Chapter Text

“Poe, Finn, Rose, you are dismissed.” Leia intoned, already gathering herself for the next debriefing. “Send Rey and Ben in.”

With crisp salutes, the trio departed the meeting room, passing a waiting Rey and Kylo on the way out the double doors. Finn leveled a venomous glare at the taller man, but Kylo didn’t react. Rose surmised that Finn would take being ignored as a slight, and the deepening frown and furrowing brows all but confirmed it. However she knew that Kylo and Rey were entirely engaged in another unheard conversation, the looks on their faces now obviously recognizable to her. Probably about General Organa. Word around the base was that mother and son hadn’t quite reconciled.

“I can’t believe the General is having us go on a mission with him !” Finn hissed as soon as they were out of an earshot. “We can’t trust him, he’d cut us down the second our backs are turned.” Rose winced, seeing in her mind’s eye the long scar that marred Finn’s back, trailing along his spine.

“No he won’t.” Poe sighed. Though Commander Poe’s tactical acumen had only increased under Leia’s tutelage, even she, a lowly mechanic, could see how wrong Finn was. Poe continued, “If he wanted to kill us he would have done it already, not right before we take out the last of the First Order.”

“Well maybe he wanted both sides to go down, take out all the armies of the galaxy.” She sensed Finn was desperately grasping at straws, scrambling for any reason to keep Kylo off the battlefield. At least off his side of it.

Rose spoke up now, patient and cautious in the face of Finn’s frustration. “No, he doesn’t want that either. He knows how much that would hurt Rey.”

“What does he care what Rey thinks?” Finn snapped at her.

A look of hurt crossed over her face as she looked at Finn, his sharp tone cutting her deep. Who was this snarling man snapping at his friends? And how dare he speak to her like she was on Kylo Ren’s side! Her eyes narrowed in a steely glare. “Rey is the only thing he cares about. We’d all be dead by now if she was gone.” she spat. With that Rose trudged to the hangar, leaving the two men in her wake. She could hear a scuff of boots on gravel and Poe’s heavy “Let her be.” muttered as she picked up the pace.

Rey joined her twenty standard minutes later, wordlessly levitating over a plasma cutter before Rose could even think to ask for it. While thankful for the intuitive assistance, sometimes she wondered if Rey could hear her thoughts too. Her next words only added to the theory.

“Rose, you alright?”

“Fine.” she too quickly responded in a clipped tone.

“Are you upset that Ben is joining us on the mission?” she hesitantly ventured after a beat.

Rose didn’t respond until the plasma cutter and hacked through a durasteel panel, exposing the cabling that resembled entrails underneath. She sighed, lowering the tool. “No, it makes sense. I’ve seen you two sparring, we need both of you on the battlefield with us.” Rey didn’t look convinced. “Finn is though.” Rose added. Understanding and sympathy overtook Rey’s concerned expression.

“He didn’t even raise the issue of me tagging along.” Rose muttered angrily as she pulled on a bundle of wires. She didn’t often take to the field, she was a mechanic, not a fighter. But Rey was busy playing Jedi this time and Rose was the only one with enough technical know-how to get the delicate job done. Normally Finn pitched a fit whenever she might be exposed to danger, citing her last tenure recovering in the med bay. But this time the former ‘trooper remained all too silent regarding her participation. Apparently there were more important matters on his mind.

“Some days I think he hates Kylo Ren more than he-” Rose took a shuddering breath, “More than he loves me.” Frowning, she glanced up at Rey, her hazel eyes wide and sympathetic.

Silence overtook them, not wanting to push the conversation further. Not wanting to exacerbate the pain.

There was only the truth, even when it hurt.

I understand though, echoed Rose’s unsaid thoughts, because I hate him too.

--

Kylo was standing next to Rose, and she was trying very hard not to hyperventilate. The darksider’s proximity still lit her nerves raw and made her want to run for her life, to be anywhere but right kriffing next to him . She wished Finn were here, even if he was being a jerkface as of late. His warm, comforting presence would still be welcome against the cold tide of Kylo Ren.

But they were both waiting for Rey to return from another test flight of the Upsilon shuttle. She’d been putting it through its paces all week, familiarizing herself with the ship’s handling and honing her skill. Rey was going to be both the commander and pilot of the mission and she wanted to be prepared. Kylo looked...strained Rose decided. Standing beside her, his body held even more stiffly than usual. She wondered why he wasn’t on the ship with her, but was too scared to ask. Maybe to save his own skin in case she ends up cratering the thing.

