lostapprentice | Empatheias Mailbox/Amulet

[Ugh... "his" flowers... His lips twist briefly before he shakes his head, stirring his tea with a small spoon he'd paired with his cup.]

I spend most of my time with those things trying to get rid of them, not collect them for anything.

[These days he lets them linger a bit longer than he used to—it's a huge improvement from flat-out stomping on them out of embarrassment—but that doesn't mean he wants to always look at them.

Before long, Ren is satisfied with the amount of time that's passed, and he pulls the infuser out to rest on his saucer before taking a sip. A moment passes where he seems to consider the cup, then he puts it down and gets to his feet to return to the kitchen and grab something. At this point, he hopes she'll be sufficiently distracted by her own tea as he steps out into the living room to grab a few other somethings.
If all goes as planned, she'll be in the middle of her own sip when Kylo sits back down—box, parcel, and jar of honey in hand.

He places the jar between them, but sets the wrapped parcel in his lap and the box in front of himself. He's opening the box first.]

I like them.

[And then that's that. Rey considers the best way to make Kylo Ren tea while idly following his lead when he removes his own infuser and begins drinking the tea. He gets up, and Rey sees him move to the kitchen out of her peripheral, but she doesn't think much of it... until she realizes he also went to the living room.

Which is about the time he sits back down with honey (good) and her gifts (bad no oh god very bad). His timing is, by his standards, perfect, and Rey chokes on a sip of tea when he starts opening the box, eyes suddenly wide and glued to the box in mild terror. And then, seeing her fate inescapably closing in, she says the only thing she can think to hope for.]

Please don't laugh.

[The box itself is smooth, wooden, and black with a modest filigree pattern inlaid in some sort of shell, and there's a little hole for a key, though it's not currently locked. The key, as Kylo will find out, is inside the box, attached to a small black tassel. And aside from that, the box is filled with an assortment of items: a few paper packets with colored drawings of plants Kylo may recognize as ones he's created, a shiny silver-flecked moonstone, a folding knife with a brown and golden stone hilt, a scrap of paper with a sketch of herself posed dramatically with her lightsaber lit in one hand and the other hand outstretched to use the Force, and at the bottom a neatly folded black silk scarf.]

[Her earnest request only makes him smirk, eyebrows raised slightly at her as he opens the box to pull out the items inside. Hopefully Rey isn't bothered by the reddish shining sparks that manifest in the air around him as he starts to investigate.

The key is placed on the table without much preamble, and the stone follows after a brief glance and a tilt to appreciate the metallic inclusions. The paper packs of seeds get an exasperated head shake before they're set aside, but the knife gets a bit of extra examination and an appreciative hum before he folds it back and sets it aside the other items.

And then there's the sketch. He tilts his head at first, brow furrowed in a bemused way, but it quickly makes way for something that would be better described as a grin, teeth and all.]

Dynamic.

[She's giving him a drawing of herself, holding a lightsaber and using the Force. That's so... just... adorable. He turns his gaze to her, gesturing with the paper.]

Shall I put it on the conservator?

[He's not laughing. He's making fun. Entirely different. And if that's not enough to keep her from embarrassment, perhaps the clover and pink flowers under the table will distract her.]

[As soon as he pulls out the first item, Rey resigns herself to staring intently at her tea, as though she believes if she can't see him opening her stupid gifts maybe she can pretend it's not happening. Or at the very least maybe she can figure out how to drown herself in half a cup of tea. The effect, however, is greatly lessened by the fact that her eyes flicker sideways to Kylo constantly when curiosity about his reactions takes over. On a few such glances, she notices the red sparkles and... well, isn't entirely sure how to interpret them. Does that mean he likes the items? Or is he just pleased by her strangeness again?

When he pulls out the drawing, she visibly tenses up, and the air around her turns noticably—though not oppressively&mdsh;warmer, as though the planet itself is blushing for her. Her plan of staring at her tea lasts right up until he starts speaking, and then she can't help looking up. Rey's eyes go from the drawing to Kylo's toothy grin, and her wide-eyed mortification turns to wide-eyed, mortified confusion. His words sound mocking, but his face... almost seems like he genuinely likes it. Out of all the other ridiculous gifts, that stupid self-portrait is the one that gets the most attention. It's the one that makes him smile.

