Reylo: These Violent Delights

Chapter 62: Welcome Home

Beep.

Rey groaned.

Beep.

She wiggled her toes.

Beep.

Hushed voices spoke above her. "Doctor, she's awake."

Beep.

Her head lolled to the side. "Where the fuck am I?" she tried to ask but could only manage, "I, uhmmmm?"

"Hey there, honey."

Rey opened her eyes at the familiar voice. A few blinks later, and she focused on the kind face of Dr. Cullen, and her lips turned up in a loopy smile. "I thought you...were...dead."

His brows knit. "Excuse me?"

"The Finalizer. It...it didn't blow up? Thass good, thass..." she yawned, wincing at the world of pain it elicited. "Ow."

He placed a hand on her forehead. "I know, Rey. We will bring you something for discomfort."

She nodded, her body responding to the soreness in her bones and the coldness of the room. "What, what happened?" she croaked out, holding her stomach as nausea started to build. "I was on Exegol, and then, I can't...I can't remember."

He gave her a sympathetic smile. "You were severely injured in the crash. We placed you in a bacta tank and you will recover, but confusion is normal. It will take some time for you to come around. Try to relax."

"What? What crash? What happened?" Rey asked, more coherent now as the anxiety started to seep in. "Where's the Supreme Leader? Why isn't he in here with me?"

Carlisle ignored her, speaking quietly to the nurse in the room. "Get me three milligrams of Myoplexaril."

"Hello?" she asked, raising her voice. "I said, where is Kylo? Where is the Supreme Leader?"

He put his hands up, trying to calm her. "Please, you're in a fragile state right now. You need to relax."

"I don't want to relax," she snapped, sitting up. Her head spun, and bile rose in her throat, but the pit in her stomach told her that something was terribly wrong. "I...I need to get out of here. I need, I need—"

"You need to lay down," he said, firmly grabbing her shoulders. He pushed her back into the bed and threw a glance over his shoulder. "Three milligrams of Myoplexaril, now."

"Where's Kylo?" Rey asked again, voice cracking. Carlisle fought to keep her down, and she started to shout. The vital sign monitor beeped wildly. "Where is he? What crash?"

"It's okay, it's okay," the nurse soothed. "Doctor, hold her down."

"No, no," she panicked, eyes following the syringe as the nurse grabbed her wrist. The moment she saw the bandage wrapped around her palm, it all came back to her. Hux. The crystals. Luke. The crash. Kylo. I have to find Kylo. Fixated on that thought, Rey had no choice but to fight her way out. Mustering as much strength as possible, she headbutted Dr. Cullen.

He stumbled back in surprise, groaning in pain, and the nurse yelped as her patient pushed off the bed to run for it. She tried to stop her, but Rey yanked out the tubes connected to her arm, dragged the IV pole toward her, and slammed it against her. She spun around and bolted through the door, immediately hit in the face with how bright the medbay was.

Rey squinted her eyes, head viciously pounding as her bare feet slammed against the cool ground. She ran down the length of the corridor but had to come to a stop when she reached two locked double doors. She screamed for Kylo, frantically whipping her head back and forth to look for him. But all the rooms were empty in this section of the medbay.

"Kylo, I'm here!" she cried, pulse skyrocketing. "Where are you?"

Two surgeons exited the restricted area in front of her, and she pushed past them to run through the doors. They yelled for security, but she didn't slow down as she went deeper into the quieter part of the medbay. The absence of staff allowed her to check each room, but her heart dropped as she found most of them were locked or empty. Slowing to a stop at the end of the hallway, a numbness began to sink in. He isn't here. He didn't make it.

"KYLO!" Rey screamed as the nurses rushed after her. She ignored them as they put their hands on her. "Please, Kylo," she whispered, looking up at the glossy white ceilings. "Please."

Rey's chest felt heavy, so fucking heavy and her throat was tight. Trembles wracked her body. The kind that made her forget what it felt like to be still. She fell apart as she was being guided away. Tears impeded her vision, and her shoulders slumped to the ground. Her brain kept repeating the same word, echoing within the void that carved its way into her chest. Please.

