The list of things that Kylo regretted that he could actually could do anything about correcting was far smaller than he might like. He couldn't do anything about the fact that he'd gone to Snoke, or that he'd joined the First Order, or about his father, or about the messed up relationship with his mother. And some of those things, even if he tried to think about getting a chance to go back and do things differently, he wasn't certain what other course of action he could have taken, which meant that when there was something he regretted that he could actually do something about, he poured his energy into doing so.
And in this case the thing was that Kylo Ren hadn't really even noticed his grandparents breaking up. He hadn't realized his grandmother was living in the apartment with his mother. He'd been so wrapped up in his own stuff with Eliot - first with falling for him from a distance and then in the newness of the relationship - and with whether or not people thought he was a monster - and really just himself - that he hadn't realized until he'd gone to move back into what he'd thought was an empty apartment and found that it wasn't.
As it turned out, that had been all right, because while he'd been focused on his grandfather - someone that he'd always thought he wanted to be like - he hadn't really gotten to know his grandmother. And now he did. And while he couldn't make up for the fact that he'd been self-absorbed he could try to make certain he paid attention now and the thing was, when he'd realized that they weren't living together and he couldn't just wake up and make certain she had coffee before she went to work and before he did, he'd realized that he was going to miss that.
And so breakfast on the cruise ship, even if he wasn't making it, had seemed like the best possible option. They'd still see each other, and they could still talk, and - he hoped - start their day on a better note for having done it together. It was for him. He hoped it was for her and that she wasn't just humoring him. He didn't think so, but he was ready to admit he was a bad judge of that sort of thing.
Today though, he'd met her outside her cabin and they'd walked together, finding seats at a currently empty table, and glancing through the menu items for the day.
"Are you still going to do your piano lessons here?" He asked, after having ordered a coffee. "I thought I saw a piano on one of the decks."
Padmé had found that by focusing on work and creating new routines, she could ignore a lot - and she had, in recent weeks. She’d focused on her jobs instead - both at the Mayor’s office and the school - and she spread that focus to her immediate family whenever possible, which of late meant Kylo. It was easy to spend time with him since they lived together, and since they had settled into a routine, one that she had grown to enjoy very much.
But with being on this ship and being reminded of the fact that a large part of her life had begun to fall apart when she’d initially arrived on the Prettiest Star, Padmé found herself internally flailing somewhat. The offer of starting a routine here with her grandson was a welcome one, and she’d eagerly embraced it, which is why she had gotten up early that morning in order to meet him.
Once they were at the restaurant and both had ordered coffee, Padmé lifted her eyes to Kylo’s at his question instead of looking down at the menu in front of her. “I am, yes. Mycroft said there was one in his cabin. We’ve only had one lesson before now, so I’m glad to be able to continue it. How are you and Eliot settling in? This must seem like a second vacation, after having just been away from Tumbleweed yourself.”
"That's helpful then. I'm glad you'll be able to continue them."
Kylo made a mental note to himself to try to figure out who Mycroft was. The name wasn't familiar to him and was a reminder that he tended to not always pay attention to things outside his immediate circle. Some of that was perhaps not the worst, as there was always the possibility when he did pay attention to externals that something bad would happen, but if it was someone his grandmother spent time with, that made him someone to at least recognize by sight.
He considered an eggs benedict and a small smile crossed his lips at her question. "I don't suppose we can complain too much. It's a different atmosphere than the mountains and the snow, but we're together again, and, well…" Kylo preferred it. Falling asleep with Eliot next to him was easier, and he felt as if he dreamed less, and that it might not be a bad thing. "Millicent's explored every inch of the suite and I won't be surprised if she ends up escaping at some point," he shook his head. "I can feel her curiosity about the outside. I guess I should see about putting our room number on her collar."
“I’m glad you’re here together, able to share a room.” She most certainly was also glad that she hadn’t been put with her ex-spouse, the way she had on the space cruise the previous year. At his words about Millicent, Padmé smiled. “That’s probably for the best. I’d love to be able to see her and if she escapes and I do see her, I’ll be sure and look after her as much as she allows,” she promised.
She looked down at the menu at last and studied the dishes and descriptions for a moment, then settled on the pancakes and eggs, before returning her attention to Kylo. “Do you know much about this type of ship, and where we could be going? I hadn’t thought to study this kind of thing when we were in Tumbleweed.”
Kylo couldn't help a half grin. Millicent was trouble and had been from the moment he'd brought her on the space cruise what was nearly a year ago now. He hadn't realized at the time that the cat would prove to be a loyal companion, and a social ice breaker, and perhaps make it easier for him to simply exist among all of the rest of the Displaced. At the time he'd simply seen her as a nuisance, an inconvenience.
"I appreciate your looking out for her, and she likes you and is used to you fairly well. I think she would listen."
But he didn't have any idea on the other. "Despite the fact that Eliot and I have taken a vacation or two, I don't really know much about this sort of thing," he shrugged. "If it's anything like the space cruise, I suppose it will be random. I got the impression then that people were familiar with some of the places, but none of them seemed to exist in the same galaxy. I don't know if that will be true here, or not." One likely could also count on trouble, but he decided not to court it. "Have you been able to go around the ship at all?"
“Of course - she and I came to an understanding. We like each other’s company,” Padmé said lightly, smiling a bit. She’d never had a pet herself in the past, since she had always traveled far too often, but in living with Kylo and Millicent, Padmé could at least pretend, at times, that the cat was partially hers as well.
“Random seems to be par for the course, ever since I originally arrived on that cruiser. I wonder if we’ll end up somewhere like Coruscant again, or another place. A part of her longed to find that this strange world might have some small piece of Naboo on it. She hadn’t seen her home in so long that she missed it very much.
