frightened you at first, but you could tell that he didn't intend to scare you. That was the last thing he wanted to do.

Many apologies were blubbered through curtains of tears and in the end, you managed to agree on a few things. There was something, however, that you weren't quite ready to share with Kylo yet. He was clearly expecting you to come back with him. Back to the First Order. You weren't sure if you could endure that yet. The Order was the main reason for your escape to Naboo. Being Kylo's apprentice gave you respect and you had to admit that it felt good, but that didn't mean there weren't any downsides. There is a lot of pressure put on you. You had high expectations and big shoes to fill. At this point, you would say anything to steer the conversation away from the Order.

Your name falls from Kylo's lips, snapping you out of your gaze. You look up at him and he sheepishly reaches into his robes, pulling out a glimmering silver necklace. He pushes the necklace across the table towards you. You gingerly pick it up, a small smile tugging at your lips as you trail your thumb across the shining pendant. It clatters softly as you set it gently back down on the table, redirecting your focus onto the black and silver mask sitting across from you.

Kylo follows your gaze and swallows. "I know you're not very fond of it."

"You could say that," you lean forward, tracing the red cracks with your fingers. "Why did you have them mend it?"

He bites his lip and shrugs. That was the only answer you were going to get. Just because he had finally said those three words didn't mean he was going to open up to you about everything. At least, not just yet. The process was going to be slow, that much you could figure, but that wasn't going to stop you from trying.