As if to prove Rose right, the shuttle dove out of a series of tight corkscrews, plummeting down towards a series of jagged mountain outcroppings. Only at the last possible second did Rey pull out of the dive, the ship skimming past the rock face by what appeared to be less than a meter.

“She’s sky-touched.” Rose gasped at the display. Only Poe Dameron could match that insanity. “Leia’s letting her pilot that thing?” She didn’t expect Kylo to answer, but surprisingly he responded. Had they ever spoken before now?

“No one ‘lets’ Rey do anything.” Kylo grated out, like he was unused to speaking aloud to mere mortals, or mechanics in Rose’s case. “...she’s the better pilot.” he finally explained.

Her head snapped towards him after he made the admission. Did Kylo Ren just confirm a failing of skill? From her periphery Rose caught the shuttle smoothly transitioning from a series of Aileron rolls before gliding upside down and somersaulting into another flip. Kylo’s jaw tensed and his hands balled into fists hard enough to almost make the leather of his gloves squeak. She wondered if he wanted to reach out with the Force and put an end to Rey’s hair-raising acrobatics with his own power.

After far too long Rey glided the shuttle back to the ground, alighting the landing pad as gently as a feather. The girl had some skill, that was for sure. Skill, and a death wish.

Kylo was the first to move, surprisingly. Rose had just been ready to flee towards the shuttle and the safe proximity of her friend when he stepped forwards to the descending ramp before it even touched the ground. He looked Rey over, as if wanting to verify with his own eyes that she was still in one piece, a large, gloved hand reaching up to brush her cheek.

“I’m fine.” she said with a roll of her eyes, exasperated. “Isn’t your mother waiting on you?”

He grunted in response, his hands shifting to hold her lightly by the upper arms, reluctant to let her go after she was ground bound once more.

“Go.” she ordered, though lightly, “I won’t have her mad at me because I made you tardy. Trust me, she has some good news.”

He raised an eyebrow in response. His gaze became searching, darting between her hazel eyes and trying to find more information, an answer to an unsaid query, but he let out a frustrated huff and seemingly found nothing. Rose realized she was shutting him out, hiding something. Kylo confirmed it by speaking out loud for once.

“I’ll see you in the morning.” a hint of a question in his phrasing.

“Of course. Just bring some caf with you.” she teased, going up on her tiptoes and pressing a quick kiss to his lips. It was gentle and easy, a familiar gesture that left a pang of envy in her gut. Rose turned away, not wanting to stare too hard at the couple, feeling like she was viewing a world she wasn’t meant to see. Finally they parted, Kylo heading off to the General’s office and Rey quickly falling in step with Rose as the two women journeyed towards their shared dorm.

“What was that all about?” she asked. It was rare for Rey to keep secrets from the man who practically lived in her head.

“Leia is giving him back his lightsaber for the mission.” she answered, a small smile on her lips. Rose felt a look of horror and awe overcome her at the thought of fully arming Kylo Ren, and Rey seemed to catch the thread of her thoughts. “Don’t worry, she’s taking it back once we’re back on base.” she quickly added.

“I’m not worried. I’m pretty sure the last thing he wants is you disappointed because he misused his laser sword.” she quipped as she pulled open the rusty door. “Just threaten to go on another test-flight if he misbehaves, I swear you almost gave him a heart attack flying his ship.”

--

Rey and Rose agreed to one last drinking session before what had been dubbed the “Final Mission”. The last attack on the First Order was scheduled to take place in two days, and the girls agreed tonight would be the best to indulge for both parties. Mainly for Rose because nursing a hangover the day before diving into battle seemed like a bad call, and for Rey because she had...more important rooms to occupy and more desirable company to keep the night before. Rose shook her head to clear it of that particular image, and dug underneath her bed to procure a bottle of her own.

“Wine?” Rey asked cautiously.

“Yup!” Rose answered cheerfully. Rey inspected the label after Rose had finished pouring the emerald liquid into two glasses. The Jedi’s eyes unfocused for a second, listening to whatever Kylo was whispering into her mind.

“He said this is considered a good vintage, but it's too sweet.” she commented before taking a tentative sip and smacking her lips. “I disagree.” she declared, shaking her head with a smile.

“Of course his Worshipness is a wine snob. Tell Prince Ben he’s not invited, girls’ night only.” Rose said to Rey. Kylo. Whoever. And now I’m in on the weirdness too.

Rey giggled, “He’s made a ‘tactical retreat’.” she said, taking another sip. “That man is horrifically anti-social.”

