Any final snide remarks that Rey had intended to say upon entering the room had died at the tip of her tongue as soon as she took in her current surroundings. The room appeared to have undergone such a subtle change since the last time she had been here, but it was enough to make it seem as though she had mistakenly walked into the wrong room, which is how she soon found herself stopping dead in her tracks with a sudden look of awe flashing along her features for a split second before she managed to veil her emotions immediately as to not allow Kylo to have the satisfaction of seeing that he had actually surprised her as she went on to continue with admiring the little setup that Kylo most likely had instructed some poor individual to do during some point of the day.

The thought of him using his authority for the sole purpose of having someone else do his dirty work shouldn't have come as such of a surprise to her since she was so sure that he had never lifted a finger in his entire life to do such mundane things, because he was probably so used to being catered to ever since he had come into this world, and it most likely was due to the rather important fact that it was because he came from a royal line. That mere fact was enough to further emphasize how different they truly were from one another, and that should have been enough to squash any fantasies she regretfully had recently of them being more than just acquaintances to one another, but of course her mind and heart were not on the same page when it came to that whole ordeal.

She shook her head as she forced herself to push those thoughts aside, knowing that now wasn't the proper time to dwell on such things that were out of her control for the time being, and with that in mind, Rey proceeded to make her way further into the room until she stopped just in front of a dining room table, allowing the pads of her digits to carefully skim across the table as she admired the handiwork that was done in what seemed to appear so elegant in her eyes. The setup of the table, consisted of lit candles, an array of the most gorgeous flowers she had ever seen that were intended to be the centerpiece, and last but certainly not least there were multiple plates that each were covered with a lid to conceal what food had been selected for this particular evening. She had been so caught up in the moment that she hadn't heard nor felt Kylo's presence from behind her until he cleared his throat out of nowhere, making her let out a squeak as her hand flew up to rest against her chest. "By the Gods… Don't you know it's not polite to sneak up on people!" She replied in a breathless manner as she turned around to shoot him a glare in response to being annoyed that he had caught her by surprise when she unintentionally left her guard down for a brief moment.

Kylo choked back a laugh in response to her rather adorable outburst as well as take notice of the slight color that was now displayed along her cheeks, which only made her even more desirable in his eyes if he had to be completely honest with himself, and it was that thought alone that reminded him that he needed to keep himself in line in order to be able to impress her with a nice evening instead of teasing her like he most certainly would have on any given day, but it was a little difficult to do so when it had been so easy to take her by surprise even though she should have been expecting his presence after she dared to follow him into his room after all. "Allow me to help you get seated properly so we can eat." He retorted in a gentle tone before he closed the distance between them both, proceeding to carefully slide a chair away from the table, and motioned for her to come take a seat.

Rey arched a brow in a questioning manner as she watched his movements closely before she attempted to seem unfazed with how kind he was being right now, making her believe for a moment that she was dreaming, but when she saw his subtle hand movement to signal her to sit she shook away her internal thoughts and complied to his subtle request. "Uh… Thank you." She inwardly sighed in response to how lame that even sounded to her, but she didn't have time to dwell over that when she watched as he then took a seat in front of her after he helped her get settled properly.

Kylo snapped his fingers to signal for some service droids to come forward to attend to them both, whilst keeping his gaze settled upon Rey as the droids went on to place napkins onto their laps before they went on to remove the lids from each of the plates that were resting in the center of the table before he waited for them to finally take their leave, and not even a moment had fully passed when they were finally alone that he witnessed the look of astonishment that suddenly crossed over Rey's features, which made him almost sigh in relief with knowing that he did well with arranging this last minute dinner, but it wasn't until this moment that he felt his composure slip just briefly, because he hated to admit that he suddenly felt nervous since he had never done anything like this before for anyone. "Please, help yourself to a little of everything."

"Is there some kind of special occasion that I wasn't aware of?" Rey inquired in a slightly curious manner as she waited until he began to serve himself some food so she could follow suit since she believed it was the only polite thing to do.

Kylo poured two glasses of wine after he served himself some food, placing one glass in front of her before he shrugged a shoulder in a neutral manner in response to her question. "No, there isn't some kind of special occasion. I just thought it was only right to have a nice dinner to make you feel more comfortable here." He lied smoothly, because there was no way that he was ready to disclose the true reason why this little gathering had been devised so hastly.

