Up On Ahch-To Hill (A D&D AU Fanfic)

Cracking Molds on Ahch-To

It was safe to say that the day after their kiss, Remii was completely unable to focus. Periodically throughout the day she'd feel her mind numbing, her focusing shifting elsewhere. Somewhere beyond Ahch-To. 

To Ben.

The longer they remained on the island, the longer Remii realized that this timeline wasn't dedicating itself to following the movies to a T. For one she should've left Ahch-To by now, and maybe even by now The Last Jedi would've rolled its credits. So what now?

Luke was wise, much wiser than the gang gave him credit for. He knew something was stirring, Remii was terrible at hiding it. He'd tried to reel her in with training but that didn't help any better than staring off in space did. So he'd left her to simmer in her internal whirlpool, his gaze fixating as she sauntered back into her hut like a mind-tricked trooper. Fairy knew exactly what was happening. Finn was helplessly clueless.

All Remi could see was him. All she could hear was him. All she could feel was him. The sensation of his rosy plump lips on hers had tattooed itself onto her skin. The kiss had been brief but not regrettable by any means. But Remii knew it wasn't in the script. She knew that kiss meant something. He'd known Star Wars Remii since she was just a kid, there was a history there. But how romantically-charged had this bond gone until now? As much as she wished she could recall more memories, she couldn't help but wonder what he knew. What he remembered. Ben had the answers but he was hoping she would put some pieces back together on her own. Though of course, he didn't know the full extent of her situation, either.

Remii ended up pacing back and fourth across the hut again and again until her soles ached. In her mindless fog she'd remembered to feed Grogu (and herself, though she couldn't remember what she'd eaten) before collapsing at the table. In a way, this was her dream come true. A kiss from Ben/Kylo, having a history with him, hell, even just meeting him in the flesh. She should've been jumping with joy and singing her delight. But the reality of it wasn't as simple. Nothing ever was. He'd hurt her, he'd hurt her friends...he'd killed J. Remii traced her fingers across her nose as she relived the forest battle, the electrifying crack and sizzle of his saber tracing across her mind. The desperation in her girls' voices, the desperation and fear in her own. The wild beastly flicker in his eye as he turned to her. He'd been completely blinded by it, intoxicated by it, the power and fury. It'd stunned her, allowing him the upper hand. Remii closed her eyes, trying desperately to blink it all away. Don't cry, she thought. Don't cry. So instead, she focused on the future, the undeniable future that lingered in the distance. At which point, she gradually drifted off to sleep, much to the detest of a grumbling Grogu. 

---

Night had fallen when he reappeared, her atmosphere still and calm. A stark difference to his with the distant buzz and rumble of an endlessly busy control deck behind him. The comfort he felt from their Forcetimes, it was the rekindling of the same comfort from his childhood. It was a splinter of the past but one he could bear, welcomely in fact. 

As Kylo Ren stepped up to the familiar wooden door and pushed it open, he expected to find Remii asleep on the bed. Part of him hoped as much so that he might join her. But when he entered the hut, he instead found Remii at the little wooden table, cheek pressed into her arms as she slept, the dying glow of the candle before her flickering at his entrance. His eyes softened then with his shoulders as he gazed at her. And then the smile pinched at his lip without any resistance. It reminded him of when they were young and she'd fall asleep in the Falcon cockpit, cheek smushed into her arms as she slept across the dashboard. He almost didn't want to move her because of that. Ben moved quietly across the hut (the opposite of his very loud and apparent presence amongst the First Order fleet), carefully lifting Remii's arms then her legs as he cradled her in his arms. This felt like déjà vu from just a week prior.. Grogu too remained blissfully unaware as Ben crossed the room to the bed and carefully laid Remii down, hesitating at first to do so, cradling her head as he placed her down on the pillow. For a moment he stood there watching her (as ominous as it felt), until he heard a soft rumble from her throat and nearly smiled to himself. He then eyed her raggedy burlap blanket, then her, and then the blanket before tearing his cape off and gently draping it across her. He took his place on the bed and allowed himself to peel the mold away, exhaling from his nose as he eased. Watching her made his eyes grow heavy as sleep too compelled him. And then he thought.

