Loving the Enemy: A Reylo WWII Story

L'Incendie du Drapeau

Authors Notes: First of all, thank you for reading this! This is my first piece of writing on a fanfiction website, so I hope it turns out well. I apologize for the lack of SMUT in the first two chapters, but in the following two things will start to heat up! I will try to update with a few chapters every weekend. Thanks! Feel free to leave comments for any suggestions on how it should end!

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The crunching of the gravel echoed throughout the silent town square. The onlookers stood stiff as boards. All equally parts shocked and horrified as the german soldiers marched row by row into their town. They watched silently as their french flag was removed from the city hall and replaced by the nazi flag. The Germans burned the french flags in the center of the square, all bearing twisted smiles when looking at the despair on the civilian faces around them. All but one. Ren stood there. Twisting his handkerchief in his hand as his own emotions twisted inside. He felt conflicted. He had killed for this moment. He had shed blood, sweat, and tears to reach the impressive status of general in his only 25 years of age. He had cut down hundreds of French men for this moment. Yet, he felt something wrong about it. It was different to slaughter armed french men, but to their make women and children watch the country that their husbands, fathers, and brothers died for, burn to the ground was another. Ren saw nothing to gain by breaking the women and children. Ren knew they would already be plenty broken by the end german occupation. 

Ren glanced around, seeing the looks of devastation around him. His eyes latched onto a brunette girl, slightly younger than himself with her dark hair tied back in a thin ribbon, pieces of her hair whipping around her face in the wind, while supporting an older woman who seemed weak at the knees from seeing her flag burn. Ren focused in on the girl. She was petite, yet strong. His eyes trained on her, hunting for any trace of emotion in her face, her stance, and her eyes. However, the girl seemed unaffected in the ways the others were. No tears were brimming her eyes, no faintness in the knees, no flushed face. He could sense her anger and rage, yet it was well mastered, contained almost. Her face was like steel. Something he envied as he always lashed out at everyone and anyone around him when his mood swung. Everyone knew what he was thinking even before he did. But with her, she stood stoic. Reflexively, the girl looked at him, locking eyes with him in return. She was beautiful. In a strong, delicate, but resilient kind of way. She was equal parts someone who could defend herself but would also needed to be defended. Covered, yet not smothered. Protected, yet not sheltered. She was an intricate masterpiece; one that Ren hadn't even begun to comprehend. Ren broke eye contact, looking at his fellow soldiers. Already, some of them were starting to eye some of the pretty young women surrounding the square. Many already had their eyes locked onto Ren's pretty brunette. Ren twisted his handkerchief even more tightly.

Rey felt the heat of his gaze upon her. She tried not to make eye contact, but curiosity got the best of her. Quickly her eyes darted towards his, consciously keeping her face blank; her breath hitched in her throat. Staring intensely at her was a young german soldier. His dark raven hair was slicked back under his cap. His face was cleanly shaven. His posture was straight. His uniform had more badges than the others, and was a slightly different color; a more regal color. On his right breast pocket, there was a name embroidered. But Rey was too far to make out what it said. She turned her attention to his eyes. His eyes were haunting. Rey tried to decode them and for the split second before the soldier looked away, she imagined that she saw guilt, unhappiness, and curiosity linger in his eyes. His cheeks turned pink as he desperately glanced away, embarrassed to have been caught staring. Rey looked around at the other soldiers, suddenly realizing that a good lot of them had been intently eyeing at her as well. Under the other man's gaze, she felt like a puzzle piece that he couldn't quite figure out.  Yet, under the other soldier's glances, she felt small, helpless, and like a present they were attempting to unwrap with their eyes. Glancing around, she noticed the soldiers staring at the other young girls in the village square. Rose, Sabine, Colette, Françoise. Some of the girls were staring back, some with revolt written on their faces, some with aloof faces. Damn it. Didn't these girls understand that these men could and would take whatever they wanted, regardless of the willingness of the participants. Rey's stomach turned sour; the disgust that she had already felt for these men doubled at their evident intentions. 

The mayor, a man named Monsieur Brousseau, started handing out informant letters about which german soldier each french household would be lodging. Rey already knew she would be staying with someone high up in the German army; Finn's mother was one of the wealthiest in the town and had the nicest house in a 50 kilometer radius. And since Rey lived with Finn's mother, it was her fate too. Gathering the courage, Rey collected the letter from Monsieur Brousseau and handed it to Finn's mother for inspection. Finn's mother pushed away the letter turning it back to Rey as if it were aflame. Rey felt too weak to see her her fate spelled out, but she saw the panic on Finn's mother's face so she obeyed. Rey's hands shook as she opened the letter. She skimmed until she saw the words "Le commandant Kylo Ren sera logé chez vous". Commander Kylo Ren will be housed with you.