Chapter Text
Kylo was true to his word.
His chat window pinged later that night as Rey sat at her home PC, telling herself she wasn’t waiting. She was fine. She was just up late checking her emails. In lingerie.
KyloRen <10:12 PM>
I need an angle.
R0b0Rey <10:12 PM>
what are you drawing?
KyloRen <10:13 PM>
I’m not drawing.
She knew what the photo would be used for.
A frisson of excitement skipped down Rey’s spine, magnified by anticipation. She wasn’t sure when Kylo would message so she had taken her time throughout the evening; shaving her legs, applying lotion, picking an outfit. The ritual of it centered her and that gave her a steady confidence.
And the anticipation, the waiting, had let her dwell on what his voice sounded like filtered through mic and headphone, the touch of his fingers against her neck.
Allowing herself to dwell on Kylo--it was its own kind of intoxication.
R0b0Rey <10:13 PM>
what do you need?
KyloRen <10:13 PM>
What are you wearing?
I think we're past the con shirts now.
Rey bit her lip to keep a smile contained, playing with the hem of her oversized Galaxy of WarStar shirt from QuizzCon. But underneath--
R0b0Rey <10:13 PM>
something new
KyloRen <10:13 PM>
Show me.
Rey squirmed out of her shirt, tossing it aside before standing in front of the mirror. Gone were her old athletic shorts and tan bra. A matching cream-colored lingerie set with gold hardware winked back at her; a balcony bra and high-waisted bikini cut bottoms with scalloped lace along the edges. A thin garter belt encircled her waist and elastic fastenings stretched down to hold up the dark stockings at her thighs.
She leaned against the far wall next to her night table, a ways back from the mirror but still framed within it. Rey pressed her shoulder against the wall, tilting her head towards the mirror and turning slightly to lengthen the curve of her hip, one ankle crossed over the other. One hand held her phone up, the other tangled in her hair and brushed the back of her neck. The nighttime lighting of the city cast a blue and yellow stripe across the top half of her body, the bottom half washed in the warm shadows of her apartment.
A thrill ran through her as she took several photos, adjusting the angle, shifted her weight. The lingerie was an excellent decision. It made her feel--
Calling the feeling powerful felt tangential, but she couldn’t deny the association. A feminine-tinged rush of control surged under her skin; foreign and rare but undeniably hers. It felt like tapping into a stream that had always been at her disposal, yet required both the awareness and sincere desire to seize it--an inherent feature within herself that she couldn’t ignore now that she knew about it.
That feeling of control, of power, swelled in a rush across the back of her skull as she tapped out a message and hit send.
R0b0Rey <10:15 PM>
[IMG_9184.jpg]
is this better than a con shirt?
KyloRen <10:15 PM>
Better
Do you typically wear lace under them?
R0b0Rey <10:15 PM>
sometimes
i have a few different sets
That feminine frisson of power skittered through her bloodstream, spurring her to action. Rey sat on the rug and leaned back against the side of her bed, raising her phone to snap another photo from above. Her legs slightly bent, she slipped a few fingers under the elastic of her garter belt to press against tanned skin. A blue shadow curved around her thigh.
Her eyes were lidded, lips parted--Rey didn’t even need to curate her expression for the photo, the conversation was already making her heady, her insides syrupy.
R0b0Rey <10:16 PM>
[IMG_9185.jpg]
i like the garters on this set though
KyloRen <10:16 PM>
That makes two of us.
Wasn’t expecting another photo.
I thought you’d make me ask nicely for one
R0b0Rey <10:16 PM>
you can ask nicely for it now
KyloRen <10:16 PM>
If I’m nice, will you curse in my ear again
You had me half-hard in the office.
Rey sucked in a stuttered breath, pulling her knees towards her chest. Her hand snaked down into the lace lingerie as his messages rolled in,
KyloRen <10:16 PM>
You had me half-hard in the office.
And on edge all afternoon.
Hard to concentrate when all I can think about is the sound you make through my headset when you come.
I was doing my best to behave at work.
R0b0Rey <10:16 PM>
i didn’t realize a simple fuck got you so worked up
is ignoring me at work your way of behaving?
KyloRen <10:17 PM>
You were the one who asked me to be nice.
If I knew this was waiting for me I would have cornered you in the copy room to see that lace for myself.
