#Especially since I didn't need BOTH Snap and Fly in that role

[bonefall]

do you have any plans for snaptooth or flywhisker, ever since I saw that fake map I've fallen in love w flywhisker lmao

You know, for the longest time I've been planning to have Snaptooth and Flywhisker be adopted kits of Toadstep and Lionblaze, but I'm writing an SE rework for Nightcloud right now and I have a temptation.

I found a good moment to send off Snapstorm, the best friend of Brushblaze, as a complication of a boar hunt gone wrong. It's right around the time that Brushblaze's kits are being born, and something feels odd about the fact he didn't name any of his kits after someone who was by his side for his entire life. SO I'm thinking about shuffling Snaptooth over to HIS litter.

Which leaves Flywhisker over in ThunderClan.

Lionblaze is the adopted father of Dovewing and Ivypool... and his terrible parenting caused Dovewing to leave ThunderClan, and Ivypool to be permanently traumatized. He breaks up his false mateship with Cinderheart to go be with the cat he really loves, Toadstep, and Flywhisker is adopted after being found abandoned.

Lionblaze's destruction of the ThunderClan family tree has been undone; so now he would only have three children. Ivy, Dove, and Fly. I like it, because Fly is growing up with all the expectations of being Firekin, but also holding the knowledge that her loving father... wasn't always the best, to her older sisters.

It would be cool if Fly was always a little bit of a rebel, and found a really good friend in WindClan. I could work her into the conflict of TBC better too, being accused of being in a HalfClan relationship when the truth is that Snaptooth is more like a brother to her. Then, of course, have them leave the Clans together.

Brushblaze's litter would be Snaptooth, Smokehaze, and Galerunner... and so, Galerunner would be left alone after his brother leaves permanently with Flywhisker.

But I'm still unsure. It's a big change, because I'd been planning for Fly and Snap to remain siblings in BB. But it does seem to work better, thinking about it...

[bat-lings]

Is Bruce a good father to Damian, specifically? I mean, he seems to have learnt from past mistakes... but in preboot, does he even care about Damian at all? Didn't seem like it most of the time (especially in Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul, where he didn't even seem to care that Damian's life is in danger). Do you think he cared about Damian preboot?

Well, you are both right in that reboot!Bruce puts his preboot counterpart to shame where Damian’s concerned. The thing is, the reboot gave a much bigger place to Bruce and Damian’s dynamic than preboot ever did. Those two actually don’t have that many scenes together in preboot, and said scenes were usually part of a bigger plot/narrative that left little room to focus on their relationship.

I’ll answer this in three stages in order to address everything our Anons mentioned:

Bruce & Damian’s dynamic as portrayed by Morrison

The Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul

Conclusion: does preboot!Bruce care about Damian? And was he a good father to him? (spoilers: yes and no, respectively.)

The conclusion summarizes everything so jump there if the argumentation part is too long.

A) Morrison’s Damian & Bruce

Disclaimer: I really, really hate Morrison’s writing. I’ll try to be reasonable when criticizing it but be extra aware of that bias. It makes me put most of Bruce’s action on the writer rather than the character and while I have my reasons & probably won’t change my opinion, it’s still a pretty categorical take.

Honestly I think Morrison’s Bruce does feel responsible for Damian. I’m even sure he cares about him too:

[Batman (1940) #657]

Actually, the whole issue is pretty good where Bruce & Damian are concerned. Must be my favorite thing Morrison has ever written. He installs interesting things character-wise, like Bruce making an extra effort to make Damian comfortable in the Manor & be patient with him, or Damian being an insufferable brat up until Bruce snaps at him, at which point he immediately switches off to “yes sir” in front of that new figure of authority.

Those are interesting bases to construct a dynamic upon. Problem is, they’re not gonna be exploited.

Here Bruce shows clear intent to provide guidance to Damian. But rather than give Bruce the occasion to follow up on that intent, and to develop a real relationship with Damian, Morrison gives us the incident Anon mentioned in the next frickin’ issue : an explosion set by Morrison’s godawful “““Talia””” that should’ve killed both her and Damian, and Bruce staring dramatically into the distance.

Does Bruce investigate their disappearance while Damian is being hardcore abused by his mother? Nah, he’s too busy skiing with one Jezebel Jet– a relationship Morrison needs to install since Jezebel has a notable role in Batman RIP.

