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Kylo missed his next few trainings with Yara. General Hux would always send word that it was "because he's busy, with the resistance and all..."
Yara knew she needed to apologize to him, but his ghosting didn't make it easy to find him. The small amount of time Kylo left Yara to herself, she used to refine her skills. Yara got the hang of maneuvering her lightsaber. The spinning of the weapon felt like a dance between her fingers as the handle weaved between her knuckles. It was quite satisfying hearing the whooshing sound as she spun and swung the lightsaber all around her.
Not only did she spend her time learning to wield the powerful weapon, she also entertained herself as she stood in the corners of halls and attempted to read the passing stormtrooper's minds. Sometimes, she'd stand in her little corner for hours as she listened into flashes of thoughts of the marching troopers. She had gotten quite good at it, really. Though there were times she couldn't worm her way into some of the generals' or captains' thoughts, for the most part she could tune in to what they were thinking. The stormtroopers were the easiest to tune into. They seemed to be the weakest minded. Numb to reality and never being exposed to invigorating experiences might be some contributing factors to their weaknesses.
As Yara was staring down the hall, her eyes narrowed and focused on Captain Phasma, a dark figure appeared in her peripheral vision. Just by the way he was breathing, Yara could tell it was Kylo. "I've taken my trainings into my own hands since you flaked on me." Yara spoke, never breaking her eyes away from Phasma.
"I've been bu-" Kylo tried to excuse himself.
"Yeah, I heard it from Hux. You've been busy." Yara's voice was flat and unimpressed.
Kylo went silent, so, Yara seized the moment. She abruptly broke her concentration to look up at Kylo, his mask was very well situated on his face. "I'm sorry." Yara apologized.
Kylo was taken aback. He wasn't expecting an apology. "I didn't mean to offend you. I don't not like you- even if you did try to kill me when you thought I couldn't control the Force- it's just, different. I grew up hearing stories of these people." Yara hoped he would understand.
Kylo turned his head away to look at who she was trying to read earlier. "You've gotten better." He mentioned about her mind reading.
"Wait 'till you see how good I am with the lightsaber! I'll finally have a fair advantage and you're so going down." Yara's eyes twinkled with excitement as she pulled out her lightsaber to show it off to him.
She's so beautiful. The only happy person in this place. I have to protect her. Yara heard Kylo's voice echo into her head. She had unintentionally read his mind. She froze for a moment, realizing what she had done.
"What's wrong?" Kylo inquired.
Yara concealed her reaction by letting out an airy laugh. "Nothing, nothing! I just remembered I've... got to... take a shower!" Yara exclaimed as she quickly came up with something.
"Huh?"
"It's hair wash day... its a whole long routine I've got to do... so... I got to go.." Yara slowly began to walk away from him, waving him goodbye before taking off back to her room.
Once she made it in, she slammed the door shut. She pressed her back against the door and slid down to the ground. Her heart was racing and her mind was flooding with questions. She hadn't realized Kylo was starting to develop an attraction toward her. I'm such an idiot! She slapped her forehead.
She hadn't even dreamed of thinking about Kylo in that way, but, now that she knew he was interested in her... the emotions she felt for him- that even she didn't know about- were divulging. She began to realize that she, too, found him attractive. That she loved talking to him when they were training. That she felt comforted by his presence. "Holy shit." Yara whispered to herself. She gulped. She still couldn't believe that she had literally read his mind, without him knowing, and that she discovered such a revealing secret.
If she had never done so, Kylo would've possibly never revealed that he was interested in her.
* * *
The next day, Yara reported to her normal session of training. Kylo had returned to be her mentor, and if Yara hadn't known what he felt about her, she would've been super enthusiastic about it. But, now, she felt super awkward. She was quiet throughout the entire hour, which was unusual of her, and she accomplished her tasks as quickly as possible to get them over with.
Kylo noticed her standoffish attitude that day, and grew a little concerned. "You heard it, didn't you?" Kylo took off his face, revealing his somber face. Yara's throat went dry. She had seen his face before, but now that she was acknowledging her feelings for him, she realized how soft his skin looked and how appealing his face was.
Yara's eyes widened. "Wh-What, What? Heard what? I didn't hear anything..." She tried so hard to not be suspicious, and prayed that Kylo wasn't reading into her racing thoughts.
"I know, it must be hard for you to hear that Varis has declared itself part of the Resistance. The First Order is now their enemy. Your mother and brother did so because of you, since you are technically our captive. They joined a war that has nothing to do with them to save you." Kylo announced.
Yara's heart dropped. She worried about her family. She had completely forgotten about them since she had been so excited about training. They must've escaped before Kylo swooped in and stole her from Varis all that time ago. And, now that they were back, they were searching for her. They probably imagined Yara suffering the worst conditions possible. "I have to let them know I'm okay." Yara told.
Kylo shook his head. "I can't let you do that. Anyway, it's too late. You can't just reverse your position from siding with the enemy. The First Order is probably already on their way to attack Varis." Kylo explained to her.