Rey slipped fingers across her slick clit, rolling her head back against the edge of her bed and relishing in the low burn it elicited through her hips. Kylo’s words, even when written, sparked hot coals at her core and she stoked the flames with her hand, feeling the edge of the lace scrape at her skin.
R0b0Rey <10:17 PM>
the copy room?
KyloRen <10:18 PM>
You strike me as a girl who wants to be bent over a machine.
Rey’s hips rolled against her hand involuntarily, eyes fluttering closed at the sensation. Damn him, bless him, he wasn’t wrong. The image in her mind’s eye shimmered and gave way; Kylo with his hand at the back of her neck, holding her down against the hulking work machine as it hummed. Her free hand slipped across her phone’s keyboard,
R0b0Rey <10:18 PM>
only if it was on
hot and vibrating
KyloRen <10:18 PM>
I’d press you down on the glass just to watch you squirm
Then I’d get a nice printout of your tits and hot mouth as you came
R0b0Rey <10:19 PM>
do you want me to say ‘fuck’ or your name when I come?
The question mixed in and out of fantasy.
She caught her reflection in the mirror, hair messy around her face, eyes alive. Rey was half laying on the floor, languid and boneless, her hand pressed lewdly under the lace as it clung low on her hips, askew from her ministrations. She sat in the blue shadows of her bed, the indirect yellow lighting from the city angled in from above her head casting only her lower leg in light.
KyloRen <10:19 PM>
My name.
R0b0Rey <10:19 PM>
[IMG_9186.jpg]
didn’t quite make it to the bed
KyloRen <10:20 PM>
I like you on the floor.
And I especially like you in a mirror.
A wave of prickling static rolled across her chest as she read his words. She glanced up at her reflection, at the feminine figure clad in white and cream who touched herself and undulated prettily. She looked almost golden in the darkness.
KyloRen <10:20 PM>
This is me asking nicely:
Show me.
The command had her cheeks heating and pulse pumping loud in her ears. She let her legs fall to either side, baring herself to the mirror. Her hand slipped against her sensitive clit under the fabric and her head tilted into her shoulder.
R0b0Rey <10:20 PM>
[IMG_9187.jpg]
KyloRen <10:20 PM>
You know what I want, Rey
Next time I want to see you wet for me.
R0b0Rey <10:20 PM>
tell me
KyloRen <10:21 PM>
You need a reminder?
I said I want to see you fucking wet.
She didn’t need a reminder, actually.
She just wanted to see him say it again.
Rey's neck and chest flushed with a mix of adrenaline and arousal at the demand, at the power that hummed under her skin. She felt loose and pliant, the steadily growing need that throbbed in her cunt spurning her on as she kicked the damp lace off, leaving the garter belt still strung around her hips. The Rey in the mirror looked almost delicate as she tucked her knees in towards her chest and strained the garter belts as she parted her legs before taking a photo. Her coated fingers pressed open glistening lips--vulva and clit, pink and flushed and weeping. It was a dirty photo, engorged, it was--
R0b0Rey <10:22 PM>
[IMG_9188.jpg]
KyloRen <10:22 PM>
Gorgeous.
R0b0Rey <10:22 PM>
fuck, i’m so wet
i’mn
Rey panted, her eyes darting between her phone and the mirror where she could watch herself. She slid fingers down either side of her clit, pressing on pink flesh, the spread of her widened thighs heightening the sensation. She whimpered into the darkness as a bra strap slid down her shoulder. The lace scraped at her, a reminder.
It would be easy, so easy to just succumb, to slip under the waves obeying Kylo’s every request and become a wet quivering mess. But challenge rose inside of her to meet that wave, an opposition. Something like alarm spiked in her bloodstream, mixing with the arousal there to create a potent cocktail. Rey had been having trouble mustering up the usual distaste she felt for Kylo. She was at risk of feeling like her feet didn’t have steady purchase on the ground, like--like--
If she couldn’t muster up her typical distaste, she needed to muster up a different lens with which to regard Kylo.
Objectification? She could work with that.
KyloRen <10:22 PM>
Fuck yourself for me.
R0b0Rey <10:23 PM>
send me a pic
KyloRen <10:23 PM>
What do you need
He responded immediately and Rey's mind blanked as another wave of please rolled across her skin. She was close, she was--she thought back to their real-life encounter in the copy room, to the veins that snaked across his wide hands.