My point is: as of #658 Morrison considers this arc finished & that there’s nothing to add. By that logic it’s valid to forget Damian until he’s relevant again plot-wise. It’s not (i think?) a way to tell us Bruce doesn’t care about Damian.

Let’s fast-forward to the disputable editorial & writer choice to launch Batman Inc/Leviathan  just after Bruce’s return from the “dead” without A) leaving room for a  confrontation/closure scene between him and Damian beforehand; or B) letting them actually interact more than the strictest minimum in said arc. From a strictly in-universe POV though, it’s not ooc for Bruce to decide unilaterally that Damian doesn’t need him or to focus on the crisis to come without talking to his son first.

I guess I should be talking about Batman Incorporated Vol. 2 too, ‘cause while it’s technically N52 it’s very much in the continuity of the storyline Morrison started in preboot. It also has a few Bruce & Damian moments where despite terrible miscommunication Bruce seems to worry for Damian… But then the plot requires Bruce sending Damian back to the mother who, in this dumbass version, abused him all his life.

[Batman Incorporated (2012) #4]

If I got that right this is a “Hero must make Big Sacrifice for the Greater Good” moment. The fact that Bruce loves Damian isn’t put into question: it makes the sacrifice more significant.

And that’s kinda my problem. First we’re told that Bruce wants to provide for Damian, but then whatever affection he feels for the boy is sidelined or even sacrificed to other narrative considerations.

So basically Bruce’s love for Damian has no significance in itself. It’s a given that doesn’t particularly need to be illustrated or expanded on; it’s stocked until we need it to breed impact in some scenes. Like the one above or, you’ve guessed it, Damian’s death. So yeah Bruce loves Damian. He loves him so much he’s sad when he dies. Ahem.

All in all it’s not a father-son story: else there would be more banter, slice of life sequences, time for the dynamic to develop, etc. It’s a hero-who-loses-stuff-in-war story. One story isn’t better than the other, they just appeal to different types of audiences.

“Does my father love me” is a personal thus small stake. Batman Inc/Leviathan or “Can I keep this future from happening” are world-wide to city-wide thus big stakes. I think a marked interest in the Big Ideas is what characterizes Morrison’s writing. Thus the portrayal of character relationships has a very specific place in his stories.

Anyway: I don’t think Morrison ever wanted to imply Bruce doesn’t care about Damian. It’s just that he’s a plot-driven writer and that both characters’ interactions & smaller stakes, although somewhat present in his narratives, will always come second in the big schemes of things.

If you consider that Bruce behaving like he does under Morrison’s pen proves he doesn’t give a damn about Damian though, I sure as hell won’t fault you for it.

B) Bruce & Damian in The Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul

(God re-reading an in-character Talia these days is an oasis in the desert. Gotta love that arc all the more for that.)  

Not gonna lie fam. Our two Anons are right when they say Bruce is pretty cold in that one.

But A) Bruce is also dealing with a crisis, which means he’s emotionally removing himself from the situation; B) he’s not treating Damian differently than he is Dick or Tim… which we’ll see is the problem tho.

It doesn’t excuse Bruce’s behavior (I think he’s out of line myself), but I just don’t think it implies he doesn’t care about Damian.

You’ll notice that his apparent aloofness applies to Tim too (and Dick although he’s not mentioned), and that it equally unsettles Talia.

[Nightwing (1996) #138]

I want to stress the apparent in aloofness. On several occasions during RoRAG Talia reproaches Bruce that he’s not confronting his feelings what else is new. I believe he’s worried about the boys, all of them, but he also trusts them to handle themselves. He also thinks that if he so much as voices his worry, he won’t be able to focus and do what he has to. So he represses them and goes fully in Batman-mode.

Fast-forward. When Bruce is barking at Damian to pick up a sword and fight, it’s his way of protecting him– he needs Damian to defend himself.

[Detective Comics (1937) #839]

Because it’s not fair to show this without context: 5 seconds before Bruce legit bites Damian’s head off, chill out dude, he goes all protective batdad upon seeing Ra’s trying to steal Damian’s body.

So yeah. I have reasons to believe Bruce is scared out of his mind here. Hence the very aggressive way he tries to shake Damian into action.

