#because extra

She was fast, but he passed her with his ridiculously long legs. (She wasn’t even short; it wasn’t fair.) He lunged for the shape, but it dodged his arms, mewing. Rey recognized it as a large and fluffy cat. It led them down the hall, past the staircase and elevator, then darted into the door of a maintenance closet that had been left cracked open. The man burst through the door, banging it against the wall. He fumbled for the light switch, swearing, before he finally found the chain to the light bulb and yanked it. Rey ran into the closet behind him, just in time to see a black tail whip under the hvac unit.

The man sighed disgruntledly and collapsed to the floor, lying on his stomach. Rey watched dubiously as he shoved a hand under the metal box, waving it around.

“Vader, come on you idiot,” he growled. There was a hiss, and the man quickly withdrew his hand. “Fuck!” Rey saw thin stripes of blood before he shoved the edge of his hand in his mouth. “Stupid cat,” he swore, around the hand. She rolled her eyes.

“Here.”

The man looked up from glowering where his cat had disappeared, surprised to see her there. He watched suspiciously as she grabbed a broom from the side of the room and wedged herself by the back of the unit. She stuck the handle of the broom behind it and wiggled it around as much as she could, making sure it scraped against the floor. Sure enough, there was a rattling, and then a dark shape shot out from underneath. Unfortunately, it ran out from the side, not to the front where the man was waiting.

She dropped the broom and dove for the cat, catching it in the middle and scooping it up from underneath. It struggled, but she kept one arm wrapped under its front legs, and moved her other to cradle its back legs, and it gradually settled against her. She held it close. It was heavy and warm, and in the dusty fluff sticking up from its head, she could see the tips of somewhat tattered ears. It snuggled into the crook of her arm and began a low rumble as she stroked a small patch of its back. She smiled. The man got up from the floor and brushed himself off, still looking at her suspiciously.

“He seems to like you,” he said with narrowed eyes. “He doesn’t do that.”

“He probably likes anyone who doesn’t call him names,” she said, looking down at what felt like a very comfortable cat. It continued purring.

He glared. “Who are you anyway?” he demanded.

“Rey. I was looking for my friend Finn’s apartment.”

“What number’s he?”

“2187.”

“You’re a floor too high,” he informed her. “Come on, this idiot needs to get back inside.” He left the closet and she followed him down the hall.

They stopped outside his door, and he fished through his pockets, and then his hands fell to his sides. “Fuck,” he said loudly. He yanked on the doorknob, but it didn’t move. “Fuck!”

“Locked out?”

“Yes.” He kicked the door. “Damn it!”

She sighed. “Do you have a phone?”

“No,” he growled.

“Mine’s in my pocket,” she offered. He turned towards her and glanced down at her hips. “You can, or I can–“ She wasn’t sure whether to offer him the cat or not. “Left side,” she finally said.

He carefully walked into her personal space, until his chest was pressing against the arms she had wrapped around the cat. (It was much warmer and firmer than the furry animal.) He didn’t meet her eyes, but she felt his fingers fumbling at her right pocket.

“No, er, my left,” she corrected, stammering. He cleared his throat and tried again, his large hand scooping inside of her pocket and pulling out her phone.

“Um-“

“Passcode is 1512.”

“Thanks,” he mumbled. He found the lock button and entered the code. “Um-“ he said again.

“What?”

“I don’t know the number.”

“Can you look it up?”

He nodded, and after a couple taps, he held the phone up to his ear. “Hello? This is Kylo Ren, apartment 3187.” He turned away from her, pacing a few steps back and forth across the hall as he talked. When he lowered the phone, he pushed the end call button with force, scowling. “Twenty minutes. So probably at least half an hour.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“Oh. Here. Thanks.” He held her phone out gingerly, then awkwardly slid it back into her pocket, hand briefly pressing against her hip before quickly withdrawing. “You can – you don’t have to stay.”

She looked at him, then shrugged. She’d feel bad leaving him sitting in the hallway with his cat but no phone or shoes on his own. “I don’t mind.”

“Are you sure?” She nodded. He looked taken aback, but not displeased. “Well- I can take Vader if you want. He’s heavy, your arms are probably getting tired.

Rey considered. Her arms were starting to ache a bit, but she was enjoying holding the cat, who was still purring. Her apartment didn’t allow pets, and it wasn’t like she’d had any growing up. “It’s okay. How about we sit down though?”