Rose snorted at the thought of scaring off Kylo Ren. “Not with you. I can see him talking your ear off all the time.”

Rey gave a soft smile. “No, not with me.”

After a moment of comfortable silence Rose felt a question regarding Rey’s beau rise to the tip of her tongue, though she fought back against the urge to ask it. She was the only person Rey could talk to about Kylo. All of their friends still let their contempt of the man override everything and Leia...well, you just didn’t go blabbing about your guy to his mother. While she was tired of talking constantly about him she really didn’t want to talk about Finn tonight. She really didn’t want to broach this conversation at all, especially so early into the evening and without the shield of inebriation. But she knew she had to give Rey the rare outlet of a non-judgmental voice. Someone other than Finn or Poe, who were constantly on edge, constantly pestering her to lose the murderous snake. Someone other than the voice constantly in her head. Just a friend, willing to listen.

“What happens to him after?” Rose asked after minutes of deliberation. The “after” being obvious. After the mission, the First Order, the war. After when a weapon like Kylo Ren and Jedi Rey were no longer needed and his crimes could be examined fully in a time of peace.

Rey’s expression became expectedly hard. “A war tribunal. Leia has already started outlining his trial.”

Rose’s eyebrows shot up. “She’s leading the council against him?”

Rey shook her head. “No, she will have to rescind herself, all considering.” Considering Kylo ran her husband through with a lightsaber. “But she will be petitioning for leniency.”

“Oh.” Rose said, with only mild surprise. Murderous tendencies aside, he was still her son, she supposed.

“I’m going to testify as well.”

Rose raised an eyebrow, “Isn’t that a little...biased?”

“Yes, but I’m a war hero and Jedi Princess so-” she stuck out her tongue. The girls laughed, and Rose got a mischievous glint in her eyes. She waited until Rey had taken another sip of wine.

“So you agreed to marry him then?”

Rey sputtered wine all over the dorm floor, and Rose cackled uproariously.

--

The atmosphere in the shuttle was a heavy pressing weighted against Rose’s chest as the blue and green planet loomed into view. They were descending upon Athulla, the last sanctuary for the First Order fleet. The ships were in low orbit, under the protective veil of a First Order Shield Gate. Unlike the old Empire versions, the First Order had decided on ground based power generators, the Gate merely acting as a focal lens to cast an energy shield over the remaining First Order ships.

Rey was skillfully flying the Upsilon class ship and Kylo was situated in the co-pilot's chair, slicing a clearance code to the base of the First Order before they slipped by unchallenged through the Gate. He looked every bit the Supreme Leader, decked out once more in black garb head to toe, and his reunited lightsaber hilt strapped to his belt. There were subtle tells that the man was on edge, the way his shoulders bunched up and his usual scowl was making a comeback that hinted at his consternation. Not that Rey was flying his ship while he was deigned an inactive subordinate, but likely that she would once again be in danger. At least he was there to protect her this time, Rose figured.

Finn kept stealing furtive glances over at the co-pilot's chair, his fingers drumming against his holstered blaster. Rose was still mad at him, and his current contentious attitude wasn’t helping. She had enough to be anxious enough given their mission without worrying that Finn was going to start a fight with allies.

Trying to distract herself she instead focused on her immediate contribution to the mission’s success. Rose’s assignment was to overload the shield generators. There were six stations in all, and she was to rewire a feedback loop that would sabotage them simultaneously. It had to be timed just so , or else the shield protecting the enemy's ships may only be incapacitated rather than fully shut down. Finn had been assigned the “easy” job of knocking out the communications array. It didn’t exactly require finesse, just some explosive charges. Kylo and Rey were to fend off the ground troops. By themselves.

On top of her own fears, she also had concerns for her friends’ safety, and perhaps Kylo’s too. But just for Rey’s sake. Sure, the Force-sensitive power couple were probably the most deadly warriors in a generation or three, but it was still them verses the might of a First Order battalion.

Dark thoughts circulated as she considered the Resistance's situation. We’d have more fighters if he didn’t kill off the bulk of us. Now everyone we can spare is attacking the fleet instead of helping fight planet-side. Poe was leading the Resistance’s fleet charge, staged with every X-Wing on the far side of the moon, waiting to strike once the shield generators blew.

Rey leveled out the shuttle from their gentle dive, coming in for a soft landing on the elevated pad that housed the other ships of the First Order. If Finn was able, his secondary mission was to destroy them as well.