So far Bruce gets a pass. It’s afterwards that he deserved to be punched in the face imo, and that’s probably the scene our Anons had in mind:

In fact, Bruce is expecting the same from Damian than he’s expecting from his two other sons. To be precise, he’s not treating either of them as sons— they’re on the field, they’re Robin & Nightwing right now. Aka soldiers/partners/teammates rather than family. And Bruce is putting Damian on that exact level when he shouldn’t be.

It’s harsh, and that’s emphasized next to Talia (who is actually written like a Talia). She’s all aggressively worried mother and Bruce’s all cold commander, the contrast is off-putting.

Talia reacts like a mother first by fleeing to save herself and her son. But Bruce can’t let Ra’s to his own devices, and he expect his sons to fight beside him.

It’s unfair to Damian ‘cause he’s not Robin yet, he’s not part of Bruce’s war the way Dick and Tim chose to be, he didn’t choose to be dragged into Ra’s schemes: he’s snapping to attention at Bruce’s order out of a childish need for validation, not out of a conscious & thought-out choice to make this his life. Also he’s ten. Yet those considerations fly over Bruce’s head: right now and unlike Talia, he’s not thinking like a father.

Do I think Dini balances the Greater Good vs Familial Attachment dilemma better than Morrison does? Hell yeah. He took the time to show Bruce ripping Ra’s apart at the beginning of the issue to prove us Bruce cares. And for all that Bruce’s wrong here, Dini has him fighting beside Damian, not sending him off on his own. Talia’s fleeing with her son gives the reader a reality check & puts the validity of Bruce’s choice into question as it should be. The stakes are also so much more concrete that “distant dark future to avoid”.

Next is probably my fave line ever written about Bruce & Damian ‘cause it gives so much sense (or depth) to Bruce’s hands-off approach.

And like. Everything that Bruce says here is true. That’s exactly what Damian’s character arc should be about. But dude maybe try to have a relationship with your son outside of the Batman legacy? The thing is Bruce built his relationships with all his kids through vigilantism and I think he just. Doesn’t know how to do it differently. The idea doesn’t even cross his mind for god’s sake.

By my understanding it’s not that Bruce doesn’t love Damian. It’s that he genuinely believes Damian’s better off without him.

It’s low key confirmed in Bruce Wayne: The Road Home.

[The Road Home: Batman & Robin]

((Don’t trust anything Bruce says about Dick’s “casualness” or whatever in this issue tho. Nicieza just… doesn’t know Dick’s character all that much.))

So Bruce is basically taking the easy way out, yeah. Both in ‘Tec and in choosing it’s not worth trying to work with Damian as his partner. He decides Talia is a better parent & Dick is a better mentor than he could be, and he’s off fighting the good fight against Leviathan.

We can stretch it and say Bruce probs decided he’ll take care of his relationship with Damian after the Leviathan thing is dealt with but tbh I don’t know if DC or Morrison thought that far ahead.

Conclusion

Morrison’s narrative installs that Bruce does feel morally obligated to care for Damian. And although I get why it can feel uncertain, I’m not sure we’re supposed to doubt Bruce loves Damian.

Bruce not looking for Damian after the explosion is is more due to the writer’s choice to consider the “Damian issue” closed for now so that he can focus on his next plot/installment. I guess.

When Bruce has the idea to send Damian back to fake-Talia, I guess his love for his son is a tool used to show how much Bruce is a selfless hero*. and a terrible dad but he’s a Hero™ so it’s okay.

Bruce in RoRAG doesn’t come as indifferent to Damian’s safety to me, he’s being his dumbass self in a crisis situation. He’s got no excuse for sending Damian alongside Dick & Tim when he did though.

On two occasions Bruce unilaterally elects that Damian is better-off without him. First with the in-character Talia who actually loves her son, second as Dick’s partner.

* Actually it’d be very interesting if someone who liked that comic-book could explain me wtf I didn’t get about its narrative significance. Sometimes our personal tastes just render us blind to some things guys.

TL;DR: Does preboot!Bruce love Damian? Yes. Was he a good father to him? No.

And I’m feeling way more comfortable giving a categorical answer here than when I was asked if Bruce is, in general, a good father.

To be fair Bruce does try to step into a fatherly role in Morrison’s Batman #657, aka just after he meets Damian. Afterwards we get sidetracked; and later storylines just. Don’t really give Bruce & Damian the opportunity so share father-son moments.

His behavior in RoRAG is just plain bad. The fact that it’s not due to indifference doesn’t change that. The ten-year-old who didn’t ask for shit should be treated differently that the seasoned vigilantes Dick and Tim are, period.