R0b0Rey <10:23 PM>
hands
KyloRen <10:23 PM>
… Hands?
R0b0Rey <10:23 PM>
vascular
veins
yes
Rey waited an agonizing, indeterminate amount of time as she slipped a finger inside herself, watching in the mirror as it pulled in and out, how she spasmed and puckered and sighed. She was toeing the edge of numbness, drawing it out of herself, half-drunk on her own demand and that power that bubbled at her fingertips.
KyloRen <10:24 PM>
[IMG_20XX07_222425.jpeg]
He had sent back a carefully lit closeup; that wide hand of his splayed across a bare chest. The tendons were defined, what looked like half a dozen thick veins snaked across the back of his hand, bunching at his carpals and branching out again down his forearm, connected in a sanguine maze. His pectoral was wide and firm, the corner of his deltoid twisting into the image to insert at the collarbone above his fingers. His clavicular head was well-defined, the superficial muscle curving regally away from his sternocostal head and up to his clavicle.
A sheen of sweat covered his bare skin. Rey groaned in her empty apartment.
R0b0Rey <10:24 PM>
fuck yes
i’m going to come
KyloRen <10:24 PM>
Hands??
R0b0Rey <10:24 PM>
shut up unless you want to send me another
KyloRen <10:24 PM>
There's more where that came from.
The damn broke and numbness flooded Rey, exploding out from under her hand and she sunk below the waterline, laying weightless for a moment before surfacing. The orgasm spilled through her limbs, tugging her into malaise as she collapsed back against the side of her bed.
It felt heightened, more intense than last time--there was something about Rey being in control of what she revealed, of the level of access she chose to extend, that thrilled her to her core. Of course Kylo's reactions were flattering and provocative, but the inevitability of the photos she sent acted like an aphrodisiac. It felt like power thrumming in her veins, undiminished by the post-coital rush.
R0b0Rey <10:25 PM>
the mirror was a good suggestion
…. i may have ruined this lingerie
KyloRen <10:25 PM>
I’ll buy you another set.
In black next time.
And a copy machine
R0b0Rey <10:25 PM>
what more could a girl want
KyloRen <10:26 PM>
Something tells me you’d enjoy it.
Goodnight, Rey.
R0b0Rey <10:26 PM>
goodnight
-
The week leading up to their milestone deadline was a grind. Various Skywalker Family Studios developers were on-site at all hours of the day and night, huddled around a PC or lined up by the fancy espresso machine. Catered lunches and dinners appeared in the kitchen, alongside insincerely cherry emails from First Order meant to boost morale and remind employees to use their motorized sit-to-stand desks to avoid deadly blood clots.
This email was largely ignored save for Bebe, who set up a makeshift hammock under Poe’s raised desk so they could nap while new builds compiled.
Rey felt tight with anxiety and uselessness.
As a concept artist, her job was concentrated on the front end of a project, at the start of the pipeline. Rey excelled at expanding on an idea and scavenging up reference or inspiration. But she was completely useless when it came to the end of the development cycle, when it was all about in-engine polish and bug squashing. Her work was focused ahead on Episode 2, so the crunch for their Episode 1 milestone didn’t affect her workload--it just affected everyone around her.
So, she did what she could. She offered to be the guinea pig for the adjusted roll dodge distance and made sure Finn’s coffee mug was topped up when she swung by to say hi. She volunteered to test Poe’s damage value changes for the Naboo level and brought chamomile tea to take the edge off his nerves. She dropped off a box of mochi donuts for Rose and Bebe, who both seemed to run on sugar.
And every time she flitted in and out of the concept pit, Kylo was glued to his monitors, jumping between Qira and the engine adjusting art assets. She told herself the restlessness she felt was due to being helpless during crunch, that the clawing feeling in her throat was just performance anxiety from needing to appeal to a demanding publisher.
It definitely wasn’t because when her mind wandered even slightly she could still picture Kylo’s broad chest, her spread legs in the mirror, feel the scrape of lace.
You strike me as a girl who wants to be bent over a machine.
She ignored the pull in her gut as she passed behind his chair, her eyes snagging on his hand where it rested on his vertical mouse.
I’d press you down on the glass just to watch you squirm.
Rey was still preoccupied as she entered the Tech Art pit, placing a fresh mug of coffee on Finn’s desk before collapsing on the grey twill couch behind him.