Kylo looked over at Rey, a longing gaze staring at her freckled face and into hazel eyes, as if he wished to memorize her every feature. Words passed between them, whispers that Rose could only imagine. Her heart clenched wondering if she’d get to hear someone murmur heartfelt proclamations to her one day. The corner of Rey’s mouth quirked up into a small smile, and she grabbed Kylo’s hand, lacing their fingers and squeezing gently. “I know.” she said low enough that only Rose could hear.

With that Rey stood, taking up the mantle of Commander, her short words carrying the weight of a Jedi. There was no doubt who was in charge for this last mission. “Alright, this is it. If we succeed today, the First Order falls. If we fail, the Resistance fleet will be destroyed. I know we will succeed. Everyone got their comms and chronometers?” she said to the group, met with a round of steely nods. “Ok, good, we meet back here in 45 standard minutes, and we get to see just how fast this ship can fly.”

With that almost vague threat, they disembarked, Rey and Kylo leading point.

They’d have company soon enough.

--

Rose was on her third generator. They were running behind, 23 minutes already having passed. Finn still hadn't disabled the Comm array and Rose was being bogged down by blaster fire while attempting to sprint between generators.

While the lightsaber wielding duo was holding their own, there was still just two of them, and seemingly endless waves of Stormtroopers rising up to kill them. Rose was in her dark stolen First Order Officer uniform, making her below the immediate notice of most of the enemy troops (lightsabers were also more distracting, she was sure of that), but there were still too many blaster bolts for her taste. One grazing shot already tore through the flesh of her upper arm, a burning line on her bicep she was able to ignore with the rush of what could only be adrenaline.

Rose got to the last cable, tapping her foot to keep time with the electromagnetic pulses that coursed through the generator, waiting until just...the right...second. There! She jammed the connector into place, the thrumming of the generator already slowly increasing in pitch as the mechanical pulse shuddered and began to run at an ever increasing frequency. The beam of orange light that spewed up from the generator through the atmosphere to the Shield Gate above turning slowly a shade more yellow. She hastily closed the control panel and ducked her head out, taking note of the fray.

The generators were spaced out in a starburst shaped grid of blast-resistant transparisteel, cables as thick as her arm running like spokes from the hub of a central axis. From that point the cabling ran towards a series of low buildings that housed the Comm array and enemy barracks. Kylo and Rey had migrated away from the structures and were now trudging to the landing pad, having dispatched with all the of building’s defending occupants. Death lay in their wake. Rose tried not to stare, but she couldn’t help it, her eyes involuntarily drawn to the clump of corpses gilded in white plastisteel armor streaked in blood. Would Finn be among them if he didn’t defect? The thought twisted her stomach, and she shut her eyes, trying to purge the image from her brain.

“Rose, now!” Rey shouted, the Jedi’s eyes focused on another transport shuttle that was pulling up to the landing pad, flush with fresh troops. Rose decided it was better to get ahead of the imminent incoming fire and darted to the fourth shield generator, her boots sounding ringing thuds on the transparisteel floor. She closed the distance just as she heard the whining hydraulics of the ship’s blast doors lifting. Her back slammed against the control panel, making sure the generator was between her and the Stormtroopers.

What she did next was completely idiotic and she should have been focusing on her own task, but Rose couldn’t help but peer out at the two Force-users. They had dashed forwards to meet the oncoming wave of Stormtroopers, their weapons ill-suited to ranged fighting. What she saw stole the breath from her lungs.

The dance of death had begun anew.

They reflected oncoming blaster bolts with their lightsabers as they dove into the fray, headlong into a sea of bodies. Surrounded by the white armored troops and back-to-back their glowing blades sang as they swept through the air, carving lines of light and rending their enemies asunder; hers two lines of a serenely humming silvery-blue like a resolved chord, and his the cracking crimson, spitting fury complete with flaring crossguards. There were two bodies but one mind. Every strike and lash was perfectly timed, no opening left as they fought as one, shoring up gaps left in the other’s wake. Kylo would extend his free arm to catch blaster bolts with the Force while Rey would spin her saberstaff and lean back, her flowing momentum swinging around his body to burn through any enemy foolish enough to approach the darksider. He would strike in a long high sweep of his searing blade and the ‘trooper clever enough to duck was caught by Rey’s low thrust. The felled trooper’s comrade tried to retreat, putting distance between himself and the whirling blades to raise a blaster. Rey and Kylo linked arms without any hesitation, swinging Rey around so that she could extend her saberstaff into the Stormtrooper’s chest plate. It was beautiful and terrifying to behold, this graceful display of imminent death.