"Rey?"

She turned her head to the left, where she heard his faint voice. "Kylo?"

"Kitten," he called out with effort, "I'm in here."

Rey broke free from the nurses, the hospital gown outlining her slight figure as it flapped behind her. Chills wracked her body as she called out to him, the brisk air caressing her tear-streaked face. "Kylo, I'm here! Where are you?"

"This way," he said, this time from behind her. She froze and spun around, picking the first door she saw. She felt lightheaded upon opening it. She saw him. Shirtless and bandaged, Kylo sat upright in the hospital bed, his pale skin almost glowing under the bright, fluorescent lights. Bruises and cuts splattered across his chest like a constellation, and the dark circles around his eyes seemed to swallow them whole. But he was in one piece, somehow, and staring at her like she was the center of his galaxy.

Tears dripped down Rey's cheeks. "You're alive."

From across the room, she could see him swallow. "You're here."

She ran to him. As she approached, Kylo winced and slid over to make space next to him. She carefully sat on the edge of his bed and went to hug him, but stopped herself. She was afraid of hurting him.

Carefully pivoting toward her, he gave her a rough demand. "Come."

Wasting no more time, Rey melted against him. She grasped the back of his neck with her hands, molding her torso against his. He draped his heavy arms around her waist, and besides her sniffling, the two of them sat in silence as they soaked up each other's presence. The nurses came in while he held her, but Kylo gave them a wave of his hand, and they left them alone.

She leaned away, eyes trailing down the length of his body. "You're okay. I can't believe it."

He brought a hand up to her face, cupping her cheek. "Because of you."

"Kylo, I almost killed you. I almost killed both of us. I had no business flying your silencer," Rey said, shaking her head. A relieved, manic laugh slipped through her lips. "Which, by the way, when you're out of here, we are talking about that whole call-me-Daddy-or-self-destruct thing."

"An outdated precaution," he said, unperturbed and unapologetic. His eyes darted up and down her body. "What about you? Are you hurt?" He shifted to sit up straighter and gently grabbed her bandaged hand to turn it over. "The crystal, what happened after you grabbed it?"

Rey flinched, removing it from his grasp and looking down. "Luke called it to him. He died saving me."

"Yes. He's gone. I feel it. But you..." He hooked a finger under her chin, connecting her eyes with his. "I don't feel you, Rey. Not anymore. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. The universe probably reconsidered when it realized how crazy I am." She tried to laugh and brush it off, but it sounded unconvincing even to her ears. "Really, I don't think I was meant to have the Force."

"No. You're wrong," he said, giving an absolute shake of his head. "We are a dyad. One in the Force. You are meant to have your powers, but you risked them for me. You gave everything to the Sith Lords for me."

Rey gave him a small smile. "You came to Exegol, alone, to save me. I'd say we are even."

"No. What you've done for me, what you've endured because of me..." he trailed off, shaking his head. "I don't deserve you."

"No, Kylo," she said softly, placing her uninjured hand on top of his. "For better or worse, I think we deserve each other."

With his eyes darting across her face and bottom lip trembling, he sucked in a deep breath. "Rey...this is still my fault. Luke tried to give me the pendant on Batuu, but I didn't take it. I, I didn't believe him or trust him, especially not with you, but—"

She cut him off with a kiss. It was soft and gentle and barely there, but it was enough to soothe his disquiet. "You protected me," she murmured against his lips. "None of this is your fault. Okay?"

Rey waited until he gave her a shaky nod before pulling back. The Supreme Leader watched her for a long time, his fingers gently caressing the top of her burnt hand. A comfortable silence settled between them, and she leaned in to lay down next to him, but he shook his head as he started to rise from the bed.

"Wait, Kylo—"

He ignored her. Grimacing, he peeled his back off the hospital bed and plucked out the IVs in his arm. A shrill alarm went off in the room, and she could hear fast footsteps approaching the door.

Rey grabbed his arm. "Whoa, wait, what are you doing?"

Not looking at her, he swung his legs off the side of the bed and slowly pushed himself up. "Leaving."

"Kylo, you almost died. You need to stay here and heal."