Rey wasn't a so-called expert with how gatherings were supposed to be amongst friends or colleagues, but this dinner vibe was anything but casual in her eyes. It also wasn't helping that she was beginning to receive waves of mixed emotions from Kylo that were making her all but squirm in her seat, especially when his burning gaze was settled upon her, making her clear her throat as she tried to keep herself as calm as possible as to not allow him to read her emotions in this moment as well. "Oh, well that was surprisingly kind of you to do."

Kylo shrugged off her compliment as he tried his best not to react to the weird sensation that came with noticing that she seemed genuinely impressed by his subtle act of kindness since he wasn't used to people showing him any type of gratitude. He attempted to clear his head from his internal thoughts and instead picked up his glass of wine, holding it out towards her. "Let's properly acknowledge your new beginning here."

Rey bit down on her lip as she contemplated over the idea of indulging herself with a little bit of wine as she regretfully remembered the last time she dabbled with drinking alcohol, but in the end she convinced herself that it would be rude to decline, so against her better judgement she picked up her glass of wine as well. "To a new start." She murmured before she carefully clinked her wine glass with his before she took a sip.

One glass of wine shouldn't affect her at all, right? Or rather that's what she was trying to convince herself before they both began to dig into their food.

~~

Several glasses of wine later, and minimal amount of chit-chat here and there that mostly consisted of what they had each done during the day, Rey now found herself relishing in the feel of her current buzz from the alcohol she had consumed as she savored the last bite of food that she scraped onto her fork before she set the fork down onto the empty plate, proceeding to pick up a napkin to wipe her mouth clean as she peered through her lashes in time to see Kylo finishing up the last of his food as well. She almost felt like giving herself a pat on the back for successfully remembering to use the etiquette techniques that were shown to her by her master throughout the entire dinner, but soon the silence in the room was beginning to make it quite awkward and she didn't know if that was the main reason why she was about to blurt out the first thing that came to her mind so suddenly to fill the silence in the room or if it had to do with the fact that she had help from the liquid courage that was running through her from the last few glasses of wine she had by her own choice that was about to allow her to ask him something that had been on her mind earlier in the day. "Have there always been a lot of women who have working positions here?"

Kylo was slightly puzzled by her sudden question, making him set his fork down as he then looked over at Rey with an arched brow as he tried to think of why she would be inquiring about that. "Yes, there have always been women that have worked here. Why the sudden interest about that topic?"

Rey shrugged her shoulder as she took a quick sip of her current glass of wine to give her time to think of how to go about this conversation since she so stupidly brought up this topic to begin with. "I was just curious since I don't recall seeing any women on my first visit here until I had my tour today and noticed a few that I happened to pass by."

The corner of Kylo's mouth tugged up into a coltish smirk when a sudden thought passed through his mind after hearing her response. "There's no need for you to be jealous, Rey."

Rey had been in the process of taking another sip of her wine, and nearly choked when she heard what was said. "What made you think that I would be jealous about some female peers?"

Kylo smirked furthermore in response to how defensive she sounded as he held her steady gaze. "I assure you that I only have my eyes set on one particular individual, so there's no need to get all defensive when it's now so clear that you're afraid of a little competition." He replied in teasing manner before he had the pleasure of seeing a shocked expression flash over her features before she narrowed her eyes at him.

Rey couldn't help but scoff as she felt herself becoming slightly annoyed all of the sudden. "I am not jealous. Nor am I worried about competing with anyone over you. I'd happily allow anyone to have you all to themselves if that meant that you would finally give me some breathing room." She retorted in what she hoped was in a haughty manner since she couldn't help but feel a little pang of emotion flow through her at the thought of seeing him with someone else, but there was no way that she was going to disclose that information to him.

"Sure. You just keep telling yourself that." He replied in a sly tone before he flashed her wink, just before the room of his quarters slid open, revealing the same service droids that had been in the room just a while ago.

Rey was thankful for the droids coming in when they had because she didn't even know how to respond to him when he was acting all arrogant as usual. She watched as the droids removed the plates from the table, leaving only one in the center before they left the room entirely. It was then that she was already in the process of getting out of her seat when she heard Kylo say her name, making her release an exasperated sigh as she reluctantly met his gaze. "Yes?"

