Stronger Together (Kylo Ren x Reader | Maia)

Torture and Murder

Kylo, captain's quarters aboard the Harbinger

I was sitting at my desk, trying to think of anything other than Maia and her intentions, when the door to our quarters slid open.

"I need a favor," her voice came out. I glanced over to see the corners of her lips gently curled up in the doorway.

Gods, she was beautiful. Her hair was now in a loose braid, her outfit not nearly as pristine as it was during the summit, as if she'd had a very long day indeed. When I looked at her, I saw my entire universe. The way she still gave me a shy, sheepish smile when our eyes met; her piercing, arctic eyes penetrating my soul; how her spine softened nowhere but with me—all of it was sure to drive me mad. I kept waiting for her to come to her senses, to realize I was dangerous, a monster in human form.

"A favor?" I repeated. We never really asked anything of each other, so I was thrown off by the request.

"Yes. I will owe you one." I raised an eyebrow and nodded at the chair in front of the desk, my heart fluttering just from being in the same room as her.

She sat, and I saw she was nervous, her hands folded on her lap, the muscles in her forearms moving from how tight she held them. How odd.

I only ever saw her anxious when it came to me—something I found immensely impressive in our line of work—but sitting before me was not a shy lover. I wasn't sure if she was worried about asking me for a favor, or if there was something deeper bothering her.

What I was sure of, however, was how thoroughly I would crush whatever demons had her face in such a deep frown. My earlier worries mattered little. The future was unknown, but Maia was sitting before me, requesting my help for the first time since asking for a Destroyer. Which, I could appreciate, was quite a favor.

"We don't owe each other favors, Maia. What do you need?" Please don't ask me something that will get us killed.

With a sigh, she pursed her lips briefly. "I need you to... interrogate someone."

Oh. That was definitely up my alley. I felt the tension release from my body with the understanding that Maia was not in danger.

Well. Not yet, anyway.

"Really?" I asked, my brows lifting in unconcealed surprise. "Who?" I didn't love the idea of Maia torturing someone, so I was slightly relieved she asked me instead.

"A cook." Ah, she heard something from her surveillance—which meant she had been searching for something specific.

"For what? What does he know?" She hesitated, and my curiosity grew fast and hard. Nothing could have prepared me for her answer.

"How Hux died."

I scrunched my face up before I could prevent the reaction. "That bloated asshole? Why do you care?"

Her medical records from her early years with the Order were... skewed—but I found enough to piece together what had happened there. And I fucking hated that man because of it. If I could reverse death, I'd bring him back just to kill him again. Rinse and repeat.

"I don't. I wish I had been the one to do it," she said in a way that caught my full attention. So rarely did I hear the woman's true fire, but there it was, richly lacing her voice. Yes, Maia didn't hate—but she had hated the elder Hux.

"Then why are you asking me to torture a man?"

"Because I promised someone I'd find out the truth."

I nodded slowly, rolling it over in my mind. Truth. Something I was actively avoiding, at the moment: the truth of who Maia was, maybe even who I really was.