Rey's seen Kylo grin before, when Elios froze them both. She's drawn it too, several times. Her treacherous memory refused to recall anything but the un-frosted, affectionate, brown-eyed Kylo Ren, no matter how many times she tried to draw him accurately. But this grin isn't inspired by some Arehtei, and it's more... rakish? No, roguish. Like a scoundrel. ~~Like his father.~~ Because of an idiotic sketch she probably should have remembered to take out of that box before giving it to him. And that's a combination of stuff Rey was not prepared to handle.

She turns abruptly back to her tea, and tries to ignore the fact that the burning feeling in her face means it's probably red.]

If you don't like it, you don't have to keep it.

[The safest way to reply is to assume he's teasing, she decides. At best, it's pointing out the obvious. At worst, well, it's fishing for compliments a bit. Rey is fine either way.]

[It's even more charming that she's clearly embarrassed by the box of gifts, and though a part of him would like to continue teasing her about it, there's only so far he can go with it before it starts becoming a bit cruel. So instead, lays the sketch next to the other gifts, placing the key on top of it to make sure it stays where he's put it.]

It would be rude to throw away a gift.

[It's the closest he'll probably get to admitting he does like it, so hopefully she'll appreciate the sentiment hiding behind his general refusal to be too openly positive about things. He has a reputation to uphold, after all.

That done, however, he pulls out the scarf from the bottom of the box and unfolds it slightly, testing the fabric between the gloved fingers of his left hand.]

In time for it to get cold. [He seems to approve, judging by the tone of his voice.]

[Her eyes dart over as he sets the sketch down, and Rey stares at that for a moment, chewing over his reply. She can read between the lines enough to get that he does indeed like her drawing, so... that's a thing. A thing she has no idea what to do with.

Fortunately, he moves on to the scarf, and that's almost a relief at this point. It's the oldest gift in the box, and after his comment Rey chooses not to mention that she bought it two summers ago. Better that he think it's because of the incoming cold weather. She's more than willing to latch onto any excuse to claim a gift is practical and not stupid.]

It's silk. You should—[And instead of explaining verbally, Rey just reaches over and rubs it gently between her fingers.]—without your gloves. It'll feel nicer. Really soft.

[Ren shoots her a curious look, brow lifting slightly at her gesture, but he remains still otherwise. Taking off his gloves seems like it would take a bit too long to be worth it, when he has something else to open and curiosity to satisfy. It's not like he won't find out just what it feels like later, whenever he actually puts it around his neck.]

I believe you.

[He sounds sincere, even though he clearly doesn't intend to do what she's suggesting. In fact, he starts to fold the scarf again, intending to put it aside next to the other gifts.]

[In the far-too-brief time Rey spends thinking about her response, she gets as far as Of course he won't take off his gloves, that's so inconvenient, what was I thinking? But what else is uncovered? Well, his face, obviously before acting.]

No, see, you need to—here— [So before he can pull the scarf fully away, she takes the edge under her hand and reaches up with the intention of holding it against his face. And since she's seated to his left, it's conveniently the unscarred cheek. All the better for feeling Shaarnath silk against his skin, after all!

Pending her success, it will take a good two seconds before she realizes what she's done and starts feeling awkward about it.]

[Well, the very last thing Ren is expecting is for Rey to be so bold as to get quite so far into his personal space, though in hindsight he really should start to expect the unexpected when it comes to her.

As a result he makes something of an undignified sputtering noise when it happens, though he only startles away so far. A second passes as he processes what exactly might have been the thoughts leading up to this, but he soon enough decides that Rey's actions as a whole are too much of a mystery to worry about things like reasons for very long.

He takes her wrist and guides it away from him, so that he can look at her properly, eyes half-lidded.]

Do you shove things in all your friends' faces?

[In the brief second where her hand makes contact before reality sets in, Rey is reminded suddenly of a similar moment, and her fingers twitch slightly in an aborted caress that she has the sense to stop before it truly starts. Then the rest of this awkward mess crashes down on her, and she pulls her hand away quickly, practically yanking it out of his loose grip with an expression of mild horror.]

Oh! Sorry! [Her lack of real answer is probably answer enough that no, this isn't an isolated incident. A combination of impulsiveness and social ignorance isn't the best for remembering things like other people's personal space. She's usually not so sheepish about it, though.]

I thought you should, you know. Really feel it. And your face—it's the only skin you show, mostly. [Sure, we'll act like that's a logical reason. Let's go with that.]

[... It's about as he thought, no particular ideas other than wanting him to feel it involved in the process. Ren holds back a sigh even though the way his eyes go to the corner of the room for a moment expresses about the same sentiment.]