“Galaxy’s Best Mom? Aw, you shouldn’t have.” Finn teased, reading the graphic on the mug before taking a sip.
“Sorry,” Rey mumbled as she scrubbed at her face, “Didn’t stop to read it. How’s bugfix?”
“Never ending.” Finn sighed, a diff tool pulled up on his screen to compare two versions of code.
“Late night?” She asked as he spun his chair towards her and rubbed at his eyes,
“It’s looking like it.”
“Want me to pick you up Cantina?” She offered.
Finn’s eyes lit up, “Would you!? Birria–no–Al Pastor burrito, please. Extra guac?”
Rey hadn’t seen her best friend smile in days and it was immediately infectious, “Anything for the galaxy’s best mom.”
“Thank you, seriously, I don’t think I can handle another room temperature cheese pizza for dinner.” Finn rolled his eyes, “Crunch food is the worst.”
“Is Poe working late tonight too?” Rey asked, overly-casual, and Finn’s eyes cut over to her in warning as Tallie walked past,
“I don’t know.” He said through tight teeth and a blank face. Rey raised her brows innocently,
“Have you talked to him?”
“Not since we saw him in the park.” He replied, tense. Rey’s brows shot up in genuine reaction this time and Finn sighed, “It’s just--crunch. You know how important the Original Trilogy is to me. Work just kind of . . . got in the way.”
Rey softened, if there was one person at this company who she knew had grown up on the IP like she had, it was Finn. It was what had bonded them together when they met on their first day of Skywalker orientation.
“I know, Finny.” She said softly. He sighed and gave her a lopsided smile,
“And anyway--I’ve got a clear line of sight for pining. It’s not like I’m getting over him anytime soon.” He joked darkly, directing Rey’s eyes to the gap between his monitor and the graphics programming books on his desk.
She ducked her head down next to his to get a better angle and sure enough, he had a clear view past the row of UI engineers to where Poe stood in profile, frowning seriously at his monitors. His brows were drawn and his full lips pursed seriously, a curl bouncing as he nodded his head in time with whatever high-bpm electronic music he was listening to. Rey grinned as she looked over at Finn,
“Oh this is prime for pining!”
“It’s bad.” He nodded, failing to suppress a smile, “But it gets me through the day.”
“Can we get everyone in the kitchen, please?” Leia’s clear voice rang out as she walked through the pit, leading a small group of devs towards the kitchen, “Dinner is arriving in an hour, just a few announcements!”
Rey and Finn stood and followed their Creative Director, as Rey tapped out a message in the group chat,
R0b0Rey <4:43 PM>
everyone send me your cantina orders
+ guac is on me
The team did their best to fit in around the butcher block island Leia and Chewie stood behind in the open-concept kitchen. It wasn’t the full team, but it was enough to spill out of the doorways even with people crammed in shoulder to shoulder. Finn was pressed against Rey's side and she caught sight of Rose near the refrigerators. Everyone looked rumpled and worse for wear, but there was an intoxicating buzz in the air as Leia surveyed the team.
“I just wanted to thank each and every one of you, for your hard work in making this milestone for First Order airtight. I know that crunch isn’t easy or ideal--but it can be necessary when the stakes are high and it comes time to pour everything we have into a creative endeavor. On behalf of studio leadership, thank you all for spending your extra time and energy on Prequel Trilogy.” Leia addressed the team with that uncanny oration ability, able to thread the needle between speaking to the team as a whole and looking people in their eyes individually. Chewie made noises of affirmation from next to her, nodding and running a hand through his thick beard.
As Leia spoke, Rey glanced around the room. She watched as her coworker’s eyes lit up despite the exhaustion on their faces. The amount of talent and drive in the room was undeniable, and Rey was in awe not only of Leia’s ability to rouse an audience, but also of the dedication of her peers and friends.
Her eyes snagged on a tall, dark figure who leaned against a recessed wall across the room from Rey. Kylo stood in the back, arms crossed, his tall frame putting him literally head and shoulders above the crowd. He watched his mother blankly, the edges of his mouth turned down, the tension clear in his shoulders even as coworkers around him broke out in applause in response to something Chewie said.