Obviously leaving Damian in fake-Talia’s clutches or wanting to send him back to his abuser goes under “bad father points” too. If you consider the whole of Morrison’s run should be integrated into your personal understanding of the character, that is. woops look at that terrible bias showing its ugly face again

In later episodes, it’s tempting to give Bruce a pass by saying that he just didn’t get the chance/time to be a good father to Damian, and part of it is true. But again, failing to invest in that relationship is completely in-character, and tbh it’s the part I find the most interesting character- and narrative-wise:

It’s A) self-depreciating (”Talia or Dick can provide my son what I can’t”); B) self-centered, in that Bruce doesn’t stop to consider what Damian thinks or wants; and C) cowardly, in that the second there’s someone else available to take care of Damian, Bruce stops trying to be a father and to invest himself emotionally because gasp, feelings!

As a comparison, think of how long it took for Bruce to go from mentor-protégé-e to father-child in his relationship with Tim and Cassandra; and to admit that’s how he felt about those kids. He didn’t adopt Dick until he was an adult either. Batdad needs time to un-constipate. It’s a Bruce thing, not a Bruce & Damian one.

(Jason is the only kid with whom Bruce immediately builds a wholesome relationship and that’s where you cry because if Jason didn’t die Bruce wouldn’t have half as much trouble getting close to his kids.)

Hope this word-vomit answers that. Thanks for the asks!

[seouledbysisi]

A Time Like No Other

Chapter 8

The Meeting

Misun outfit: 

Nori Outfit: 

The girls walked through the huge reception area of the large building. They could feel their body reacting in nervousness. Misun's palms became a bit moist. Nori knew she was on edge so she needed to calm her down somehow. She stopped her for a moment, with her hands on her shoulders. “Misun, we got this okay? The worst thing that can happen is that we don't like his plan for us.”

Misun inhaled deeply. “I know. I just need a minute before we walk into that meeting. Can we pray? I think that might help.” She was becoming anxious.

Nori nodded. “Of course!” They grabbed one another hands and began to pray asking God to be with them in this meeting and to help them make the right decisions for their career and to guide them always.

“I feel better. You ready for this?” Misun asked in a bit more excitement than she had before.

Nori pulled her to the elevator and they embarked to the seventh floor where his office was. Miranda was already there waiting for them. As they walked in there were a few people waiting for them. Nori and Misun bowed a little and took their seats.

The president welcomed them in with a smile. “Some of my talent scouts came across your YouTube channel and I must say you have a lot people that seem to like what you're doing. Tell me why you started it?”

Misun nodded to Nori so she could answer.

“We really love music and we love the people that create beautiful music that touches others hearts. We wanted fans of these artists to be able to get a better feel of who they truly are as well as us being able to connect with the artists.” Nori explained.

“Music is not just something that you do or that you listen to. It's more about how you feel when you hear it or how it moves you. It's about the passion that these artists put into their artistry. We wanted to be able to get closer to that. We love entertainment period. We want to expand in so many ways.” Misun added.

The president nodded. “I like you. You're driven and anyone can work with a person that's passionate and not afraid of learning new things and new ways. So I propose that we draw up a contract that will link you exclusively to Ktown Entertainment. What do you think?”

Misun took a deep breath. “I know you have your own staff but this contract has to include our personal consultant, Miranda, as well. We wouldn't be where we are without her and there's no way we're leaving her behind.”

“That's not a problem. You just tell me what role she plays in your career and we can draw up a contract for her as well.” The president answered with a smile.

Miranda smiled big at the girls. She had so much faith in them and she was about ready to let them fly on their own, no she wasn't ready to let them go but she wasn't sure where her place would be at this point but she felt so much love and respect from them since they weren't ready to let her go as well. “Thank you.” She nodded in Misun and Nori's direction.

They talked more business and then the contracts were in their faces. A physical copy of the thing that was changing their lives for the better.

“So living arrangements?” Misun directed her question to the president.

His grin got bigger. “Oh yes, that apartment you're staying in. . .it's yours as long as you're signed with us. I need you two living here within the next month. I have a lot of work for you girls to get started with as well as media training and so forth.”

“A month? What about our lease? That's not up until November!” Nori directed to Misun.