He nodded, and they sat next to each other along the wall outside his door. She set Vader carefully in her lap, watching to see if he’d run again. He looked up at her and meowed reproachfully, but stayed. He kneaded her thigh, and she winced as his claws pricked through her jeans. He turned several times, then settled back down, curling in her lap and falling asleep almost instantly. She looked up to find Kylo watching her bemusedly.

“I’m serious, he never does this,” he told her. “I’ve had to lock him in my room to keep him from clawing Hux when he comes over. He tolerates Phasma, but nothing like this.”

She grinned smugly. “Guess I’m special.”

He laughed loudly, and Vader flicked an ear in irritation. “Guess so,” he said, smiling at her.

“So…Kylo Ren?” she asked.

“Yeah?” He raised an eyebrow.

“It’s just – an interesting name.”

He shrugged. “I guess.” He looked down at his lap.

She huffed, then with a flash of remembrance, pulled her phone out of her pocket, careful not to disturb Vader. She sent a quick text to Finn, telling him she’d be late. She wasn’t worried; they were just planning another night of hanging out and watching tv. She put her phone away again and glanced at Kylo, who was still looking at his hands.

“So, what do you do?” she tried again.

“I work in a law firm, Snoke and Associates,” he said, mouth twisting.

“Really?”

He looked up. “Yeah? Why?”

She shrugged. “You don’t look like a lawyer.”

He half smiled. “Yeah? What do I look like?”

She looked at him critically as he watched her with amusement. “I dunno. A member of some emo band? Or a hipster bartender?”

He barked with laughter, and Rey pet Vader to settle him down. “Not anymore,” he told her with a smirk. She smiled. “What do you do?”

“I’m a student, mechanical engineering.”

“Really? What year?”

He kept asking her questions about her classes and her research position, and she happily replied. She tried asking him about his work, but he always turned the question back to her. She was surprised to realized she was disappointed when the locksmith finally came down the hallway.

Kylo stood, stretching. Rey raised her hands over her head, legs slightly numb under Vader.

“I got him,” Kylo said, reaching down and picking the cat up, hands brushing against her thighs. Vader complained and started kneading his shoulder. Kylo winced, shifting one arm to hold him and reaching the other down to help her up. She took it gratefully, legs still fuzzy, and stretched as well.

“There you go,” the locksmith grunted, and lumbered back down the hallway.

Kylo and Rey looked at each other awkwardly.

“Thanks for hanging around,” Kylo said, petting Vader.

Rey nodded. “No problem. I like talking to you.”

Kylo turned pink. “Yeah, me too.” They were quiet for a minute. “Here, wait a minute.” He went inside his apartment and closed the door most of the way behind him. Rey heard the thump of Vader hitting the floor. There was a quick scratching noise, and then the door opened again, just enough for Kylo to shove his leg in the crack.

“No,” he said over his shoulder. “Go claw the couch or something.” He turned back and shoved a piece of paper at her. “Here. If you want to talk again or something. Vader would probably love seeing you again.” He smiled, then blanched. “Not that I’m trying to, you know, invite you back to my place to – I mean – just to talk or – I – “ He turned red, and the door snapped closed.

She stared at it. Eventually, she looked down at the scrap of paper in her hand and found a set of ten numbers scrawled messily on the torn corner of an envelope. She smiled, shaking her head, and shoved the paper in her pocket. She pulled out her phone and her eyes widened she saw the time. It had been almost an hour since she’d texted Finn. She jogged to the stairs.

-

She put Kylo’s number in her phone, but didn’t find the time to message him. Next Friday found her outside another door, waiting out in the cold. She raised her hand to knock, then hesitated and pressed the doorbell to the side. She heard it ring inside the house and shoved her hands into the pockets of her worn coat, turning nervously to glance at the brick houses looming on the other side of the road. She jumped when the door opened and turned back to see –

“You!”

Kylo Ren stood in front of her, quickly turning red. They were both speechless.

“What – “ she began.

“Ben?” called a familiar voice from inside the house. “Who is it?” She looked around Kylo (Ben?) to see Professor Skywalker. “Rey!” he said happily. “Come on in! You’re the first one here, besides my nephew of course.”

She looked at Kylo in disbelief. He met her eyes, then looked away, still bright red.