Kylo’s dark hair hung in his eyes, an uncharacteristic headphone indent across the top of his head. His chorded arms pressed tight against his chest, and the sleeves of his henley were rolled up to his elbows. That clawing feeling in Rey’s throat was back and this time she couldn’t just chalk it up to feeling useless or anxious. Kylo had continued to keep his distance from her at work. Being nice is what he called it, and while she knew that was the professional thing to do, she couldn’t tamp down her desire to edge closer. He radiated contempt, but all it did was make her want to soothe.
What would it feel like?
Heat slipped through her veins as Rey imagined not just being at his side but pressing against his side. In the background, Leia said something about camaraderie and teamwork, but Rey was struck with a sudden and intrusive thought; would he still look at her with detached annoyance if she let him press her down against that butcher-block countertop--
“--And Rey Niima, Snap Wexley, and Vober Dand for the additional QA support!” Leia’s voice and the ensuing clapping yanked Rey back to Earth. In an instant Kylo’s eyes jerked up to meet hers. His eyes sparked under the fluorescent lights but Rey didn’t have the chagrin to look away.
“Everyone’s hard work is already paying off, there's only a few days left before we’re pencils down for our milestone delivery!” Leia beamed as Chewie cheered, “So let’s finish strong! Pizza will be here soon, and there are fresh drinks in the fridge!”
The team applauded raucously and Rey used the jostling of the crowd to slip into the lobby and head to Cantina, the cool outside air a welcome relief against her flushed skin.
-
Rey sat at the bottom of a cramped back stairwell next to the Cantina kitchen door, waiting for her takeaway order. She idly flipped through her phone, checking in on her group chat,
BB-8 <5:09 PM>
bros check it out
[IMG_0156.HEIC]
The image was of Bebe under Poe’s desk, feet up, laptop displaying the engine loading splash. Their view was Poe’s shoes.
BB-8 <5:09 PM>
bros check it out
[IMG_0156.HEIC]
poe and i are fully stacked pair programmers now
:bangbang:
RoseyPosey <5:09 PM>
GROAN
FN-2187 <5:10 PM>
Hey Poe, I think there’s something under your desk
BarrellRollPoe <5:10 PM>
What, no way.
First Order told me to raise my desk up and everything would be fine.
FN-2187 <5:10 PM>
I’ve got bad news for you buddy
BarrellRollPoe <5:10 PM>
Break it to me gently, please
BB-8 <5:10 PM>
:eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes:
FN-2187 is typing . . .
Rey rolled her eyes affectionately, tabbing out of the chat as Finn and Poe slung one-liners at each other. The Quiscord inbox stared back at her and her thumb hovered over Kylo's shirtless profile picture.
R0b0Rey <5:11 PM>
what's your cantina order
KyloRen <5:12 PM>
Why?
R0b0Rey <5:12 PM>
special delivery
what do you usually get
KyloRen <5:12 PM>
Carne asada burrito, no rice or beans, extra pico and hot sauce. Again I ask; why?
R0b0Rey <5:12 PM>
don’t eat the First Order pizza
When Rey got back to the Skywalker offices holding two greasy brown bags of SoCal Tex-Mex, the late night work energy vibrated in the air, fluorescent and intoxicating. Murmured conversations drifted from all corners of the office and the faint smell of pizza clung to the kitchen as she passed through it. She set the bags down on the closest desk she could get to--Poe’s--and pulled a foil-wrapped burrito out of one of the bags.
“What are–oooh, my hero!” Poe jokingly swooned as Bebe clambered out from under his desk.
“Tell Finn and Rose dinner’s here.” Rey said, already walking backwards towards the concept pit, “I’ll meet you guys at our table.”
As she rounded a cardboard cutout storm trooper hiding behind a potted plant, her eyes adjusted to match the darkened concept corner. Kylo still sat at his desk, back facing her, his screen illuminating the outline of his shoulders and expensive mesh-back chair. Rey’s eyes traced his form as she approached, the way his trapezius shifted as he moved his mouse, lifted as he tilted his head to assess something on screen.
He didn’t notice her until she sidled up next to his desk, placing the burrito and a clutch of napkins on his desk. His eyes slipped to her all at once as he registered her presence.
“Picked up some dinner.” Rey explained, voice soft. His eyes burned as she stepped away again, relieved that she had a reason to excuse herself. She didn’t fully trust the part of herself that wanted Kylo to hold her down against the countertop. At least not when the office was full of over-caffeinated hyper-critical devs--
“Thank you.” He said as she walked past him, heading back into the pit,
“You’re welcome.” She murmured.