“I’ve explored a little, and it seems very different from all of the spaceships I’ve been in, and even the seafaring ships I’ve been aboard in the past. How about you?”
"I didn't want her to come on board with me back at Coruscant, but I'm glad she persisted," he said, taking a break to place his own order and allow for his Grandmother to place hers before he continued.
Millicent hadn't been initially wanted, but she'd been a companion for the entirety of the time he was here. She'd kept him from feeling completely alone, and although he hadn't realized how much he would appreciate that at times, or how much she would provide an opportunity for him to speak with people about something without having to search for a topic, it had turned out that it had been something he was grateful for even.
"Random does seem to be that," he frowned slightly. "Random in who shows, and from when, and then random in where we end up. If there's any rhyme to it I haven't figured out what it is. It would be…" he paused. "I think it would be nice to be back in our galaxy, so long as it was like it was before -- without the politics of it. Where would you want to go?"
“I remember. I think she’s happy she did as well. You two suit one another,” Padmé said with a smile, before placing her order once Kylo had. She was honestly glad that the cat had adopted her grandson, had been there for him, particularly when there had been a time where Padmé hadn’t really reached out to any of her family, too caught up in her own unhappiness and, later, grief. She was glad, as well, that Leia had offered to let her move into her apartment for a time, and that Kylo had joined her. Despite knowing that his own history with his parents was nearly as dark as Anakin’s had become, she loved him and was grateful to have the opportunity to make that connection with him. She was determined not to lose him as she had lost her husband.
“I’ve had Threepio study the arrivals and disappearances, and some of the other occurrences as well, but he hasn’t come up with any discernible pattern. I think that if anyone could, it’d be him. I still have him studying it as a secondary function, when he isn’t doing other things. It keeps him busy, at least,” she said with a smile. At his next question, she had to pause and think about it for a few minutes.
“Aside from my home planet, you mean?” Padmé smiled a bit. “Naboo will always be at the top of my list, followed by Alderaan. But I’d have to say that Felucia is another one that is very beautiful, as is Dac. In fact, Atlantis reminded me very much of Dac. Have you been to either world?”
He tilted his head. He supposed his grandfather had Artoo, so allowing Artoo and Threepio to work together as counterparts would be a challenge, although he suspected the two of them together would absolutely find any pattern that could be found. If they couldn't together, then it couldn't be found, but he wasn't about to bring his Grandfather into this conversation, and any reference to Artoo would surely do so, and so he reached for his coffee and moved on to the planets.
Alderaan brought up the uncomfortable question of where Kylo's relationship with his mother truly stood. But the other planets he was familiar with. Between Han's restlessness, and his mother's political and diplomatic standing, Ben Solo had traveled a fair amount by the time he was twelve. And Dac had been one of the places he had gone, his mother visiting on behest of Admiral Ackbar.
"I've been to Dac, yes," he said without much detail given. "It is rather similar to Atlantis, with the cities and civilizations above the water and underneath. I rather think Dac may have been even more humid," he smiled slightly. "But Naboo is beautiful, and would be a good stop that I suspect everyone would enjoy - not just you."
Padmé had to smile more at that, and she nodded. “It would be lovely to see it again, particularly in this type of setting. I could actually show you Lake Country, instead of telling you about it or just showing holos. And it’s been so long since I’ve spoken to the Gungans. Even if it wouldn’t be those I know from home, it would still be nice to visit.”
Picking up her own coffee, she took a slow sip before setting it down again. “What about you? Where would you like to go, if you had the choice?”
Kylo glanced up and there was a small smile on his lips as he did. The idea of being shown around the Lake Country at Naboo with his grandmother - her telling him about what her childhood had been like, or when she'd been the senator for Naboo, or the Queen… knowing those things from her, rather than just knowing them in general - he suddenly hoped that maybe they'd get that chance. It seemed impossible, they'd been to Coruscant and their galaxy once, but were there chances to go again?
"That sounds really nice," he offered, and reached for his own coffee, but instead of picking it up he wrapped his fingers around it. Where would he go if he had the choice? "It's not from our galaxy, but I'd like to see Fillory. That's Eliot's kingdom. I'd like to get the chance to explore it with him I think. And from our galaxy, I don't know. Maybe Naboo cause I'd like to see it with you." Or possibly Alderaan, he thought. Although he didn't know if his mother would want to see it, or if it would just make her upset in that way she would get when she was upset and not talking about it.
“Fillory - I’d like to hear more about it. I know it’s been mentioned in passing, but not in very great detail,” she said. She had to smile at his desire to see Naboo, and she reached out to touch his fingers lightly. “I hope that one day we’ll have that opportunity,” Padmé said sincerely.
After a moment, she sat back again, before movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she smiled again. “It looks like our food is arriving. I have to admit that Earth food is delightful - and this ship doesn’t fail to impress.” She moved her mug and utensils to one side as the server stepped up with a tray of their food.
Kylo smiled at the touch from his grandmother, even as he pulled his fingers back so that they the food that was arriving could be put down in front of both of them. It startled him sometimes that he felt so at ease with Padmé - so much as if he were with family. It was something that he hadn't felt in a long time, maybe ever, and it came from a source that was unexpected, but at the same time right.
"If you want I'll tell you a bit about Fillory while we're eating," he offered. "Eliot could tell much more than I could, but I know some of the things that he's told me. I know there's a castle there - and it's a place with a good deal of magic, typically anyway. That's been more of a problem of recent." He reached for the coffee and took a sip, thinking back to the things Eliot and Quentin and the others had said, and which of those things would be most of interest to Padmé. Government probably, and possibly some of the information he'd learned about the culture. Kylo sat the coffee down, and after some consideration, started with the monarchy - or at least, with what he knew of it.