"Aren't you going to stay for dessert?" He didn't bother to wait for her reply as he removed the lid from the plate to unveil what was underneath it.

Rey blinked in confusion in response to him trying to feed her more food when she felt as if she was going to explode with all of the food she had eaten just a short while ago, and just as she was going to decline his offer she caught sight of the chocolatey goodness that was now in front of her. Well, she couldn't just let this delicious dessert go to waste, right? "Fine. I'll stay for just a little while longer, but then I'd like to go back to my quarters to get some rest for tomorrow's training."

"Of course. That's a reasonable request." He tried his best to not smirk in a smug manner when he managed to buy himself more time with her when he had specifically asked for this particular dessert since he knew it was Rey's favorite.

Rey picked up the new utensil that one of the droids left behind for her to use before she took a piece of the chocolate molten cake, making sure to also scoop up a little bit of the ice cream that was beside it, and as soon as those contents hit her tongue it took all of her willpower to not let out a moan in response to how delicious this dessert was.

Kylo watched her every move as he only took a spoonful or two of the cake as to allow her to enjoy the rest of the dessert on her own, and to his surprise she had so brazenly chugged the rest of her wine in a not so lady-like manner afterwards, which he found amusing. "I take it that you enjoyed the dessert?"

Rey had lost count of how many glasses of wine she had by this point as she set her empty glass down before she peered over at him, ignoring his question altogether as she was now too busy with the task of studying his features, finding that he was looking rather attractive under this lighting. She was so lost in her thoughts as she was all but undressing him with her eyes, and the way he was currently looking at her as she went on to greedily lick the last of the chocolate from her spoon wasn't helping. She set aside the spoon when she suddenly felt self-conscious as his burning gaze was making her clench her thighs together tightly as she attempted to ignore the way her traitorous body was responding to his mere presence.

Kylo's gaze drifted away from her lips to meet her gaze when her rather subtle act of licking her spoon completely clean shouldn't have affected him as it had, but the lewd side of him happened to find that innocent act enticing to say the least, which only made him think of just what she could do with that alluring mouth of hers, and it was then that he noticed that she had a little smudge along the corner of her mouth which gave him an idea. "You have some chocolate on you." He replied in a rough tone as he then reached across the table to wipe the corner of her mouth clean with his thumb, and had all the intention on savoring that last bit of chocolate that had been resting on her lips that he didn't expect what was to happen next.

Rey didn't have time to feel embarrassed when he pointed out that she had chocolate on the corner of her mouth, and she also didn't expect herself to be so bold as to take hold of his hand to keep it in place as she flicked the tip of her tongue against the pad of his finger to lap up the chocolate he had just wiped away, proceeding to teasingly nip at his finger before she let go of his hand entirely in a hasty manner as she felt her cheeks warm when she realized what she had done, and just to make matters worse she heard Kylo's sharp intake of breath as his fervid gaze was settled onto her, making her squeeze her thighs together furthermore in an attempt to ignore the dull ache that was coming from her nether regions along with the unmistakable pool of wetness that was making its presence very well known. She knew it had been so long since her last coital act with him or anyone else for the matter, but she didn't expect her body to betray her in this moment, because she was damn sure that he was able to sense how aroused she was as she was now well aware of how much he was with the help of their bond.

Kylo was well aware of the fact that he was now straining through his trousers in an almost painful manner by this point, and it didn't help the matter when he could tell that Rey was just as worked up as him. One moment he had been seated in his chair and in the next moment he had suddenly risen up to his feet, and was now stalking over towards her.

Rey felt a rush of panic flow through her entire being as she rose up from her seat so quickly, causing her chair to knock over onto the floor as the thought of fleeing had come to her mind almost immediately, but soon her exit route was blocked by his towering frame, which left her no choice but to look up at him. She fought back the urge to gasp aloud when she was met with the intensity of his burning gaze, and before she realized what was going to happen it was too late. Her breathing hitched up ever so slightly as he cupped her face in a tentative manner before he leaned down towards her in a painstakingly slow manner, but their lips didn't meet as she had been anticipating. Instead he was giving her the chance to either go through with this or tell him to back off. Her mind was so fuzzy in this moment as she was in the process of trying to decide her next move, but it wasn't until she felt him starting to pull away from her because she had stayed quiet and motionless for too long that she finally made up her mind. She pressed her lips against his in an almost clumsy manner as she then stood on her tip-toes, and proceeded to wrap her arms around his neck to keep him in place as her lips brushed against his in a tender manner.