The part of Rey that wanted Kylo to look at her again quieted until she laid awake late that night, staring at his dormant chat window.
-
“This is BL to BB, come in BB.” Poe spoke seriously into his wrist as he crouched behind a couch, armed with a chunky plastic dart blaster.
“They’ve got me flanked, Black Lead--BL!” Bebe whistled back from where they rolled under a desk, narrowly avoiding the pink foam darts that sailed overhead, shot by a senior designer hiding around a paper floor lamp. A disco ball that hung high from the rafters scattered colorful squares across the dimmed pit.
“I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in, I'll never meet the ground~” Rose belted from where a karaoke machine was set up in an adjoining meeting room. Red solo cups littered most available surfaces, the bottles of whisky and tequila that usually sat untouched on people’s desks cracked open for sharing.
Rey held her own cup of red wine filled nearly to the brim, having been overserved by Luke. He had given her a wink and a smile, congratulating her on a successful milestone delivery, and Rey felt a weight she didn’t know she was carrying slip off her shoulders. The mood in the office was raucous and cut loose; the tension from the last several weeks of crunch finally giving way to celebration. Groups of developers were scattered across the office in conversation, an earnest party having broken out now that studio leadership had said their thanks and left for the evening.
Sure there were still bugs and an unreproducible fatal error in the Maul fight, sure they still had 2/3rds of the game left to finish, sure the whole thing needed months of polish to get through cert but--they had made the milestone deadline and First Order was satisfied. For now.
“We're far from the shallows now~!”
Rey dabbed her wine-stained lips with the back of her sleeve, hearing Rose’s song wrap up and not wanting to be the next one roped into a duet. Not yet, at least. She tapped send on her phone before she could second guess herself, pocketed it, and picked up a second untouched solo cup of whisky. She was thankful for the false bravado that wine bouncing around her system gave her as she set off across the pit.
She was forced to duck under a barrage of foam darts and caught Finn’s attention from where he crowded around a fighting game with the tools team. He raised a beer toward her in silent cheers, and she waved her cup in response as she passed, stepping into the darker-than-usual art corner where she knew Kylo had secluded himself.
She rounded the shelves stuffed full of artbooks and figurines that fenced in their corner, unsurprised to find Kylo still sitting at his desk with the editor open.
He was almost a cliche of himself. She stood behind him, one hip cocked, “You know we’ve already cut a build, right? Your check-ins don’t count now.”
“They count towards the main branch. The bugs will still be there for our next milestone.” He responded in monotone without turning around.
“You can at least enjoy the moment.” She nagged, and Kylo turned his head to glance at her for a heartbeat, for two,
“There. Moment enjoyed.” He turned back to his monitor and resumed pixel-scooting, meticulously placing decals along the wall of a cave.
Rey sighed obnoxiously loud as she half-sat against the edge of his spartan desk and kicked her legs out to cross them at the ankle. She delicately delivered the whisky, placing it carefully in front of his keyboard and between his arms. His hands stilled as she took a pointed sip of her wine,
“Congratulations on the milestone.” She intoned flatly, mimicking him. Their heads were nearly even at this height, and it was strange to be the one looking down at him.
He slowly raised the cup to his nose and sniffed experimentally, “This isn’t Qulleit.”
“No.” Rey confirmed, pointedly ignoring the haughty scrunch of his nose, “Holdo opened something that looked expensive. Figured you would want a taste before Engineering emptied it.”
Kylo’s eyebrows raised as he took a sip, “I do. Qagavulin?”
“No idea.” Rey shrugged, half-turned towards him as she took a sip of her own drink, “It was in one of those bottles that has its own little fancy box.”
Kylo snorted and it was just close enough to a laugh that she took a second, larger gulp of wine.
“In that case–thank you.” He held her gaze and she was forced to look away from it first as the moment stretched taut between them.
“Sure I can’t tempt you out of the art cave?”
His eyes flashed but he took another sip of whisky, “I’m not really one for parties.”
“And yet, here you are.”
“Not at the party.” He said pointedly.
“Adjacent to the party.” She amended, “If you’re going to be difficult about it.”
“I am generally difficult about things, yes.” He deadpanned, taking a long drink.
“Haven’t noticed.” She caught the tilt of his lips that he hid behind the rim of the plastic cup.
