Tethered

10: Concern is a Seven Letter Word

Kylo came back in the morning. You felt him the second he stepped on the metal of the Supremacy and you nearly sobbed with relief. To say you missed him was a gross understatement.

Very little time had passed between your last lesson with Snoke and his return, but it had felt like an eternity. Nightmares had plagued your sleep and your waking moments were spent huddled in the corner. Your body ached and hurt like nothing else. It felt like you'd been turned inside out and destroyed. Even breathing hurt in the days that followed your lesson.

You were cut off from everyone on the ship. The only living things you encountered were the guards that brought you meals. You didn't dare seek out life in the Force. Your anxiety surpassed anything you'd felt in a long time and you refused to use the strange power around you for fear that Snoke would sense your abilities. You couldn't bring yourself to try it.

You craved something, though. You craved life, something familiar or comforting.

Your craving refused to be satisfied. After all, there was nothing for you on this ship.

But now Kylo was back.

And you felt him.

His energy tore through the Force until it found you and wrapped you in a cocoon of familiarity. It held you the second he arrived, pulling you into its embrace. It was almost as if he was right beside you. You grabbed onto your tether and held onto it tightly. It was your lifeline, the only thing keeping you from falling into a void.

Kylo .

You felt him react to your call. His energy ebbed and flowed towards you, taking you closer. You could feel his urge to come to your side, to speak with you and assess the situation and to fix you best he could. You could feel the anguish he had at being kept away from you until at least the night.

He was just barely out of your reach in the countless hours that followed. As he was dragged from room to room for meetings and briefings, you went with him, holding onto his familiarity and craving his touch.

The night could not come soon enough.

As the ship quieted, one soul remained restless: his. He couldn't leave his chambers as soon as night fell, it would be suspicious. He had to wait until the witching hours of the night, when no one would be awake to witness his escape.

You couldn't sleep. Despite the sense of peace you'd regained the second Kylo stepped back on the ship, you were buzzing with an adrenaline you didn't think was possible. You never knew a single person could get you so worked up and excited. You felt him as he moved through the metal hallways of the Supremacy, drifting closer and closer to you. It wasn't long before he entered the final elevator and fell closer and closer to your floor.

You tried to make yourself presentable in the cell, straightening up in your corner and moving your hair in front of your face to hide the bruising and cuts that littered the left side, specifically the large gash that sat just beneath your eye.

You'd just finished hiding it when you heard his footsteps approach your cell. A large silhouette stopped outside the barred door and you watched him with awe and relief. "You're back," you whispered softly, your voice hoarse with pent up emotions that finally flowed free through you. You shuddered beneath his gaze.

The door swung open on its own accord and you finally got a good look at him for the first time in what seemed like years. He looked exhausted. His shoulders were weighed down by invisible burdens and his eyes were duller than normal. However, when he looked at you, his lips quirked up in a smile. "Indeed I am. Did you miss me?" He took slow, lumbering steps into the cell and, with every step, he seemed to grow lighter.