Stronger Together (Kylo Ren x Reader | Maia)

The Second Summit

Kylo – The Harbinger, the morning of the summit

Maia had been busy planning her summit for the last week, and to my surprise, it had me irritated, as irrational as that was. She didn't come to bed the night before, and I found her crashed on the couch that morning, still fully clothed with her datapad on the ground. I woke her up, thinking she'd give me one of her small, tired smiles. But the moment she opened her eyes, she jumped up and ran to take a shower.

I followed her after a moment, leaning against the counter and watching her shower through the clear doors. Her movements were fast and precise.

"You're in quite the hurry," I finally said, making her jump in surprise.

"Kylo," she said, rolling the door open to look at me. "Hey," she added softly.

I smiled despite myself. "Hey." She showed her teeth in a smile of her own before closing the door.

"I need to be on my way to Naboo like, now."

"You have millions under your command Maia, you don't have to do everything yourself."

She let out a little laugh. "I do this time. I uhm, I haven't told you yet," she said, her voice trailing off.

"What?"

"Er, you're on a panel."

"A panel," I repeated dryly. She slid the door open again and gave me an embarrassed smile. It was... cute. She was cute.

"Yes. The last one."

"And what am I supposed to be speaking about?"

"Where you plan on taking the Order, or something. I have a few speeches prepared that you can treat to your liking. You don't have to show yourself before then; we have private seating on the balcony above."

"And you?"

She closed the door and I watched her put her hair under the water, her arms in the air and the slightly blurry shape of her breasts moving with her.

"I'll be starting it off. Introducing the panelists. That kind of thing."

"I didn't realize you liked giving speeches."

She giggled, pushing her face under the water. When she spoke again, she shut the shower off.

She stepped out without grabbing a towel, grinning at me. "I don't," she finally answered, then wrapped her arms around me.

I laughed lightly, glad I hadn't dressed yet, as her soaking body pressed against mine. She hung off my neck, smiling up at me.

"I need you to arrive at noon. There's a private landing pad behind the complex, near the smaller courtyard."

I nodded and squeezed her. I liked how hard she worked, but I've missed her this week. It was hot how good she was at her job, though. Her mind seemed so orderly, so quick. She understood the big picture, and all the threads that created it.

But Maia didn't just understand, she understood how she could manipulate it. Maia was fit to lead. And she loved me. It was so easy to allow her to simply do her thing, and tell me what to do and when, because she had my best interest at heart, I knew. How much time had she spent writing up possible speeches for me? I would bet my life they even sounded like me, as if she heard my thoughts.

The assistant was good, but Maia was better, even with another full-time career. It was clear that Jackie received guidance—order, more like it—from her. I knew Maia could not continue helping me forever, and that I was likely taking advantage of her. But she was just so damn good at it.