Rose couldn’t tear her eyes away. As much as she hated seeing all the destruction she just couldn’t look away. Someone needs to see this. Someone need to witness how they fight together.

Finally the last Stormtrooper fell, another tangle of bodies to rot under the sun.

“Rey!” Rose called after checking the chronometer, realizing they were running short on time. The two faced her, and she pointed to the last two generators. “I need your help!”

Rey nodded and darted off the the next generator in line, and Kylo Ren ran off to...somewhere. Rose would have panicked but she soon heard her comm crackle and project Rey’s voice.

“Finn, Ben is en route to assist you.”

Kriff.

“Please don’t shoot him.”

--

Thankfully, Finn had followed orders and not wasted precious time shooting Kylo, the two now running full tilt to the shuttle. Rey didn’t even wait until the were fully on board to slam a fist on the dash to raise the ramp and shut the blast door. The Upsilon's wings were extended and engines were already a pulsing thrum, only waiting on the last two passengers before she shot off into the air.

“Hold on.” Rey warned, and Rose buckled into her seat, her palm pressing hard against the blaster wound on her arm in an effort to stanch the blood flow. Pursuing TIE fighters descended on them almost immediately, laser cannon fire ripping through the airspace around the shuttle. She was wholly unprepared for experiencing Rey’s aerial acrobatics first hand, and judging by Kylo’s expression, he was too. The ship went into a sudden dip and roll that took all of Rose’s concentration not to puke right then and there. Unlike her, he soon recovered and joined Finn to the gunner’s positions, taking up the cannons against the TIEs.

Rose wouldn’t remember most of the dog fight that followed, only that that they had eventually rocketed up into the black, and Finn let out a whoop when the last TIE disintegrated, the shards of durasteel plummeting back to the planet’s surface with the rest of the corpses.

--

Sixteen standard minutes later, the shield generator’s frequencies synced into an ear-splitting, high pitched whine. The beams of orange hand morphed to columns of yellow, then eye-searing bright white. The energies coalesced, a positive feedback loop that sent all six into critical mass.

The Shield Gate shattered.

--

The simultaneous explosions of the shield generators may as well have been celebratory fireworks. Resistance comms lit up as collective cheers and battle cries sounded, the fleet of X-Wings charging the exposed First Order fleet. Even though the Resistance was outnumbered, they were armed with weaknesses and vulnerabilities, and fully exploited each and every one. The battle was destined to be short lived.

Rose glanced over as the pilot and copilot seats, Kylo and Rey staring out at the destruction from the viewport. Simultaneously they raised an arm towards each other, their fingers twining together even as their eyes never left the battle. They had mirrored morose expressions, and Rose remembered what Rey had said the first time she explained the Force.

It is the energy that connects all things, this web of light.

When someone dies, I can feel it, like a string being severed.

There were countless strings cut today.

“Rose.” Finn sounded, bringing her back to the present. “You’re hurt.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Thanks for noticing.” she spat. Tiredness only took the slightest edge off her words, the adrenaline finally wearing off and pain and weariness closing back in.

Finn closed his eyes, sighing before they opened again, dark and soft. “I’m sorry.” he offered plaintively. “I know I haven’t been-”

“You’ve been a kriffing jerk-ass.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. I’ve been so focused on Kylo-”

“Did you already forget what I said, Finn?” Rose interrupted again, her tone pleading and desperate now. “‘We're gonna win, not fighting what we hate, but saving what we love.’”

Finn at least looked contrite. “I know. But why do you think I’ve been so on edge? I’ve been worried about the safety of the Resistance. Worried for Rey. Worried for you .” he stressed.

Rose was unyielding. “Why do you think he’s even here?” Rose admonished. Finn looked lost.

Rose pointedly looked over at the couple, their expressions still solemn and their fingers still laced together.

Recognition slowly overtook Finn’s features, an understanding of what exactly he was looking at.

“He’s fighting for the one thing he loves.” she said softly. “That’s why he fought at your side knowing how you two feel about each other. He’s doing all this for her.”

“I guess I should follow his lead, huh?” Finn said, glancing down at her.

“I’d appreciate it.”

Rose finally got her kiss.

--

The music was loud near the front on the hangar, and Rose reveled in it. She was well into her cups by now, and had dragged Finn on to the dancefloor. Rose couldn’t hold a candle to Poe Dameron when it came to dancing skill, no one could match the flyboy, but she could still manage decently enough. Finn was a lost cause though, two left feet and always a half-beat behind or ahead on his rhythm. But the couple hardly cared. The Resistance had won, the First Order was in its death throes, and most importantly, they were alive to experience the music together.

