Cruel World [Professor Kylo Ren AU]

Chapter Twenty-Four

(A/N: Only a few more chapters left! And that's all I'll say about that because otherwise, I will get SAD. Okay. Enjoy.)

    Chicago had been cold, unfamiliar, and, as the nickname suggested; windy. You'd been anxious to go, not only to go somewhere far to meet up with someone like Kylo but also because of the circumstances; his mother being sick. But, still, somehow, it felt more comforting than being in California right now.

    Despite the weather and the newness, Chicago had been where you could be in public with your guard down with Kylo. You fell asleep in his arms without fearing your roommates being next door. And it was where you told him you loved him for the first time. The same place where he told you that he loved you more.

    And now the warm sun and recognizable streets of home meant nothing to you because you knew what followed them was hiding how you felt for your professor.

    The night you returned to your sorority house, you received a text from Kylo.

    It hurt your heart to see his name on your phone, knowing that you would be forced to pretend your relationship was strictly educational when you attended class on Monday.

    As you put on a pair of pajamas that Kylo previously bought you and flopped on your bed with a huff, the feeling of Chicago instantly flowed through your body again. Because the text read:

'Back door is open. Come home.'

You had slid open the glass door of Kylo's house many times before. Usually, it was when you were sneaking over, having to hide from your roommates, and filled with dread the idea that maybe he would send you right back home when he saw that it was you who was knocking.

This was the first time you had ever entered Kylo's home, knowing he loved you.

It wasn't difficult to see why you had an extra spring in your step as you performed the action.

And it was also the same reason that Kylo was elated just to be alive in his kitchen. Music played from his speakers, food cooked in the oven, and he comfortably hummed under his breath, tapping his foot on the floor as he checked the food with the oven light.

Professor Ren was known for being grumpy and intimidating. He was the type of man who was never fully pleased, always annoyed by something. He walked through the halls of your college buildings with an irritated scowl, judging and disappointed. But right now, he looked like anything but that.

"Hey," He said, still inspecting dinner as he did so, not looking over his shoulder to confirm who it was because he knew it had to be you.

"Hey," You replied, smirking as you observed him.

You watched as his foot continued to tap in time with the music as he nodded his head, on beat and in approval at how the meat that was cooking looked. Kylo opened the door, grunting under his breath when he could get a better look and smell the steam that escaped the oven as he did so before closing it back up.