Kiddo | Kylo Ren

V. Orientation pt. 2

There were a lot of things Kylo could blame the noisy dining hall on.

Girls ogling the knights. His knights.

Stormtroopers, off-duty, clinking their beers together at 0900 in the morning.

Or the knights themselves; making a ruckus, being immature, cackling at jokes only neanderthals would cackle at.

But none of it interested Kylo. Not after he'd just seen his favorite girl in nothing but a wet towel wrapped tightly around her small figure.

And wow- was he struggling to take his eyes off her.

To be fair, he hadn't taken his eyes off her for much of the time she's been here. Almost like averting his gaze away from her hurt him physically.

It started once the shuttle first landed in hangar 6. Four bruiting, welcoming knights exited first, impatiently walking down the descending ramp.

Then- her.

Small, light footsteps first. Then her smooth legs rubbing against each other as she stumbled off the shuttle and onto the Finalizer floor.

Then her chest- slowly inflating as she took a deep breath in and careened her neck towards to roof of the base. Her eyelids slowly fluttering shut. She was relaxed- exhausted even.

Her hair complimented her skin color. The last time he'd seen her, she was only fifteen. Smaller, acne-prone face with less color than it does now. She was shorter too- and her body wasn't as toned.

But she wasn't fifteen anymore. She was a bit taller now. Older. Her hair was longer, darker. Her legs had more tone and definition in them as she stood awkwardly in the middle of the hangar.

She was never an ugly kid; but the new her blew the old her completely out of the water.

He watched as she stood there, slowly swaying her hips and admiring the bases architecture.

But something made her halt her tiny dance- Shiloh.

The youngest knight, standing near the shuttle opening, eyeing her down as much as Kylo was. He was holding a black bag in his hands. Kylo could sense it was the knights weapons stacked together.

Ryo can't catch something like that. Not with those weak arms.

And yet she tried.

She failed, of course. Her small body toppling over with a light thud as she caught the bag in her hands. She was clumsy. Reckless.

It was cute.

Kylo watched as she slowly struggled to push the bag away from her. He had a second to let out a light chuckle, before her soft eyes caught his.

She looked excited to see him. Like a tiny puppy, wagging her tail after seeing her owner for the first time after a long vet appointment. No one has looked at Kylo like that in a long time.

It was adorable how she scrambled to her feet. Quickly scurrying, running even, right to Kylo. An excited expression and wide smile still engulfing her face.

Then, the cantina.

He watched as she slowly gulped down several drinks. Nothing too hard, but enough to get her buzzing fairly quickly.

And her cheeks- flushing a bright red as the knights teased her about something she shouldn't be embarrassed of.

Young Ryo was what kept the knights from being the malicious beings they once were.