Allegiance | Kylo Ren

XLI

I held onto Mason's hand tightly, laughing breathlessly as he broke into a run and pulled me along behind him. We wove through the hallways until we came to an unfamiliar door. With a mischievous glance at me over his shoulder, he pushed it open, revealing a flight of stairs. We climbed several flights of stairs, our fingers remaining stubbornly interlaced, until we reached another door. He pushed it open, and we were met by the cool night air on our faces.

"Woah." I glanced around with wide eyes.

We were on the roof. The night sky stretched out overhead, stars freckling its smooth black surface. A cool breeze blew past, but neither of us seemed to mind. We were surrounded by miles and miles of dark forest, the trees rustling softly together.

Mason pulled me by the hand to the edge of the building, where we leaned against the wall and gazed out. He kept his eyes trained on me as I surveyed the view, mesmerized by the sheer openness of the night around us.

"I've never been up here before." I breathed, and as my gaze met his, he grinned.

"I know. That's why I brought you here. I used to come here all the time, before things got hectic at the hospital." He gazed out over the surrounding forest. "It's a great place to think, if you need to be alone."

I squeezed his hand, warmth in my chest that he had shared such a personal place with me. I nestled close to him, the breeze cutting through my clothing easily. He wrapped his arm around my hips and pulled my body flush to his, sharing his body heat. He rested his chin on my shoulder, looking out at the forest from behind me.

"I've never seen the sky so clear." I murmured, entranced by the tiny spots of light gleaming above us.

"This is the best view of the stars I've had in a long time." He pressed a kiss to the side of my neck, sending a shiver down my spine. Then he chuckled. "That was complete luck, of course."

I giggled, twisting in his grasp so that I faced him and pressing my lips to his. "Thank you for sharing this with me."

He shrugged, smiling down at me. "I'm not sure who else I would share it with."

I kissed him again, then pulled away to look over the wall again. The forest seemed to stretch on forever, blurring into the horizon where the trees met the black sky. I had never realized just how secluded the base was, how protected by its isolation.

Movement overhead caught my eye. A light streamed through the air for a heartbeat before disappearing.

"Was that—?" I started.

"A jet, probably." Mason said, his eyes scanning the sky. "You can get a good view up here of them as they fly by, especially if they're going lightspeed." Noticing my disappointment, he chuckled. "But we can pretend it was a shooting star, if you want." He was quiet for a moment. "Somebody told me once that you can make wishes on shooting stars. I don't know if that's true or not, though."

My eyes travelled over the smooth black surface of the sky. "If we're pretending the jet was a shooting star, then we might as well pretend that we can make wishes on it."

Mason laughed again, nuzzling his face into my neck. "Make a wish, then." His voice was muffled.

"You make a wish." I couldn't think of something worth wishing for; I was distracted by the tickle of his breath on my skin.

"I have everything I could ever wish for, here with me right now."

I couldn't help it—I laughed. He frowned slightly, confused by my reaction, and I felt guilty for making him think I was laughing at him. To reassure him, I pulled him in for a kiss.

"You just don't seem real sometimes." I murmured when we pulled apart.

He grinned. "I'm not sure exactly what you mean by that, but I'm going to assume that it's a good thing."

"It definitely is." I wrapped my arms tightly around him, pressing my face into the soft material of his shirt and inhaling his scent. He smelled like aftershave and mint—different from Kylo, I realized, whose scent resembled the ground after it rained. I frowned slightly to myself at Kylo's intrusion in my thoughts, and pushed him away.

Mason and I slowly sunk to the ground, where we lay flat and looked up at the stars. After a few moments of silence, he rolled towards me and began to pepper my skin with feathery kisses. I giggled at his touch, but kept my eyes fixed on the sky above us. Something felt so freeing about the night sky—its infinite space and bottomless darkness made me feel as if I could fall through it forever and never complain.

At last, Mason used his hand to turn my face slightly and press his lips to mine. I responded, pulling myself up so I was hovering over him before reengaging his mouth with mine, my fingers toying with the bottom hem of his shirt.

I don't know what time we fell asleep, but when we woke the sun was just beginning to peek out from behind some fresh clouds. I sat up slowly, stiffly, rubbing my eyes with the heels of my hands. Mason groaned softly as he copied me, squinting out over the horizon at the early morning light. Then his eyes widened, and he shot to his feet.

"I have to go to work." He ruffled his hair with his hands and adjusted his shirt, smoothing out its creases. He gave me one last glance before scrambling towards the door and disappearing.

I stared at the spot where he had disappeared, mildly amused. After a moment, he reappeared. He made his way to my side and pulled me to my feet, a sheepish smile across his handsome face.

"Sorry, I panicked." Mason kissed me softly. "But I really do have to go."

"I'm not stopping you." I laughed lightly, pressing my hand flat to his chest.

"I love you." He whispered, his green eyes boring into mine.

"I love you, too." I kissed him one last time. "Now go, or you'll be late."

He spared me one last glance before disappearing once more down the stairs.

******

A/N:  If anyone was wondering, I've been imagining Mason as Luke Mitchell.  But if you've had someone else in mind this whole time, then by all means feel free to picture him as whoever you'd like. :)