Still, she could feel the beginnings of a headache and excused herself to a quiet, dark back corner of the hangar after Finn had kindly fetched her water. It was entirely unsurprising who she met there, slouched into a chair still too small for his large frame.

Kylo also appeared to have indulged, a familiar amber liquid in his glass, and it didn’t look like the first he’d imbibed upon. His expression was almost, but not fully, restrained, only a slight downturn of the corners of his mouth. The mask of Ren was gone, but Kylo always seemed to be attempting (and failing) to wear one of cold indifference in its stead. Rose thought he looked like he was attending a funeral rather than a victory celebration. Idly he sat, vaguely staring in the direction of the crowd.

After an untold amount of time, the specter spoke.

“I know you are afraid of me.” he intoned his eyes still staring ahead.

“Sorry.” she immediately apologized, a defense mechanism.

“No, you are not.” the familiar hint of superiority and impatience creeping into his low voice.

“No, I’m not.” she confirmed. “But I do know you wouldn’t hurt me.”

Kylo scoffed. “I am the most dangerous man in the galaxy, how could you possibly know that?”

“Because it would hurt her.” Rose quietly answered, her gaze looking out towards Rey.

She was dressed in her beige tunic and her hairstyle up in an elaborate series of braids, likely by Leia’s hand. She danced with Jessika, a wild twirl of limbs, desperate and near feral but so very alive. There wasn’t anything spectacular about the Jedi’s appearance, but she was stunning to look upon nonetheless. Looking back at Kylo he had a longing gaze, like he was seeing the light of all that was good before them. Like she was the most precious thing in the galaxy.

“You love her.”

A small nod from him confirmed Rose’s statement.

“You don’t deserve her.”

Kylo’s gaze slid up to Rose’s face, and for once she unflinchingly met it. Because it was the raw, bleeding truth.

“No, I don’t.”

For a time, she stood and he sat, watching the Resistance celebrating their finest hour, their respective drinks dwindling in the relative quiet.

“You going to give Rey a headache with that?” Rose asked while pointing to his emptying cup, and Kylo gave her an appraising look. “I was there the night you complained to her, remember? I was there for a lot of it. I know more about the Bond you two have than anyone else, who isn’t Force-sensitive at least. You pick up on quite a bit just by being around.”

Kylo seemed to accept her explanation on what he clearly considered secret knowledge. “I closed it. I didn’t want to bring down her mood.”

“Mourning the First Order?” Rose replied curtly, an icy undertone creeping in.

“Mourning the senseless loss of life.” He raised his glass to his lips, as if to hide his words there. Rose couldn’t recall hearing so many spoken from him in all the time he’d been on base. “Of Stormtoopers like FN-2187’s comrades. Of Resistance pilots. Of the Hosnians. Of the Starkiller crew.”

Of my sister, echoed the unspoken words as she touched her pendant. Of your father .

A silence once again descended on the dark corner of the hangar. Moments to grieve for those who would never be seen again. Unbidden and unwanted the knot of Stormtrooper bodies in red-stained armor sprung into her mind, a haunting image she couldn’t unsee. Finally Kylo spoke, the sudden noise nearly making Rose jump out of her skin.

“Thank you.”

His words were equally stunning and unexpected. “For what?” she asked, incredulous.

“For never telling her how much you hate me.”

There was no point in denying it. How many more corpses had he littered across landscapes on an untold number of planets? Her mouth was a hard line before she finally responded. “I never wanted to hurt her either. You understand, doing something that goes against everything inside you, for the people you care about.” He nodded. “I don’t know if I could ever stop hating you. Maybe one day, if you keep trying to be someone who deserves her love.”

He again scoffed at that, refilling his cup. “She doesn’t love me.”

“Oh yes she does.” Rose’s eyes narrowed as she fixed him a glare. “What she puts up with to be at your side, it could only be love. She might care about everyone, but not enough to explain how she looks at you.”

He was contemplative and silent again for a while, long enough to startle Rose when he spoke up again.

“I’ll try.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“To be the man she deserves.”

“Good.” Rose said with a nod, and waited until Kylo attempted to down more of his drink. “I better be invited to the wedding.”

Kylo Ren sputtered all over the floor in a coughing fit.

Rose could feel his glare at her back as she walked away with a grin to dance among her friends.