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Despite the efforts of the princess, the secret of Breha’s romance couldn’t last. And nothing made it more obvious than PK, aka Ali, getting her very own private room, not terribly far from the heavily guarded rooms enjoyed by the Imperial family. It was small but fairly well appointed, especially for a guard who was used to bunking with others. It had a small sitting area, complete with a top-of-the-line holo setup, a refresher with shower and tub and a fairly large bed.
That was the only reason Ali had been assigned what was, effectively, a little apartment. Because that bed saw activity that Kylo Ren refused to think about. It only took one night of Ali sleeping over in the shared Imperial home for Supreme Leader Daddy to realize that there was absolutely no way he could tolerate a repeat. Honestly, it was for the sake of the First Order and the galaxy - he’d barely slept a wink, trying to put what might be happening in his daughter’s bedroom out of his mind.
Kylo didn’t know how his wife slept at all, but while he grumbled over his morning caf, Rey had smiled and made breakfast for everyone. When Padme, on noticing the bags under their father’s eyes, mischievously asked Breha if Ali was going to spend the night again tonight, the dictator actually choked. A few hours later, bellowing fury as he stalked down the hallway, plans were put into motion to design his Princess’ home-away-from-home. Where Breha could snuggle and do whatever the hell else she liked with her blonde guard, while Daddy got to maintain a sense of plausible deniability that he suspected most parents want. Of course he wanted his children to grow up and enjoy life, and all the pleasures it offered. He just… didn’t want to think about the specifics! Or be within earshot of them. So he made sure the soundproofing of the bedroom was reinforced. Along with panic buttons every five feet. Just in case.
And the guard’s room had guards, of course. Rey had teased him mercilessly, she did so love it when he displayed his affection for their girls. But of course he couldn’t just leave his future daughter-in-law unguarded! That Breha and Ali hadn’t made things official yet simply didn’t matter. Ali was Breha’s. And besides. Someone could sneak in and leave a bomb in the bed or something otherwise. Therefore, Ali the guard’s private bedroom was guarded by her own guards and Padme made quite a lot of jokes about guards guarding guards.
It was, if Ali was being honest, almost overwhelming. Granted, she couldn’t complain about the privacy and it was kinda like she and Breha had their own place now. Especially as Breha slowly began spending more and more nights there. Why sleep alone when you can be snuggled up into your very own well-muscled sweetheart after all! The blonde liked that Breha had started leaving her super sacred, very special and nearly on the verge disintegrating from love stuffed loth cat. It was, evidently, a gift from the Supreme Leader when Breha had been young and scared of her nightmares - to protect her during the night while Daddy was away.
Despite having been welcomed into the family by the Empress, it remained exceedingly difficult to picture Supreme Leader Kylo Ren as ‘Daddy’. Perhaps because of that, or simply because the man was prone to killing people, Ali still jumped to attention when the man entered a room unexpectedly, no matter what she’d been doing at the time. Today, it was baking.
When Kylo stalked into the small domicile upon his flagship, he was greeted by the sight of his daughter’s bodyguard-turned-paramour in the midst of her small kitchenette, with batter smeared across her cheek. Right. Breha had informed him that Ali planned to bake today. He wasn’t sure why that meant he was supposed to go bond with the guard as well, but the woman appeared to be having a rather poor time in the kitchen.
”It’s burning,” he eyed the oven with a mix of curious disdain. He didn’t expect his daughter’s lovers to be happy homemakers. He simply expected them to be the best of the best in any and all regards. Failures were even less tolerated when they involved Daddy’s Princesses. Without glancing behind him, he waved off his own guard and stepped forward to allow the door to close behind him.
”Ahh, yes sir! I mean, no sir, I mean, yes it’s burning, sir,” Ali contemplated shoving her head in the oven along with the overdone pastries. Though she was almost grateful, it gave her a reason to look away from her girlfriend’s masked father and she could pretend she wasn’t in the small room with the Supreme Leader while wearing an oversized t-shirt with the logo of a kids’ holoshow she liked and PJ pants so old they had little holes around the bottom cuff. In her defense, they were exceedingly comfy and Breha liked to steal them now, which made them even better.
”I could command you to be at ease,” Kylo smirked a bit. He, of course, found it delightful when his daughters’ sweethearts were terrified of him. Especially Breha. The girl had her mother’s heart, she rarely fell but when she did Breha loved deeply and mourned the loss of her relationships. Whereas Padme seemed to be… reflecting his own youth. Adventurous and Kylo refused to think more deeply on the details. Breha required a little extra protection in matters of the heart.
”Right. Yes, sir, I mean…” Ali’s voice trailed off awkwardly. Empress Rey had told her just to call them Rey and Ben when the family was alone, but it always started a fight over if the man’s name was Ben or Kylo and Ali usually just tried to slink out of the room.
”Kylo is sufficient. The princess wants us to bond.” As if it were evidence, the Supreme Leader placed what he’d been holding, which Ali had been too distracted to notice, on the counter with a soft thunk. It was a pack of Alderaan beer, extremely pricy what with planet having been blown up before Kylo Ren was even born. Very few off-world systems had been growing the grains and hops at the time of Alderaan’s destruction. This particular brewery was the best at mimicking the flavor profiles, from no better source than Leia Organa. Although even her praise noted that nothing was quite the same.