His eyebrows faintly creased as he removed his glove and slowly leaned forward, brushing his long fingers over the bridge of her nose. He lingered there for a moment, dragging his fingers down to the tip of her nose. And then across the bridge again. 

Remii stirred only once, her exhales longer for just a brief period. Remii wasn't a good liar, but she had perfected the art of pretending to be asleep.

---

When Remii awoke to the rising suns of Ahch-To and the sounds of Finn and Fairy training in the distance, she'd expected to be welcomed to yet another regular island morning. But she was proven wrong instantly. As Remii stretched, turning to check on Grogu, she instead met Ben's gaze as he sat at the table watching her. He blinked his heavy eyes when she looked at him, his posture becoming less statue-like as she adjusted to his early presence. 

"You're here." What meant to come out as a question almost sounded more like expected delight, as if they'd awoken together for a millennium. Ben adjusted his lips trying desperately to mask his own delight. 

"How did you sleep?"

Now it was Remii's turn to mask her emotions. She was delighted he'd asked (almost emotional because of it) but had to hide her cartoonish surprise at the fact that he had. She sat up, adjusting her orange pilot's suit she'd been using as pyjamas, almost embarrassed by it. "I slept well." Remii kept her eyes on him as she nodded to the bed. "Did you..."

"I did." The calmness in his tone held an air of its own delight. It was charming. They'd had a sleepover Remii was aware of and he'd enjoyed it. 

"Oh!" She didn't think that was possible. Their longest Forcetime yet and she wasn't even awake for it. "How did you sleep?"

Ben nodded softly, almost moreso to himself as he adjusted his seat. The early sun's rays were starting to trickle in now, pushing its way through the cracks and corners to splash across his face. "Very well," he admitted, hiding his face as he reached behind him to bring something to the table. Remii's mystery bread leftovers. "You still snore."

Remii wanted to be embarrassed but she snickered instead. "I think I always will. If it's not my own bed, I'm snorin'."

She thought to herself as she rose from the bed, taking his bringing of food as an open invitation to join him. What was Remii's bed? Where did she call home? Was it Jakku with the girls? Was it somewhere with Remii's sister Pallenn? Maybe she didn't have 'her bed' yet. Did Ben know?

"Did we have a lot of sleepovers on the Falcon?"

It came out before Remii could stop it. She knew how much talking about Han or the Falcon upset him, everyone did. She could see it in his eyes as he lowered his gaze, helping himself to the bread. Remii followed in his footsteps.

"Quite a few. We slept in strange areas on the base too."

Remii frowned, soft blush brushing her cheeks as she ate. "Like where?"

Ben hummed softly, tearing a piece and chewing before he answered. "Empty shipment containers, pipe systems, abandoned starfighters...on Chewie."

On Chewie. He'd openly acknowledged him, willingly. By nickname, in fact. Remii almost believed she'd imagined it. 

"Hmm," she smiled. She wished she remembered these things herself. It still was nice to hear, though. 

There wasn't much left of the mystery bread and when they'd eaten the rest, they were left in each other's silence. Though, it wasn't uncomfortable. Ben watched Remii hand the pieces she'd saved to Grogu, smiling widely at the tiny green creature's delight. Ben continued to watch her, his mind running in circles as she turned back to face him. And when she did Ben slowly reached towards her. Much to Ben's delight she didn't flinch this time and he gently brushed his fingers back across her nose. Remii sat still, stunned, her eyes on his as his lowered to her nose and lips. Were they thinking the same thing? Unlikely.

"It was you," Remii whispered, confirming. "It wasn't a dream."

Ben swallowed, his fingers lingering against her skin. And as they did Remii eyed his wound, stark and blackening across his face. Her own shared reminder of the forest. Remii felt her eyes heavy as she stared at it - she hadn't properly acknowledged it until now. It only felt natural when she reached out and trailed her fingers across it, across his cheek.

The mold had cracked. Ben Solo was seeping through.