The president placed his hand on both of their shoulders. “No need to worry. Whatever fee you have to pay to release you from your lease I will take care of. Don't worry. It's smooth sailing from here.”

Misun nodded. “Does Miranda have to move here?”

“If she wants to but we won't need her here all the time like we need you two. She can simply travel when necessary.” He replied.

Miranda shook her head. “I don't think my husband would like moving here right now so I'll just travel here when I'm needed.”

They got everything sorted out and they left.

Back at the apartment

Nori is throwing clothes everywhere while Misun is sipping on some red wine. “What are you looking for?” Misun asked her.

“Something to wear!” She plops down on the floor with the rest of her clothes.

Misun cocked an eyebrow up. “Where are you going?”

“You mean where are WE going!” Nori answered with a sly grin.

Misun shook her head. “Nope, I'm not going anywhere especially when you have that sneaky grin on your face!”

“You are going, so go find something sexy to wear because we owe ourselves to celebrate tonight!”

Misun lifted her glass of wine. “This is me celebrating, duh!”

Nori pulled her off the bed. “Get your booty in that room and find something sexy! If you don't I will for you!”

Misun pouted as she walked into the room. “Okay okay! Gosh!”

Misun finally found something that was suitable for a club setting. She didn't go to clubs back home except for when Nori would drag her there so this was totally out of her element but she may as well live a little. She began to curl her long black hair. She loosened the curls so that they would look more like beach waves. She fixed her makeup and finally exited her room where her best friend was awaiting her.

Nori's eyes widened. She was stunned. “Whoa mama! You look hot! Every Korean guy is going to want a piece of Misun, tonight!” She couldn't take her eyes off of her bestie.

Misun began to blush and waved her off. “Stop! I feel very uncomfortable. Is this too much?”

“It's just enough. Let loose please. Even if it's just for tonight, please have some real fun. We deserve this!” Nori told her with a grin.

Misun nodded. “Okay, I won't be so in my head tonight. You look beautiful by the way, every man is that building is going to want YOU!”

Nori winked at her. “I know. That's the point of this whole outfit. Give them a taste of what they can't have. Now let's go because Miranda is waiting on us downstairs.”

“She's coming with us? Her husband is going to kill her!” Misun acknowledged.

Nori shrugged. “She's still young, she needs a life outside of him. Plus what he doesn't know can't hurt him. Let's go!”

They jumped into the vehicle with Miranda. “Dang, Miranda! You clean up really nice!” Misun told her.

“If I could dress like this all the time I would but Michael hates me showing any type of skin.” She said as she rolled her eyes and drove away from the apartment building.

Monsta X

The music was banging in their ears as they sipped on their beer in the V.I.P. section that was highly secured. There were so many fans trying to get an invite to join them but the guys just weren't feeling it tonight. They simply waved to the fans and threw hearts in their direction. They just were trying to relax and enjoy their time there.

“Times like this I kind of wish I wasn't famous.” Wonho admitted.

The guys all looked at him stunned. “What do you mean?” Shownu asked him.

“I love our fans of course but we're stuck in this section until we leave because they're swarming this area. Don't you ever just want to get on the dance floor and grab a pretty girl and dance the night away?” Wonho explained.

Minhyuk nodded. “I understand. Just be treated like a normal person because we are just normal people who just happen to perform too. I get you.”

“Go grab a pretty girl and dance with her then. We have security. Have fun!” Kihyun urged.

Shownu shook his head. “Monbebe may not like that very much.”

“What are you talking about? Whoever he dances with is a monbebe. They will be happy that we're giving them real attention.” Kihyun argued. “Go Wonho!”

Wonho chuckled. “I don't know, maybe Shownu is right.”

Shownu smirked. “No, maybe I'm not. You gotta live your life. Go dance! Or invite one of them in to dance with you.” Shownu didn't want to ruin everyone else night simply because he wasn't really into it.

Wonho nodded and patted Shownu's shoulder. He told one of their security guys to invite a few of the fans in. The ladies came in and sat next to the guys.

The girl who sat next to Shownu kept talking to him expecting better responses than he was giving. “What's wrong with you?” She asked him playfully. “Am I not pretty enough?”

Shownu snapped out of it for a moment. He felt bad that he was being rude. “Oh no, you're gorgeous. I'm just in a weird mood tonight.” He replied with a smile.

The girl moved some of her hair behind her ear. “It's okay. Maybe I can help you feel better. Dance with me?”