“This is a pressure release valve for the team.” Kylo continued, gesturing when--as if on cue--a raucous mix of groans and laughter emerged from the other side of the shelves, “People need to let off steam after a period of stress.”
“And you?”
“I have other outlets.”
“Like you aren't the most tightly-wound dev at this company.” She side-eyed him as she took another drink.
“I didn't say my outlets were working.” He replied, unbothered as he openly stared at her.
Heat rose to her cheeks but she pressed on, “Sorry to hear that. Now take a break.”
Kylo leaned back in his chair and settled the whisky in his lap, “Well aren’t you distracting.”
“The Mirror Cave will still be there for you to landscape next week. I’m not apologizing.” Rey replied, doing her best not to squirm under his acute assessment.
“Not apologizing yet.” His voice sent the back of her neck prickling.
His posture appeared relaxed but Rey could read the coiled energy in his spine, the glint in his eyes as he tilted his head. Despite her perched position beside him, Rey had the distinct feeling that she was being sized up by a carnivorous predator.
A carnivore she had just brought an offering to. He swirled the drink in his hand with a practiced motion, as if he held a cut crystal glass and not a red plastic cup.
“Karma police, arrest this man
He talks in maths
He buzzes like a fridge-"
Kaydel’s voice floated over the mic, and Rey reflexively turned her head towards the sound. She couldn't see anything over the 2-deep stack of reference books and math textbooks. Kaydel was an octave too drunk to pull off the vocal performance and the result made Rey smile.
“We never had parties like this at Plutt Corp.” She said, caught in a wave of bitter nostalgia, “The owner was always scrambling for funding. Our benefits sucked and we sure didn't have all these catered meals.”
Kylo snorted into his cup, “Unsurprising. Didn't they shut down?”
“After several rounds of layoffs, yeah. I had to freelance my butt off to get out of there.” She took another drink. Her time at Plutt Corp had been spent living under the threat of tightening budgets, a stint of couch surfing, and selling off the precious few electronics she owned. Things had gotten dicey towards the end.
Kylo was studying her, the edge of his cup tapping slowly against his bottom lip, “Sounds shitty.”
Rey swallowed past the emotion, “It was.”
“Let the past die,” Kylo said in what must pass for him as a reassuring tone, “Kill it if you have to.”
“But it happened to me--it's part of who I am.” Rey blinked, surprised at how honest her words were.
“But you don’t have to live there.” He said simply, his expression cutting.
"For a minute there,
I lost myself, I lost myself–”
“Come join the party.” Rey said abruptly, attempting to redirect the conversation. Her voice sounded wobbly even to her own ears.
“Unnecessary.” His attention was wholly focused on her.
“Look, Kylo--er--Solo--” She stumbled and he blinked, the amusement in his expression suddenly replaced with a taunt, dangerous edge. His dark brows drew together at an angle over unfocused eyes.
“What?” The question rumbled from the center of his chest.
“--Ben.” She overcorrected, biting the inside of her cheek at the slip-up. In the background she could hear Finn’s voice croon through the booming karaoke speakers,
”Under blue moon I saw you, so soon you’ll take me
Up in your arms, too late to beg you–”
Kylo stood up, his turn to tower over her as he set the whisky aside and placed a palm on either side of her hips, “Say it again.”
She felt the command run down her spine and choked out, “Kylo--”
“Again.” He crowded her in; her legs on either side of his, his shoulders hunched over her as Rey bowed over her drink. The air grew thin between them.
She couldn't tell if he was angry or indignant, but something intoxicating radiated off him and--
“Fate
Up against your will–”
“Did you like the photo?” Rey asked tangentially as she raised her head, emboldened. She had to crane her neck back to look up at him, “Figured I’d get ahead of the request.”
“What photo?” His voice was low, deadly, as he slowly reached past her to pluck his phone off of its charging stand. He unlocked it, tapping her chat notification. Rey watched from up-close as his eyes widened and snapped to hers, nostrils flaring. She had taken that particular photo the other night, while thinking about him.
“The killing time
Unwillingly mine–”
“That one.” Rey shifted to point at his screen, but Kylo moved faster, digging fingers into her hips as he pressed his mouth against the pulse at her neck,
“Say my name.” He rasped.
“Kylo--” He scraped teeth against her neck and she arced into him, her drink forgotten, hands sliding up firm shoulders as her guts turned molten. A direct line between her jugular and her core ignited.