I would have felt it eventually, whenever I wore it. [Was she really so impatient that she needed him to know for certain immediately? Of course she was, he should stop questioning things.] It's not as if I don't trust what you were saying.

[He tries to fold the scarf once more, pulling the other end of it back towards himself and eyeing her with a higher level of scrutiny. She won't be pulling any other strange nonsense for the next fifteen seconds without him being prepared for it, probably.]

[Rey opens her mouth to argue that none of what he said was the point—she knows he likely believed her, and she knows he'd have felt it when he wore it—but decides against it. Instead, she stares down at her tea again and tries not to think about how his opinion of her strangeness is only going to sink lower when he gets to that last gift. In retrospect, the desire to stall him probably played a part in her insistence that he feel the scarf now, but she's hardly going to bring that up at this point. Not now that he's eyeing her like he expects her to stomp around on the table and start yelling gibberish, which she really feels is an overreaction. What she's done isn't that odd... is it? Rey's not sure, and frankly not being here to yell at Kylo is really messing with her understanding of how to react to things like this.

Maybe if she stays perfectly still and doesn't look at him, this planet will be merciful enough to turn her into a crystal like she's seen it do to others. Probably not. She takes a quick, nervous sip of her tea and sets the cup back down to continue staring intensely at it. Hopefully he'll open that stupid gift fast so she can escape.]

[Ren certainly doesn't waste much time getting to the last package after the scarf has been adequately folded and placed on the table, and his gaze leaves her as he tears through the brown paper to reveal whatever's inside. There's a faint furrow to his brow as he pulls out the dark cloth, though; he's not quite sure what it is he's looking at yet, probably because he's looking for something resembling sleeves or pockets and hasn't pulled it entirely out of the package yet...]

[After the opening of her gift doesn't elicit an immediate reaction, Rey chances a peek at Kylo out of the corner of her eye without moving her head. He's frowning, though he doesn't seem displeased. More... confused? Like he doesn't know what it is.

Which Rey supposes is not unbelievable. Considering a cape unworn is more or less a formless lump of fabric.

Telling him what it is will probably only get more confusion, so she sighs heavily, resigns herself to her fate of eternal shame, and decides to start at the beginning of this stupid, miserable explanation. She reaches into her pocket, fishes out a folded and heavily creased piece of paper with one ragged edge where it's been torn out of a book, gently unfolds it, and sets the picture down on the table in front of him.

She doesn't have the courage to do more than take a brief glance at Kylo to see his reaction.]

[The picture, at least at first, only elicits more confusion, and it's to the point that there's a ringing in the air that's impossible to ignore. After directing his frown at the illustration for several moments, he turns back to the piece of cloth in his hands and pulls it further out of the package, revealing a metal clasp pinned to part of it. Since there's still more to it even then, he gets to his feet and lets what is now recognizably a cape furl out in full.

This doesn't seem to alleviate his confusion. In fact, after holding it against his shoulders and seeing how it measures up to his height (almost perfectly), he glances back at that book page and then pins Rey with a quizzical, expectant look.]

You got me a cape?

[Explain???]

[Rey winces reflexively when the ringing becomes unbearably loud, not because it hurts her ears, but it makes the entire situation so much more mortifying when he's this utterly confused. It's not a good joke by any means, but it's downright horrid to explain it.

He does eventually get what it is, at least. She finally turns her head when he stands and lets the cape fall to its full length, curiosity about her estimated measurements for the moment overriding her shame. And despite herself, she does allow herself a bit of pride in how well it seems the thing will fit him. Not bad at all, considering she was basing all the tailor's measurements off of her own recollection of Kylo's stature and build.

Unfortunately, nothing good can last today, and the reality of the situation crashes down on her with his question. Rey glances up at his face in utter dismay and mumbles out a lame explanation.]

I found the picture in a book. The prince in the story—I thought he looked a bit like you, when I saw it. [She neglects to mention how funny she found that at the time. Doesn't seem like a good thing to bring up.]

Then I saw the cape in a shop and... [She assumes he can figure out the rest and gestures helplessly at the cloak.] It's not clever.

[Ren's eyebrows rise as he tilts his head down slightly.]

You wanted me to look like a proper fairy tale prince, then?

[His confusion is still there, but a significant part of it has transformed into amusement, and those red sparks show up briefly again as he pulls the cape over his shoulders. By the time it's settled and he has the clasp properly shut, there are flowers around his ankles.

He holds out one arm to display the blue lining inside both to himself and to Rey, then turns to face her again with a questioning though almost proud look on his face in a silent how do I look?]

