Entirely Different

Chapter Eighteen : A Dangerous Game

The remainder of your Saturday was pleasant. You had met with Jane for lunch, spending some much-needed time with another woman, and afterwards Kylo had been gracious enough to defer your training for another day. You found yourself bold enough, even after his generosity, to ask him if you might be allowed to fly the Command Shuttle for a few hours to practice on your landings.

"Yes, your landing was rather shaky yesterday..." He had chided playfully.

You remembered his plea for cover in the frenzied anticipation of his climax and rolled your eyes, hitting him playfully on the arm with an open-handed pat. You scoffed.

"Right. Whose fault was that?" You asked rhetorically, biting your lip.

He'd answered anyway, of course.

"Mine, thank you very much." He grinned.

It surprised you how quickly you had managed to allow yourself to grow used to him this way. When leaving his quarters, you shook your head as you passed your father's door, laughing internally that he had let that information go untold for so long. You made your way to the hangar bay rather leisurely on that Saturday afternoon, unaware that you'd been smiling at every passerby on the route there and especially back.

It had been snowy that morning and the inches collected tirelessly across the landscape of Starkiller's green forests. You had wanted to wander out and inspect it during flight, curious to see if it had felt like you'd always imagined or something more, though the message vibrating incessantly in your pocket begged to be read and answered before you could convince yourself to make the detour. As you landed the craft masterfully back onto the concrete floors of the hangar bay, you checked your data pad briefly before allowing the engineers to onboard.

Incoming Message:

Sender: Commander Ren

Time: 14:44

I allowed you to practice landing. Not fly the entire solar system.

As you were typing a short response to his curt message, another message came through.

Incoming Message:

Sender: Commander Ren

Time: 14:50

I have nothing to do today but you. Come back to my bed immediately!

Though you weren't entirely sure how he'd meant for you to read it, you had read it with endearment and felt your chest go full and warm all at once. You swallowed that feeling you weren't ready to face and typed a quick, but earnest, reply.

Compose Outgoing Message:

Roger that, Commander. Headed your way! |

You could hardly contain your excitement as you struggled to contain your hurried pace back to his quarters. It was nearing sunset and the wide-open halls took on a lovely orange glow as you navigated towards him. You could feel his Force as you neared, or what you had assumed was his Force – an ebbing wave of energy. It felt like a summer tide drawing you back out to sea, leading your feet to his door.

The door slid into the wall to reveal the darkness of his space. The waves of energy swirling around in the room like smoke, settling heavily over the figure hunched in the doorway of his office. You forgot, sometimes, how large Kylo was. His shoulders met the breadth of the doorway entirely, maybe even overtook the space a little bit. His height brushed the frame just so, hair tickling the steel – were he a half inch taller, he may have to duck through the entryway.