Allegiance | Kylo Ren

LXXXII

I woke the next morning with Ben's arms tightly around me. I was curled into his chest, our foreheads touching and his dark curls tickling my skin. I smiled softly at the sight of his serenely sleeping face, my heart swelling with overwhelming affection. I let my eyes wander over his expressionless features, admiring each and every detail.

After a moment, I pressed a soft kiss to his lips. His dark eyelashes fluttered softly, his eyes opening slightly to reveal his deep brown irises. He almost seemed surprised to see me next to him, but any surprise quickly dissolved into a sleepy smile and a returned kiss.

I shifted myself downward so that I could lay my head against his chest, the even rhythm of his heartbeat filling my ears. His fingers came up to stroke my hair softly, and I smiled into his skin.

"We should probably get up." I whispered.

He let out a soft grunt of protest, his arm wrapping around my body and pulling me tighter to his. I giggled quietly. When he at last released his grip, I sat up, rubbing my eyes with the heels of my palms.

I slid out of bed and padded into the bathroom, making a face as I took in my reflection in the mirror. My long pale hair was tangled and generally unkempt, and I still had the ghost of a pillow crease on my cheek. I ran my fingers through my hair in an unsuccessful attempt to untangle it, grimacing as my fingers caught in the ends.

With a frustrated huff, I left the bathroom and began to rifle through my bedside dresser, searching for something very specific. When at last I found the small black box, I smiled to myself and opened it, picking up my lightsaber with a gentle hand. I set the box aside and stood up, feeling Ben's eyes on me but not meeting his gaze. In a single movement I gathered my hair to one side and lit my lightsaber, cutting through the long strands in a swift stroke.

"Calia, what—" Ben's question was cut off by my hasty cut, and he watched me with wide eyes.

I sheathed my lightsaber and returned it to its case, tucking it back inside the drawer and ruffling my new short hair with one hand. The ends now fell around my shoulders, choppy but not altogether uneven.

"That worked better than I thought." I mused aloud as I examined the results in the bathroom mirror.

"I don't recommend doing that every time you need a haircut." Ben commented dryly.

I laughed to myself softly, feeling better with less hair to worry about. He appeared behind me in the mirror, taking a lock of hair between two fingers and tugging on it lightly.

"It looks good." He pressed a swift kiss to my cheek, and I felt myself blush. "You look beautiful."

I turned to face him, my back leaning against the sink. I ran my fingers through his dark curls, admiring the way they fell gently around his face. He leaned his forehead against mine briefly, taking my hands in his.

"Thank you." I whispered.

A gleam of triumph flashed through his eyes as I finally accepted a compliment without challenging it. He kissed me tenderly, wrapping his arms around my waist.

When we pulled apart, I placed a hand on his chest. "We should probably head out, breakfast will be served soon."

He nodded silently, taking a step back to allow me to slip past him back into the bedroom. I dug through the pile of clothes Rey had loaned me, settling for tan pants and a dark green top. It was still strange to be wearing clothes with color, but I would be lying if I said I didn't like the change.

Ben wore dark brown pants and a loose-fitting white shirt, and he looked like an entirely different person. The black cloak made more of a difference than I realized, and its absence humanized him. His dark gaze met mine as I looked him over and I glanced away, blushing at having been caught.

When we were fully dressed, we made our way to the main hall to get something to eat. I laced my fingers through his as we reached the door, and he flashed me a grateful glance, clearly nervous at the prospect of being surrounded by so many unfriendly people. Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open.

A hush fell over the formerly buzzing room as we entered, and rows and rows of eyes turned to stare at us. I scanned the room for any sign of Poe, but I was unable to pick him out of the crowd. So I lowered my gaze and tightened my grip on Ben's hand, pulling him to the breakfast table. We kept our heads down as we filled our plates and retreated to a small table in the back corner of the room. Conversation had started to return to the room, but I could still feel what seemed like hundreds of pairs of eyes on Ben and me.

"They're staring because of me. I'm sorry." Ben's voice was hoarse as we settled down to eat.

"Don't apologize." I met his eyes evenly. "It won't always be like this."

He tried to smile but failed. I picked at my food, not entirely hungry, and I noticed that Ben barely touched his. We sat in silence, burning under the many lingering stares.

Approaching footsteps caused me to glance up, preparing myself for the worst. But it was Poe. He flashed me a crooked grin as he neared the table, hovering close by.

"The hair looks good." He gave me a quick thumbs-up, and I smiled softly, my fingers absentmindedly toying with the new clean ends of my blonde locks.

"Did you need something?" Ben's voice was sharp, and I flashed him a surprised look.

Poe's eyes travelled over him briefly. "Yes, actually. I was sent to tell you that General Organa has requested your presence as soon as you have finished eating. Both of you."

My eyebrows rose as I realized that I would be included. "Okay."

He gave us a quick nod, throwing a small smile in my direction before turning and leaving us alone again.

I glanced at Ben. "You should be nicer to him. Poe's going to be one of the easiest people to befriend here."

Ben stared at his untouched plate of food. "I didn't like the way he was looking at you."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "Poe's a good friend of mine." He didn't respond, and I sighed, reaching across the table to take his hand in mine. "You don't have to worry about him."

His dark eyes met mine, a glimmer shining through them. I rose to my feet wordlessly, maintaining my grip on his hand.

"Come on, let's go find out what Leia wants."