“No you don't have to.” He replied with a small smile and looked away.

She stood up and grabbed his hand. “I insist that you dance with me. You love to dance and I love to have a good time so give me a chance to help you feel better!”

He stood up. He couldn't allow her to keep begging for his attention so he obliged. Maybe this would open him up a bit. He had been closed off for a few weeks and he needed to get himself out of whatever funk this was. He grabbed her hips softly as she swayed them from side to side.

She placed her arms around his neck. “Is it working yet?” She asked with a flirtatious smile.

He nodded. He couldn't lie, dancing was like therapy for him so it was helping and he couldn't deny this woman's beauty.

The other guys began dancing with the other females that were up there with them until something caught Changkyun's eye. He let go of the girl he was dancing with and moved closer to the safety railing so he could get a closer view of the dance floor which was downstairs.

Hyungwon followed his gaze and moved closer too. “Is that who I think it is?”

Changkyun jumped a little from the realization that Hyungwon was now standing next to him. “Boy, you scared me! So if they're here at this club that means Shownu could've possibly seen them at the mall too, right?”

“Maybe he's not going crazy. What are the odds though? We keep ending up in weird situations with them.” Hyungwon couldn't figure out how this kept happening.

“Should we tell Shownu though?” Changkyun asked.

“Tell me what?” Shownu asked in confusion.

Changkyun jumped again from shock. “Y'all have got to stop sneaking up on me like this!”

Shownu laughed. “Why are you so jumpy tonight? Lay off the beer.”

“It's not the beer, trust me!” He responded as he hit Shownu's arm.

Shownu scanned the dance floor to try and see if he could figure out why they were near the rail just watching especially when they had beautiful women in VIP with them. “So you guys would rather stand over here by yourselves watching everyone else have a good time than dance with pretty girls? That's strange.”

“I just don't feel good right now. That's all.” Changkyun lied.

Shownu simply nodded. The other guys gathered with them.

“What's wrong? Everyone just disappeared out of nowhere.” Jooheon asked as he held the hand of one of the girls.

“Changkyun doesn't feel good.” Shownu answered.

Kihyun scrunched his face up. “You were literally just fine like two minutes ago!”

“Well now I'm not. It may be something I ate. I just needed to get away for a second that's all.”He replied in a snarky way.

Wonho's eyes widened. “I think I see Misun and Nori.”

Shownu and Jooheon both snatched their heads in his direction. “WHAT?”

Wonho pointed at the two women who were dancing in a group with guys and girls surrounding them. “I could spot them from a mile away. They stand out.”

Jooheon dropped the fan's hand quickly and started walking towards the exit of the VIP section.

Shownu grabbed his arm to stop him. “What are you doing!?”

“What do you mean? I'm going down there!” Jooheon answered him quickly with a bit of an attitude.

“Weren't you the one telling me to basically move on?” Shownu inquired.

Jooheon sighed. “Yeah but they're here and so are we. When destiny calls, you come running now let's go down there and see what's up!”

Shownu licked his lips a little. “You know we shouldn't do that. They both have our numbers and neither of them have reached out to us. That means they don't care and we shouldn't push it.”

“That's bull! You're scared of rejection. You can continue this night in fear but you'll be doing it alone!” Jooheon snatched his arm away.

“I'm not scared of rejection. We've already been rejected, Jooheon! I'm not putting myself out there anymore just to keep getting the same reaction. They're here in Seoul and we still haven't heard a peep from them so what does that tell you? It tells me that Misun just isn't that into me! Do yourself a favor and take my advice.” Shownu's voice escalated a little as he talked to Jooheon. He was frustrated. He walked away and sat back down on the couch.

Jooheon glanced back downstairs to try and find Nori and Misun. He noticed Nori looking up towards where they were. For a second he thought she may have seen them but he shook the thought away and drank the rest of his beer up. “I'm ready to go right now.” He told the guys.

[tendencyblue]

The Senator and the Ensign

Originally posted for Chocolate Box 2020

Summary: "You are acquainted?" the Ma'a'ta prompted, but Rey wasn't sure what to say.

Reylo, between TLJ and TROS, mutual undercover

948 words | rated G | read on AO3

"And how do you two know each other?" the Ma'a'ta asked.

