Chapter Text
She would help him, I knew that. She took an oath, even if she was family. It felt like an eternity before I heard the door downstairs creak shut. Her footsteps, as delicate and dainty as they ever were, sounded just as familiar as they had when I was a child.
It’s strange the way sounds stick with you. The screams of drunks stumbling out the open doors of beyond seedy cocktail bars, the screech of hyper-speed trains trammelling through the streets, the clicking of misshapen market stall wheels along cobblestone streets. I watched it all from the balcony without so much as a coherent word or thought, only disturbed when a cup was thrust below my face. I took it with unsteady hands, spilling half the contents onto the ground and street below.
“Have you been here all night?”
I nodded without looking at her.
“It’s cold out. You’ll catch something.”
I shrugged, then raised the half-empty cup to my lips.
“Shit!” I was caught by surprise by the scalding hot caffa. The cup smashed into pieces on the balcony’s flooring.
“I’m sorry. I should have told you.”
“Well, I should have noticed,” I admitted, quietly. She offered me hers, but I wouldn’t take it. My stomach couldn’t handle it.
We stood side by side for a short while that felt far too long, watching the city snap out of its nighttime reverie, back to the daily drudgery. She spoke first, though neither of us bothered to avert our eyes from the scene below.
“I’ve called in to work. I have the week off.”
“Thank you.”
“I don’t think he’s going to die.”
“Do you mean that, or are you just saying that?”
“Not everyone lies for a living, Lena.”
I felt a hand trying to take mine, and relented, letting her intertwine my fingers with hers.
“I don’t think he’s going to die. And I can promise you I will do everything in my power keep him alive.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you want to see him?”
“No.”
She sighed, a little defeated, a little annoyed.
“Lena, come inside.”
“I’d rather not.”
“Lena, I can’t handle two patients at once.”
“Okay.”
“Good. Now sit down,” she patted the seat next to her, and when I gave in she wrapped her arms around me, pulling me tight. She was always stronger than she looked. I chalked it up to the battlefield, but fuck if I know.
“It’s not going to be like your father.”
“You literally cannot know that.”
“Lena Alyan.”
There it was. That fucking tone.
“It’s not.”
I huffed into her side. Was it petty? Yes. Did I care? Not really.
“You sound awfully sure of yourself.”
“I am. These are very different circumstances. Let’s see – for one, you managed to get him out of a war zone. All of his injuries, as far as I can tell, are strictly physical. And treatable. And he’s got something to live for – doesn’t he?”
“Mmph.”
“You could have told me you got married.”
“I could have told you a lot of things, mother. You wouldn’t have believed them.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. You never did strike me as the type to go for a military man. I thought we raised you better than that. At least, I certainly did.”
“Apple, tree.”
“I guess. I just hoped you’d make better decisions.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay. It can’t be helped.”
She shifted from my side, letting me out of her vicegrip.
“Should I go check on him?”
“Couldn’t hurt.”
“Right.”
I’d hoped she’d have the decency to leave me to my thoughts for a while longer. But hope is a stupid thing. I felt her hand on my shoulder, a lopsided smile wide across her face.
“The patient has requested your presence.”
“He’s-“
“Yes.”
I took the stairs slowly – lack of sleep, food, and sense will do a number on your balance – clinging to the bannister all the while. She’d set him up in my old room. He was, to no one’s surprise, far too large for my childhood bed, but that didn’t seem to bother him so much as the life-threatening injuries.
He smiled wide, his teeth glowing the dim yellow light. He must have been off his head on painkillers.
“Lena, where are we?”
“Titian. It’s the Confederation capital. Don’t worry, no one knows we’re here, except Iggs, and he piloted us here, so you’re not allowed to kill him anymore.”
“And your mother.”
“Huh?”
“You look exactly like her.”
“You take that back right now.”
“No, I think I need a closer look.”
He sat up as best he could, wincing slightly before settling into a cross-legged pose against a mountain of pillows, and motioned me forward with one hand. I sat down beside him as gingerly as possible, and him cup my chin with his unbandaged hand. In all my worry to avoid upsetting the bedsprings or accidentally elbowing him in the stomach, it didn’t occur to me what he’d done until after he’d pressed his lips against mine, dry and chapped, but so familiar, so gentle, so calm.
“No, you do. I’m sure of it.” He smiled again, completely blissed out, before pushing a few hairs back behind my ear.
“You’re not allowed to kiss my mother.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Good. As soon as you’re patched up, we’re never going to see her again.”
“Why?”
“You’re not the only one that’s allowed to have family issues, Kylo.”
He leaned back, collapsing into the pillows. I drew patterns along his skin as he stared into the ceiling.
“We’ll have to find somewhere to live – some kind of employment – new identities –“
“All that can wait until you don’t have a gaping hole in your side.”
“Your mother said that could take weeks.”
“It probably will. That gives us plenty of time to think. So, sweetheart, give it some thought – who do you want to be?”