His hips pinned her against the desk, and one of his hands dragged up her side. Kylo's fingers weaved through the loose hair at her nape and she found herself short of breath as he deftly angled her head, exposing more of her throat to his mouth.
“In starlit nights I saw you,
So cruelly you kissed me–”
“Rey.” He said against her skin, and Rey's eyes shuttered.
“Kylo.” She murmured deliriously and her hands tripped across the hard planes of his chest, the edge of his clavicle, pausing at the dip of his deltopectoral triangle where she could feel the angle of it through his black henley. She had seen his body before, in photos, but having the corporal form so close--her hands gripped the caps of his deltoids. It was almost too much.
Almost.
His fingers pressed, rolled her pliable neck. She gave easily to his touch and could feel how pleased he was by the way his breath stuttered across her cheek when his mouth rose to meet hers,
Finally.
"Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
You give yourself to him
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him--”
Rey broke away from the kiss, breathless, as Kylo’s mouth dropped back to her throat. His thumb was placed carefully under her chin and fingers wrapped around the back of her neck. He pressed lightly into her skin and Rey tried to keep her brain from short circuiting.
“You're making it hard to be nice when you say my name like that.” His voice was strained, harsh, and she believed every cord of it.
“I don't want you to be nice.” She said automatically, her hands tightening reflexively on his arms.
“Oh, but you do.” Kylo teased. His thumb shifted down, pressing into the hollow below her hyoid and Rey sagged into his touch. Her eyes closed and--
“Rey Niima, where the fuck are you?” Finn shouted through the peaking karaoke microphone, “It's time for some pop girlie bullshit!”
Rey's head jerked up as Kylo hummed in her ear and pulled away. How long had--she jumped off his desk and swayed slightly, catching herself as Kylo stood off to the side and sank the rest of his drink.
She patted a quick hand through her hair and watched Kylo school his features into doubt, “Pop girlie bullshit?”
“It's a thing.” She waved her hand uselessly in explanation, “I have to join our else he'll get belligerent.”
“Remind me again which one of us is tightly wound?” He asked smoothly, crossing his arms. Drink swam through Rey's bloodstream as she impulsively reached across the distance between them and pressed the tips of her fingers against his solar plexus. His face flickered threateningly. Danger.
“You are.” She said, stepping away from him and the soft glow of his monitors, from the lingering temptation and into darkness.
-
As predicted, Rey was roped into a blistering rendition of Like a Prayer.
“She is the ultimate pop girlie.” Finn had defended, two sheets to the wind and one finger up, leaning heavily on Bebe as the trio crowded around the microphone. It was late and the milestone party had largely thinned out, the remaining crowd either active karaoke participants or fringe observers.
When the song finished, Rey took a seat to catch her breath. Out of habit she checked her phone, and a thrill ran through her when she saw Kylo’s notification on her lock screen. She thumbed it open, as Hux accepted the microphone from Bebe.
KyloRen <9:16 PM>
I’m going to devour you, Rey Niima.
His response sat under the photo she had sent him earlier that night. The thrill intensified down her spine and struck her guts like phosphorous. They were circling each other, but she refused to be prey.
Rey tabbed over to the starred folder that held her favorite risqué photos, finding a specific one she had been saving. It depicted her laying in bed, pulling her shirt up with one hand to expose the bottom curves of her breasts while she held her other hand up to her mouth, fingers splayed, licking two of her fingers with the flat of her tongue.
She wanted to be sure she had his attention.
R0b0Rey <9:33 PM>
is that a threat?
[IMG_9171.jpg]
She was ripped from her thoughts when Hux thumped the microphone too hard and everyone in the room winced.
“Sorry--” Hux said loudly into the mic as he fumbled with the karaoke machine controls. His hair was askew and sweat beaded on his forehead.
KyloRen <9:33 PM>
By all means, do continue to feel generous with these photos.
R0b0Rey <9:33 PM>
don’t push your luck
KyloRen <9:33 PM>
Or what?
“When I was a young boy,
My father took me into the city,
To see a marching band--”
R0b0Rey <9:34 PM>
come karaoke, hux needs help
KyloRen <9:34 PM>
Over my dead body.
“What are you smiling about?” Rose asked, plopping unceremoniously on the ground next to Rey before leaning a sleepy head against her shoulder.
Rey locked her phone and slid it back into her pocket, “Nothing.”