“She mentioned that,” and Ali managed to bite back the automatic ‘sir’ that she desperately wanted to tack onto the end. The man, in her opinion, hadn’t exactly dressed for intergenerational bonding. He was still in his usual armour and cape. Though, at least, he was taking the mask off and setting it beside the alcohol.
“She usually gets her way,” there was a faint smirk to his lips as Kylo Ren popped off the tops to two of the bottles. He found a strange, perverse delight in drinking the beer that Father had, especially for occasions like this. While Ali threw out the destroyed attempt at baking, Kylo observed the room unabashedly. There were notes of Breha quite clearly. His daughter had decorated the door of the cooling chamber, and Kylo could see little love notes the two were leaving each other on the door under magnets. It was disgustingly cute and he wanted to incinerate it along with the food inside on the principle of his baby was not ready for this sort of relationship.
Only she said she was. She said she wanted Mom and Nana to help her pick out a promise ring. Kylo Ren drew in a deep breath and used the Force to sweep away the last few burned bits of disaster, nodding towards the couch.
”Sit.”
He left one of the open beers for Ali, walking towards the couch as he tried to rehearse the sorts of conversation topics that parents usually have with their kids’ sweethearts. Prospects? A horribly old-fashioned topic and rather moot - Breha and Padme would rule the First Order, not to mention inherit the properties of Leia Organa, Kylo Ren and the Empress. Besides, Breha was doing rather well for herself. Admittedly, no one saw one of the Imperial Princesses becoming a professional limmie player but Kylo was deeply proud of his daughter all the same. Even if he hated that guarding her during the matches was a challenge.
”Yes, si - Kylo.” The name felt awkward leaving her mouth, and Ali swallowed as she grabbed the one bottle. She didn’t know the story of the brand but it wasn’t hard to notice that this was a high-end type. It had paper labels, with embossing, and came in a matching carton. Only the really pretentious brands used that stuff. Pretty much everything else was printed directly onto the bottle or heat wrapped. More to keep further stupidity from tumbling out of her mouth, Ali took a large sip and started after the man she hoped would become her father-in-law.
”Why did you enlist.” That seemed a good topic. Bonding means getting to know someone. Everyone has reasons why they joined up, Ali must have joined around the time the Princesses were teenagers, Rey had made the First Order more of a people-friendly place by then so the woman’s reason would probably tell him a lot.
”You know I grew up on a backwater, outer rim planet. Seemed a decent way out,” Ali shifted her shoulders uncomfortably. “Recruiter came by an’ I joined up. Didn’t wanna farm for the resta my life.”
Kylo Ren was staring at her. He was probably reading her mind. Breha had confirmed that he could do that. Him and her mom and her and her sister. They all could. Just tell the truth, sweetheart. They always know, trust me, she’d said. Breha had also said that Ali would be fine but Ali didn’t feel fine!
”Eh… well… Mom an’ Dad… they’re parta this shit religion. Don’t like me datin’ people I can’t make babies with,” the blonde mumbled quickly. It really wasn’t the sort of emotional baggage she’d wanted to spill during their very first bonding session. But he’d asked and Breha had said! He was probably going to kill her, wasn’t he? Ali took another deep pull from the bottle, as though toasting her own impending demise.
“Pathetic,” Kylo spat out the word. What an idiotic thing to reject one’s children over, and he ought to know. He’d been sent away, cast out, and then nearly murdered over some nightmares! Not paying attention to Ali, his gaze seemed to be at the small coffee table where his princess liked to prop her feet and work on puzzles. In truth, he was looking through time at his own past and the rejection he felt from his family. When he finally turned his head, Kylo Ren was a touch confused by the fact that the woman seemed to be bracing for her own execution but he didn’t think about it too much. That happened around him a lot. “There is nothing to be gained from driving your own child away.”
“Right… “ Ali breathed out a visible sigh of relief, then again when the man leaned back, seeming to become more comfortable. She didn’t understand why, but damned if she wouldn’t take the win! “It’s not somthin’ I could see myself doin’.”
”Of course not,” he agreed without thought. No, Ali would make an entirely suitable parent, particularly with the resources of the First Order at her and Breha’s disposal. Of course that would mean that he would become a grandfather. That there would be a little one again, crawling through the ducts just like Breha had and drawing on all the Troopers and… Turning his head, an actual smile flickered around the edge of his lips. “You want children?”
”Yes sir! Kylo… Yeah. A lot. If’n she wants ‘em, I mean.” Oh this was so miserably awkward but Ali couldn’t help the blushing grin on her face. They’d talked about it a little. What that would look like for them. Ali liked the idea quite a lot - she’d kinda figured that enlisting meant giving that up. Too much travel, too much danger.
“I see.” A trooper having kids in the First Order was exactly the sort of thing that would have been all but impossible before the Empress began to make her reforms. Well, actually raising them as a family anyway. All good things stemmed from the moment that Rey had taken his hand, with tears still streaming down her face and he couldn’t manage better than begging her please. Knocking back a celebratory gulp of the pricy beer, Kylo Ren savored the differences in where they’d started and where they were now. Grandchildren were in the future. “We’ll look forward to that.”
”Yeah?” Ali’s tanned face bloomed into a slow grin. Kids with Breha. Wouldn’t that be something, teach ‘em to fish and Breha could do the… Force stuff… with ‘em. To her surprise, Kylo Ren tilted the top of his beer towards her own in a universal, silent toast towards the present and the future.
And what a hell of a future it would be!