Entirely Different

Chapter Twenty Three : In Morning Light

The following morning was as disorienting as they come. The night before, while unforgettable, was also hazy. Somewhere along the way, Cardo's responsibility to ply you with equal parts food and alcohol must have faltered, because here you were - hungover. Certainly hungover, you gathered while squinting in the morning sunlight of a tussled Canto Bight hotel room bed, accompanied by a raging headache. Perhaps any other day you would have appreciated the natural light, but today was not one of them. In an attempt to roll out of bed in search of water, your stomach washed and rolled with you, sending dizzying nausea to wrack through you like poison. Your feet hit the floor and you immediately darted for the restroom, where you promptly emptied the contents of your stomach.

Somewhere in the room behind you, you could sense Kylo stirring. Not wanting him to see you in this state, your eyes quickly scanned the wall for a panel to close the door. The light proving to be too much, you screwed your eyes shut once more and blindly palmed the wall to your right. Your back arched, skin prickled, headache splitting as you lurched toward the commode again. You could discern light footsteps, Kylo's bare feet, padding against the carpeted hotel room floors; and then the slightly stickier sound as his feet crossed over onto the cold bathroom tile.

"Are you okay?" His name fell off your lips with care, gentle fingertips ghosting patterns down your bare spine.

You realized, then, you were nude. You tucked your feet up under your bare ass and swung an arm over your breasts as you curled over the toilet, a last-ditch effort to protect some of your dignity. Kylo, of course, could not care less. You were a goddess in the early morning sunlight, even sick, and he couldn't help but reach over to soothe your gooseflesh under his hands. Nor could he help himself from tucking his arms under you, despite your faint grumblings of protest, to relocate you to the bedroom. As he sat you cautiously on a bench by the window, you held your head in your hands, giving up the futile battle for your dignity.

A brief glance out at the sunny cityscape had left you regretfully dizzy, but from the looks of the sun-soaked city streets, it reminded you of home.

"I might.." You hesitated, pale features blushing bright pink while you kept your eyes fixed on the ground. "I might get sick again." You admitted weakly.

Kylo smiled knowingly, squatting to meet your eyeline. This was the first moment you'd looked at him all morning. He was beautiful, glowing in the warmth of the sunlight, his hazel eyes much more green than you'd ever seen them. You wondered, somewhere in the back of your mind, where he'd grown up - where he called home. You wondered if he'd grown up basking in the sunlight of some bright and cheerful planet with more than one resident g type main sequence star. You wondered who he'd grown up with – who, in all the infinite galaxies had seen the greener side of his hazel eyes. Your hand grasped his, eyes turning a little misty as you dreamt up a past you'd never heard of.

You remembered Kylo mentioning his mother to you days prior, mind wandering back to how strange it had felt to be privy to that information. You were scared to have the knowledge. You had felt like an invader, intrusive, like you weren't meant to hear it, but a larger part of you wanted to know these things and be burdened with the knowledge of his past. With the knowledge of a younger, innocent, and less determined Kylo Ren. You were pulled back to the present by a humored huff escaping Kylo's plush lips. Lips that were puffy and pink from sleep.

"I shouldn't think so." He mused, occupying his attention and gaze with a strand of your hair between his fingers.

"I've got Vicrul bringing you a hangover fix." He smiled casually.

The mention of his knight had you feeling much less than casual. Vicrul. The knights. The night before came rushing back to you, never truly forgotten, but the memories had stayed safely at bay until you could hurl the sin away from your insides first. Of course, you couldn't erase the events of the night before from your mind, if only it were that easy. Kylo watched you innocently, hearing your unguarded mind flit from thing to thing, waiting to hear the regret and shame which you surely felt. He, himself, had lain awake all morning in contemplation of how to address the night as well. His nerves softened when he failed to detect any regret, only small waves of shame, dulled by tremors of sinful delight.