Stronger Together (Kylo Ren x Reader | Maia)

Ocean Breeze

Kylo, streets of Canto Bight

I took Maia to the spaceport, but when she did not go to her ship, I nodded at my Knights to hold and followed far behind. If she knew I was following, she gave no indication. She was headed toward the ocean, stopping to look at vendors, and moving elegantly out of the way of crowds—meaning nobody seemed to notice her. However, once they passed her, they certainly noticed me.

I raised an eyebrow under my mask when she bought a cheap shirt from a beach vendor, took off her jacket, and slipped it on. It was a white splash-dyed shirt, with speckles of red and purple on random areas. She flipped her jacket inside out and tied it around her waist. Then, she pulled off her boots and socks and carried them in one hand as she stepped onto the sand. She didn't wish to stand out, I realized. She hoped to feel normal.

Oh, Maia. Didn't she know we would never be normal?

From the way she looked down at her feet, I wondered if she'd ever walked barefoot in the sand before. I followed for a few meters and paused, no need to go any further. She walked right up to the water's edge, stopping just before. I watched, almost anticipating something, as the water approached her.

"Kuruk," I said into my mask.

"Yes, my lord?"

"Take my shuttle back to the Finalizer and have someone unload the goods into her chambers. I'll find my own way."

"Yes, sir."

She did not move when the water skimmed her ankles, instead staring down at her feet. The sun was almost to the horizon, and most people were done with dinner and heading out to experience the nightlife. This part of the beach thinned out around now, and nobody spared her a glance. She continued to watch the waves for I don't know how long, before finally crouching down to touch the water.

Some illogical part of my mind, some locked away childlike part, wanted to mimic her actions, to feel what she was feeling. As my curiosity grew, I began to be aware of hers as well. It was faint and barely noticeable, like a single speck of sand in my awareness.

Another minute or two passed by, and my stomach did a flip when her voice came out—not quite as monotone as usual, but close. "Did you know this ocean is artificial?"

I looked around, but there was no one between us, and nobody was close enough to hear.

"Yes."

"How strange," she said, still loud enough for me to hear over the water and wind, but with a wispy addition I found to be intriguing. "Do you think they laughed at the first person to suggest it?"

I thought about the question, probably harder than she'd intended. "It depends on who they told it to."

Her head tilted up to the sky for the first time, and I thought she was rolling my answer over in her head. I took a few steps closer until I was standing directly next to her. She looked back at the approaching wave, her knees still bent. It came closer, and I had planned on just letting the water cover my boots.

Instead, at the last second, I created a shield around my feet with the Force, causing the wave to wash around me and then back again. Her head moved just enough to watch. I expected—no, I hoped she would look up at me from that angle. Instead, she waited until the water rejoined the ocean with a gentle sound, then stood and looked at my mask. She didn't say anything right away, long enough for another wave to return. This time, I took the water that would have passed me and propelled it up to splash her.

Realizing at the last moment that the move would definitely be considered flirting, I stopped the water. It froze in a wild pattern mere centimeters from her face. She flinched, but when the attack never came, stared at the hovering water with wide eyes. She swiped it, and I let it move with her, simply keeping it in the air. The right corner of her lips twitched as if she wanted to smile. It wasn't until she tried to smack it away that I let it fall to the sand.