It was a perfectly natural question; in fact, it would probably have been odder if he hadn't asked. One of the main roles of a Ma'a'ta was to precipitate peace and harmony between all guests on this planet. Encouraging connections between their guests and learning of previous connections was one of the ways they did so. And it was very obvious that "Senator Mila" and "Ensign Rorg" recognized each other.

Which, Rey had to admit, was mostly on her. The Supreme Leader had merely opened his eyes very wide and gone pale when he saw her; Rey's start of surprise had been much more visible to the Ma'a'ta.

"You are acquainted?" the Ma'a'ta prompted, sweetly. But Rey knew he could get much less sweet in a heartbeat. This planet didn't like liars very much.

The General had argued with Rey about coming here for just that reason—especially in disguise—but nobody had been able to think of any other way to contact the Rebel outpost here on Martalfa'a. And she'd been successful, too. She'd passed the initial message to her contact earlier this evening. She ought to receive a reply any time now, and then she could leave—if her cover lasted that long. Which would require convincing the Ma'a'ta. "Yes, we—"

"We were childhood acquaintances," Kylo filled in. Apparently, he didn't want to get caught out any more than she did. "We were very close for a few years when we lived near each other, but since then our paths have only crossed rarely. Although of course I have seen the Senator's name in the news now and then."

Rey was glad the General had insisted on her claiming the name of one of the human senators who hadn't been on Hosnian Prime, instead of inventing her own. Though even with her hair dyed and pinned up, she bore only surface similarity to the real Senator Mila, so she still needed to get off this planet quickly. "I never see you in the news, Ensign," she said. "I would have thought you'd at least have had a promotion by now. How many years has it been since you signed up?"

"Um, I can't remember," he said. "The years fly by, don't they?"

"They do indeed," the Ma'a'ta said, no doubt attributing the tension between them to the fact that "Rorg" was still an Ensign after so many years and not, say, that the last time they'd been in the same room they'd torn a lightsaber in half. "And I'm sure we've all been doing what we could in the meantime," he added. "Both ensigns and senators add their own contributions to the galaxy, and it is the contributions of us all that keep the galaxy spinning."

"Thank you," Kylo said. "And if you'll excuse us, I was hoping the senator and I could get reacquainted."

"Yes, of course," the Ma'a'ta said.

He waddled off to the next group of guests, leaving Rey and Kylo to hiss simultaneous whispers at each other: "What are you doing here?"

"You first," Rey said after a minute. "Did you know I was going to be here?"

"No. Well, yes, but—"

"What do you mean, yes?"

"I overheard you say that you might come here, but I didn't know when. The bond between us isn't gone completely," he said earnestly. "I still get glimpses of you, from time to time. I haven't spoken to you when I've seen you because I know you'd only close me out, but Rey—"

"Don't say that name here!" Rey hissed. "Did you come here for me?"

"Not...exactly. There was a mine on this planet, years ago, that the Empire used. There's been rumors that it's not as exhausted as it was said to be. I came here to investigate."

"And does the Supreme Leader need to make his investigations personally?"

"Now who's saying things that shouldn't be overheard?" he hissed back. "I thought it might be...nice...to see you."

"It would be nicer still if I had my lightsaber," Rey snapped.

"Then you shouldn't have broken it. And why are you pretending to be a senator, anyway? You couldn't have chosen a less identifiable identity? You don't look anything like Mila."

"Well, then you'd better help me avoid suspicion because if they catch me I'm taking you down with me."

He looked at her for a long moment, then said "Okay." He leaned forward.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he murmured against her mouth. "The Martalfa'ar want their guests to make connections. So if we're making a connection, they'll probably leave us alone."

"I should probably be bothered by the fact that that makes any sense to me whatsoever," Rey grumbled, but it was actually a pretty nice kiss, so she returned it.

He ran his fingers through her hair. "I could probably give you a few tips on acting like a senator," he whispered in her ear, "since there are a few who actually were my childhood acquaintances, unlike you."

"I think I'm doing perfectly well, thank you very much," Rey said, and kissed him firmly before he could give her any more unhelpful advice.

The Ma'a'ta wandered by half an hour later, but he only said cheerfully "Ah! Finding common ground is what keeps the galaxy spinning! I am very glad for you!" and then hurried over to a cluster of people who were glaring at each other.

"Don't say 'I told you so,'" Rey said firmly.

Kylo kissed her again, instead. But she was pretty sure he was thinking I told you so.