Allegiance | Kylo Ren

XXIV

I stood in the back of the ship with Kylo on the way back. Again, neither of us said anything, but this time it was due to fatigue, not nerves or focus. I felt myself lean against him for a moment before I recognized my action and immediately straightened my posture.

When we returned, we waited for the troopers to leave the ship before we followed.

"Come with me." He muttered as he passed me, not bothering to look at me as he made his way to the elevators.

I paused. Part of me wanted to go to the medical wing and check in with Mason to let him know that I had returned okay, but part of me knew I should go with Kylo. With a sigh, I followed Kylo to the lifts, promising myself that I would visit Mason as soon as we were done.

We walked in silence as we moved down the hallways that had become so familiar. When we reached his door, he pulled off his mask and removed his cape, tossing both carelessly to the side as we entered. I removed my helmet with a sigh of relief, placing it carefully on the ground next to his abandoned items.

"We make a good team." I finally spoke, realizing he wasn't going to. I looked up as I heard him lie stiffly on his bed.

"Yeah." He grimaced, his voice tight.

I walked to his bedside, looking down at him in concern. "Are you alright?"

Kylo made a face and shrugged slightly, making a small grunt at the movement. My heart dropped as I noticed a dark stain spreading through the material covering his left shoulder. Disregarding all formalities, I pulled up the hem of his shirt over his shoulder, sighing at the sight of scarlet blood covering the skin.

"You need a doctor."

He gave me an incredulous look, and I rolled my eyes at his predictable nonverbal refusal. I began to pull off my armor, leaving it in a neat pile by my helmet.

"Take off your shirt." I instructed as I made my way to a door that I assumed led to the bathroom. I was correct; I pulled a washcloth off of a hook and ran it under cool water before returning to Kylo's side.

The wound was small, luckily, but it was bleeding a lot. I gently dabbed at the surrounding skin, trying to wash off excess blood so I could examine it better. I eventually resorted to pressing the cloth directly to the wound, hoping the pressure would cut off most of the bleeding. I sat on the edge of his bed as I held it on, trying not to press too hard so I wouldn't hurt him.

I felt his eyes on me, and I reluctantly met his gaze.

"I don't think you're going to need stitches." I said at last, feeling a bit uncomfortable under his stare.

He grunted. "That's good."

I laughed breathlessly. "Yes, because between the two of us I think we've torn out enough of them to last a lifetime."

He smiled softly. "Thank you."

I blinked, certain that I had misheard him. "Y-you're welcome."

Kylo rested his head back against the pillow. "Not just for this."

I frowned slightly. "Then for what?"

"Everything." He closed his eyes. "Visiting me. Talking to me. Taking my mind off things."

I chewed my lip, fighting the grin that threatened to spread across my face. "I was starting to think I was boring you with all of my long stories."

He frowned but kept his eyes closed. "Bore me? You don't bore me, Cal."

My cheeks burned softly. "I'm glad." I murmured, unsure of what else to say.

I lifted the cloth slightly to check the wound. The rag had become saturated with blood, but there didn't seem to be anything coming from the wound. I used a clean corner to dab the edges of the cut before returning to the bathroom, tossing the rag in the sink and washing my hands. I dug around in the medicine chest for a minute, looking for gauze and some sort of bandage. I settled for tape, returning to the bedside. I pressed the gauze softly but firmly to his skin, and used a few pieces of tape to keep in in place.

"There." I smoothed out the tape one last time. "Try and keep that on for as long as you can. I know you and I have a tendency to undo medical procedures, but do your best to avoid doing that."

He smiled at my teasing tone, but he was still tense under my touch. I pulled my hands away, gazing down at him. Something was nagging at me.

"Couldn't you have healed this yourself? With the Force?"

"Probably."

I couldn't hold back a laugh at his honest answer. "You just wanted to make me do it anyway?"

"I guess so." He was fighting a smile.

I stood up, shaking my head in mock annoyance. "You lazy—"

His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, pulling me back to the bed. I stumbled backward with an embarrassing squeak, falling over him so that we were laying perpendicular across his bed, my legs crossed over his.

The bed was shaking slightly, and it took a second for me to realize it was because he was laughing. I sat up, staring at him. "What?"

"That noise you made." His shoulders were shaking softly as he laughed.

"Stop." I groaned, flopping back on the bed. "Don't make fun of me."

He fought to speak through his laughter, and I grinned over at him, having never seen this side of him. Instead, he tried to imitate the sound, emitting a high-pitched whine.

I joined in his laughter, realizing how pathetic the noise really was. "I think you're delirious."

He ignored my observation, still smiling. "That was like the noise you made when I found you on your first mission." He tried to make it again, but his voice cracked and cut off as he started laughing again.

I gasped and laughed, kicking his leg halfheartedly. "I was dying!"

His smile faded a little. "It was still a pathetic noise."

I giggled. "I know." There was a moment of quiet, and then I made the noise again. Kylo grinned at the ceiling, shaking his head slightly.

We fell into a comfortable silence, both suddenly overcome by our exhaustion. Kylo's eyes fluttered shut, and the steady rise and fall of his chest told me that he was either asleep or close to it.

I was tempted to give into sleep as well, but I knew I couldn't stay here. After a few moments of staring at the ceiling, I sat up carefully so as to avoid waking Kylo. I picked my way over him, casting one last glance at his sleeping form as I went.

I padded quietly across the room and picked up my armor, pulling it back on. After pulling on my helmet, I silently opened the door and slipped out. I made my way back to the barracks, suddenly exhausted. I flopped on my bed after removing my armor and putting it carefully in its case. My eyes slammed shut, and I was overcome by the black wave of sleep crashing over me.

It was only when I woke several hours later that I remembered that I had forgotten to go meet Mason.