Stronger Together (Kylo Ren x Reader | Maia)

Balu

Maia, her office, two days later

"Would you have come to Snoke with this type of gossip?" I snapped.

Pryde scoffed in his holo. I stood tall with my hands cupped together in front of me. Kylo's cute little assistant was watching my every move, as she should be. The goal was for her to be able to emulate the way I tried to shield Kylo from almost any and all contact. It wasn't that he didn't want to handle everything—it's that he can't.

Snoke had a shit method: basically, only four people could speak to him. Period. There was no structure around it at all.

Kylo wasn't quite so conserved, but the people were testing him and his limits.

Without really speaking to him about it, my job was to make sure no one ever saw those limits. Which essentially meant when people reached out to try and push his buttons, I worked to slap them away.

In my humble opinion, whining to Kylo about another leader in the Order was not just a waste of his time, but a waste of mine.

"This is an official complaint, High Admiral, not gossip."

"Hm. No, I don't think so. What it is, is you trying to use this incident to voice your opinions, which in turn, tells me your thoughts on the much larger issue of negotiations with the New Republic. But I already know where you stand on the matter—both matters—as does the Supreme Leader. Waste my time with something as useless as your opinion again and I will have your communications access to the entire Harbinger revoked."

I swiped the holo off.

"You do not like him," Jackie Smith pointed out, rather unnecessarily. My head turned enough to look at her and I gave her a small smile.

She looked a bit like me, a bit leaner and her hair was the wrong color—black, like Kylo's—but she was close. Enough that I knew the people who hated me would likely hate her too, before she even spoke.

"It has nothing to do with liking him—or anyone, for that matter. I do not trust him." I finally turned fully, taking a step closer. "Not to save Kylo, were his life on the line. Not to help lead the First Order with integrity. And most certainly not to advise me on our leadership."

She bowed her head. "Understood, ma'am. So who do we trust?"

I pondered my answer for a moment before responding. "When it comes to the Supreme Leader, no one but me. No one else sees him as a real person. They see opportunity."

"Makes sense." She paused. "But you trust the Allegiant General even less than most," she said with no air of humor.

"That's correct." Moving toward the door, I pulled my coat off the chair and tugged it on. "I am retiring for the evening. Don't hesitate to contact me."

"Yes ma'am. Have a good evening."

"You too," I mumbled as I left, my mind already elsewhere.

Kuruk fell into step behind me as I made my way down to our quarters. It was getting late, though the Harbinger was never quiet. We passed officers and stormtroopers alike, but I was imagining dinner and my pillows. As it turns out, having every moment of one's day occupied was exhausting.

So, I was relieved to arrive at our quarters and excited to see Kylo was already home.

"What's that?" I asked, stopping in the doorway. I ignored the meal set out for us on the squat coffee table, instead looking at the unique little BB unit. It chirped at me as it swayed from side to side.

"It is a droid." My eyes finally flicked to Kylo, dressed in black sweatpants and a black shirt. He looked damn good in resting clothes, and an odd part of me was pleased no one else got to see him like that.