The Brighter Dark (Kylo Ren X Reader)

Ch. 14- Where Is My Mind

AUTHOR'S NOTE- Inspiration for this chapter comes from Where Is My Mind by Safari Riot & Grayson Sanders. I highly suggest listening to it once "training" starts.

CONTENT WARNING: This story contains reactions that may be similar to those experienced during a panic attack. Please understand that I am not someone who suffers from panic attacks and am only going off of what close friends who do suffer from them have told me.
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"Is that the best you can do?"

You watched Ap'lek incline his head, his facial expression deadly save for the smirk playing on his lips.

"You're gonna wish you hadn't asked me that."

You readied yourself for an attack as he took off in a sprint towards you- or rather, past you. Confused, you whipped your head around to see what his plan was, but your gaze was met with nothing but the empty training arena behind you. Shoulders hunched, you broadened your stance and searched for Ap'lek- he can't have gotten too far, he was fast but he couldn't have just disappeared-

"Gotcha!"

Thinking fast, you launched into a forward roll just in time to escape an oncoming tackle from behind, which ended with you on your feet and Ap'lek empty handed, his frustration evident on his face. You cocked your head to the side and donned a mask of sarcastic pity. "That would have been very effective if you hadn't announced yourself, you know."

Ap'lek raised an eyebrow. "And how do you know it wasn't?"

You barely had time to furrow an eyebrow before you felt a shift in the Force behind you. Pivoting on your left foot, you braced yourself for an oncoming attack but it was already too late. Arms encircled your torso as you felt something catch your ankle, throwing all of your weight off-kilter. You fell defeatedly into the arms that were now wrapped around your upper half, and felt yourself being lifted off the ground and face-to-face with Kuruk's triumphant sapphire eyes.

You crossed your arms over your chest defiantly. "Foul play," you accused, "I would've been ready for that if I'd known you were sparring with us too, you snuck up on me!"

"That's kind of the point of an ambush," You looked over your shoulder to see Ap'lek making his way toward the two of you, holding his shoulder with one hand as he rolled it in place. "Not knowing it's coming."

Kuruk looked down at you and chuckled. "He's got you there."

You huffed and wriggled until Kuruk conceded, lowering you to the ground. "Well," you said, "I'll  be ready for you next time." You shot him a challenging grin that he returned with equal vigor.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Kuruk replied, unable to stop the ghost of a blush from smattering across his cheeks before clearing his throat. "Vicrul asked me to come get you. He said something about a field trip."

You raised an eyebrow, "A field trip with Vic, huh?" You weren't sure if this was going to be the fun kind of field trip. "What could possibly go wrong?"

Ap'lek let out a breathless chuckle as he tossed you your jacket. "I wouldn't be too worried." he told you, his voice filtered through a matter-of-fact tone that it always seemed to be accompanied by. "Master Ren wouldn't allow him to take you away from training for too long."

"Apparently, the field trip is her training." Kuruk replied, his eyes still on you to gauge your reaction. But while a private joyride with Vicrul made you anything but calm, that was exactly the facade you projected. Calm, collected, maybe a little aloof.

"I can handle Vicrul," you said as the three of you made your way out of the training gym and into the green field towards the barracks. "I'm not worried."