Ignite the Stars | Reader x Ben Solo / Kylo Ren

Ch. 4 | Afraid of the Dark

"We can easily forgive a child
who is afraid of the dark;
the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light."

-Plato

********

The smell of something burning nearby tells you things have gone horribly wrong before you even open your eyes. Your muscles are a bit sore but your body seems to be okay, aside for your head which feels like it might actually explode. Part of you is resting on the ground but the upper half of your body is leaning against something warm and familiar, Ben. His face is the first thing you see when you open your eyes. He's paler than usual, bleeding, and looks extremely freaked out.

"Oh thank god," he sighs and pulls you closer to him.

This is the closest you've been to him aside for him almost kissing you on your ship. He's holding onto you like you're something extremely precious to him. It's a nice feeling, confusing, but nice. His familiar scent washes over you, a mixture of sandalwood and mahogany and you can't help but take a deep breath while he's holding you against his chest.

"What happened? How long have I been out?" Your voice is hoarse and cracks slightly. He gently releases you from his hug once you start to sit up on your own. You don't get very far before the pain in your head causes you to wince. Ben has his arm behind your back and uses it to help you sit up. Once you're up right you notice your surroundings. You're completely surrounded by trees and sitting in the middle of a forest. The sound of fire crackling to your left catches your attention and your eyes land on the source of the sound, your ship completely engulfed in flames.

Your head snaps back to Ben and you gasp, the movement makes the pain in your head intensify. The first thought that runs through your head is the com unit Poe had given you and the data chips. Your hand immediately taps the zipped up pocket on your thigh and relief washes over you once you feel the two data chips are still secured there. Ben gives you a curious look and glances at your pocket then to you. Your blaster and your lightsaber are both secured on your belt underneath your cowl. Aside for the com unit, you still had everything that is important to you. It seems like Ben made sure you had your belongings before the ship crashed. When you look at Ben you notice the strap to his satchel is still across his chest. He hadn't lost anything in the crash either.

"A couple of TIE's followed us from Jakku. You hit your head pretty hard and blacked out after the ship took it's first blast. The shields were up but there was only so much damage a ship like that can take. I managed to take them both out but before I shot down the last one, it got a couple of good shots in and the systems started to fail. I managed to get us to the nearest planet. As you can see, landing didn't go very well. You've been out for a couple of hours."

While he's talking your eyes are scanning his body from head to toe to asses his injuries. He's a little paler than usual, there's a gash above his right eye that is still bleeding a little, and his left cheekbone is purple and bruised. His jacket is torn on one of the shoulders exposing a bit of skin, which is also bloody and discolored. Unless there are internal injuries you can't see, he appears to be okay. When you reach up and touch his cheekbone with the back of your hand, he winces but leans into your touch.

"Well we're not dead so there's that at least. Where are we?"

"Takodana," Ben says as he glances over his shoulder.

"Really? How far are we from Maz's?"

"You. . you know Maz?" He asks hesitantly as his eyes momentarily meet yours before he looks away again.