STRONGER - KYLO REN

v . comfort

ASTRID THROWS HERSELF on her bed, body shaking with anger and sadness and anxiety. she tears off her cape and boots, and screams. she screams for as long as she can until she feels her throat go numb. she hates this. she hates kylo. she hates the first order. she hates this war.

she wants to go back to her friends and being alongside captain phasma. kylo is making her question everything.

a knock echoes on her door. she sniffles and wipes her eyes. she walks to the door and opens it. it's two stormtroopers. they walk in and remove their helmets as soon as the door closes. astrid frowns as soon as she realizes it's only ezra and owen who enter her room.

"a-allana?" astrid chokes out.

they both shake their heads, looking down at the ground. astrid falls to her knees and begins to sob. her best friend was killed. her and allana had been inseparable since they were roomed together. they goofed off together, ate every meal together, even shared a kiss or two. astrid's body shakes with sobs.

meanwhile, kylo stands outside the interrogation room rey is in. pain is felt in his heart and he clutches his chest. he knows it's astrid, she's hurting. the words uttered by the scavenger dance around his mind. "a creature in a mask." and "you're afraid you'll never be as strong as darth vadar." but he was most surprised, by her strength in the force. his mind was torn, go see astrid or ask supreme leader for guidance.

he decided to quickly visit the supreme leader. snoke has never let him down when his brain was a mess, so he'll rely on him now.

when he walked into see snoke, he could sense his anger. he explained rey's resistance, but also her potential.

"the droid?" snoke asks

"ren's apprentice thought that the girl could have been enough, so they didn't even try. AT-1137 should not have been out in the field. she was a stormtrooper, not a general." the voice of general hux says from behind him.

snoke sighs. "supreme leader, i told her not to engage. she was supposed to wait for my guidance. i apologize, but i need your guidance now sir. what shall i do now?" kylo asks

"we tracked the resistance to the ileenium system. we can destroy them." hux says, a smirk on his lips.

snoke nods and hux leaves. kylo looks up at snoke. he feels like a child. "i have a question to ask of you, sir."

"yes?" he asks.

"astrid is angry with me. but our bond is still strong. how do i fix things? i don't want her to turn... she bonded with the scavenger. she was able to manipulate her without training, we can't lose that!"

the supreme leader shakes his head. "she'll come around. but she's been awakened of her origins. do not tell her anything. that will be her pull to the light."

kylo nods. "thank you sir."

kylo walks out of the chambers and toward astrid's. he needs to apologize. he needs to tell her what she's discovered. he walks to the door, and guesses if she's changed her door code. of course, she has not and he walks right in. her cape and boots are by the bed, and clothes are thrown around the room. the sheets are ripped off the bed. he peers into the kitchen and sees broken bowls and cups on the floor. kylo sets his mask down on the counter and sighs.

one thing remains untouched. he requested astrid get bubble bath soaps and other luxurious materials. the basket is still put together, with kylo's handwritten note inside. he looks at his words and smiles small, reading them over. "here's something to help you to help me take over the galaxy"

kylo takes off his boots by the door, and walks toward the bathroom. he hears the shower running and knocks quietly on the door.

astrid jumps up off the shower bench, wiping the tears from her face. "y-yes?" she yells over the water