I didn't—[She cuts off her protest quickly, thoroughly giving up any hope of explaining herself. She goes with something much more vague.] I didn't say that.

[How can she explain now, when the entire joke was based around the idea that something so frivolous and fancy as a soft velvet cape wouldn't suit Kylo, and it's becoming increasingly, painfully obvious that it does. All the things about the garment she thought would be laughably over-the-top somehow just... fit, and the flowers at his feet don't help. And worse, it's clear that he likes the stupid thing. Even without the red sparks or flowers, Rey would be able to tell he's pleased from the way he's nearly preening.

She can't answer his unspoken question, and meets his look with an expression of bewilderment not unlike when he took off his helmet for the first time. Not because she doesn't want to answer, or because she didn't understand what he's asking. She simply has no answer, at least not one she can figure out how to put into words. So she avoids it. And blurts out something practical. Something easier.]

You can wear it on either shoulder. I wasn't sure, with your—[She gestures vaguely to her right arm.] I didn't know which arm you'd want free.

You put a lot of thought into this, didn't you?

[He can tell thanks to her comment about it being ambidextrous and the near-exact length of the thing. There are still a few mysteries to solve here, but first he drops his hand and steps over to place the other gifts back into the box.]

Thank you. [The pillar holding up Empatheias is going to break and everything is going to plummet to the surface. There's even a slight smile on his face as he says it.] It will be nice to have something a bit different for special occasions.

[Those exist here, unlike home. There are a number of things that exist here that have allowed him to experience things he can't see happening in his actual future, in their galaxy.]

[It's obvious that she doesn't need to answer his question, and she glances away sheepishly for a moment, only mumbling a reply to his thanks.]

You're welcome. [As soon as he's turned his attention back to her box, though, she can't help eyeing the cape again, scanning it top to bottom a few times. She can understand why he'd think to wear it on special occasions. The velvet shimmers even more nicely when it's draped over an actual person than when it's flat or folded. She allows herself a tiny bit of pride in that, even if her entire plan went horribly askew, at least she did manage to purchase something of impeccable quality.]

It's certainly eye-catching. [As if Kylo could ever blend into a crowd.]

[With the other gifts back in the box they came from, Ren closes the lid and gives Rey a side glance, tilting his head in an almost suspicious way. He's still clearly pleased with the situation, though, so it comes across as more sly than anything.]

You really decided to give me these today on a whim?

[He wants to confirm one more time before saying anything about what's different about this particular day. If anyone else knows about it, he'd prefer to know so he can prepare for any other... unexpected visitors.]

[Rey's eyes shoot up to his face, her expression surprised and almost a bit alarmed. A "whim"? Does he know how long she's had some of these things?? How could he know?

Surely not. Surely he would've said something about it if he knew. Something obnoxious, probably. But she can't think of any other reason for him to keep bringing up what day she's decided to bring him gifts. Rey replies cautiously, deciding to play it safe and stay vague.]

I had them, so I brought them. [No mention of how long she had them. Not important.] I had a... feeling, I guess. [When in doubt, blame the Force!]

[So it really was a coincidence—or the Force, if the fact that she had a feeling is to be believed. Then again, he sort of made... a garden of the house this morning that he just had recently finished cleaning up, so it wouldn't be surprising if the unusually positive emotions could be felt through their...

... their whatever it is. Anyway.]

You know...

[Ren picks up his tea; it's been cooling for a while, but it's still a bearable temperature, so he takes a sip. Maybe he's teasing her by pausing for so long.]

If our galaxy followed this planet's calendar, I would be 32 today.

[It's definitely teasing, and frankly it's cruel. Rey doesn't take her eyes off him the entire time he wastes before finishing his sentence, and she stares in confusion for another second as she realizes what he's saying. The instant she does, however, her face erupts into a delighted smile.]

Oh... Oh! It's your birthday!

[She's happy not only simply because a birthday she knows is a special day for most people, but also because it makes her gifts significantly less weird and random. Rey is so relieved she has an unfortunate relapse of not thinking about what she's saying.]

Are you really 32? I didn't think you were that old.

[Ren cants his head, not sure whether to be insulted or not but leaning towards the former.]

You're lucky you've put me in such a good mood. [Is she really, though. What good comes from Kylo Ren being a good mood, except for a few flowers? Nothing, that's what.]

But I've been here for nearly two years, so yes. I am that old. [Still, as he says it, his fairly cheery (for him) expression gains a tinge of something more somber, and he looks away.]

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