Kylo was taken aback by her next action, but he managed to respond eagerly, whilst attempting to suppress the urge to groan as he returned her kiss with just as much passion as his hands found their way to grip her waist, pulling her flush against him.

Rey bit down on his lower lip as her fingers laced themselves in his darkened mane as a shiver of delight traveled down her spine in response to one of his hands beginning to wander lower until he gave her ass a rough squeeze, and just as the thought of going any further passed through her mind, the sound of door opening, caused her to break their kiss as she all but sprang away from him as if she had been shocked, and in that moment she so desperately wished that she had worn her hair down to be able to hide the fact that her face was completely red by this point, but she was also never more than relived for a sudden interruption then she was right now, because she knew deep down that if they hadn't been disturbed that she would have ended up in bed with him. She wanted that to happen so badly in this moment, but she knew that she wasn't here for personal interests. She was here for far more serious reasons, and that thought alone was enough to sober her up a little as she stepped aside to allow the service droids to clear the table, but she couldn't help but sneak a peek in Kylo's direction, and it was then that she noticed a particular expression flash along his features, which was followed by a wave of pain before she both felt and witnessed him veiling his emotions from her. That action alone was enough to make her chest ache as she forced herself to avert her gaze before she cleared her throat to grab his attention before she spoke in a hushed tone. "I think I should really go now."

Kylo took in a deep breath to calm himself as to not give into the urge of destroying the droids that had dared to interrupt his moment with Rey, and it didn't help with the fact that he was still slightly bothered by the fact that Rey made it seem as though she was ashamed that the droids had caught them in the middle of an intimate moment together. It took all his willpower to put his feelings aside, because he didn't want to spoil their night, and instead he wanted to prove to her that he had been trying to control his acts of rage ever since they had been getting closer to one another, which is why he was proud of himself when he went on to allow the droids to handle their last task and exit the room before he heard Rey say something to him, making him avert his gaze back onto her as he proceeded to nod in answer to what she had stated. "Of course. I'll walk you out to your room."

Rey stilled as she witnessed Kylo closing the distance between them once again, making her chew on her lower lip before she shook her head. "No, that's okay. I can find my way there on my own just fine."

The corner of his mouth tugged up into an amused grin to his utter surprise in response to her words as he walked past her and went on to open the door of his room before he stepped aside and motioned for her to go out first. "I know that you could make it to your room by yourself, but you forgot that you still don't have access to opening any rooms just yet."

Rey almost blushed again when she had indeed almost forgotten about that little problem, and instead she rolled her eyes as if she was annoyed by that little fact before she forced an amused smirk upon her lips as she looked over at him. "I expect that I will never earn that luxury since I know how damn possessive you are, so you want to make sure that you will always have to escort me to my room." She retorted with humor laced in her words before she stalked off towards her room.

Kylo was glad that her haughty attitude was back into play since it allowed himself to calm down a bit more, and not allow him to be able to fret about what just happened. "I could try and deny your claims, but it would just be a lie. Plus, I have to make sure that you don't go on and throw yourself at anyone on your way to your room. Since you happen to have the bad habit of doing so." He said with a playful lilt as he followed after her, making sure to not check her out as he went on to brush past her in order to open her door.

Rey scoffed as she glared over in his direction. "I do not throw myself at everyone!" She exclaimed before she stalked past him because there was no way that she could be in his presence much longer if he was just going to ruin their evening by testing her patience.

A hint of a smirk played at his lips as he watched her walk past him in order to go to her room, waiting until she looked back at him before he gave her a knowing look. "I find that hard to believe since I've witnessed that act happen first hand."

Rey huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest, refusing to back down from this current argument even though it was clear that neither of them were going to win it. "That was only one time, and I blame that on you. You were practically begging me to do it through the bond."

Kylo shrugged as if unfazed by her words as he went on to speak in a calm and collected manner that even surprised himself. "Let's just agree to disagree then. Enjoy the rest of your night, and make sure to get enough rest. Your training begins early in the morning."

Rey was able to put their minor disagreement aside for the moment as she went on to inwardly sigh in relief as she heard the good news. She had been feeling restless with being cooped up in a room for far too long that she felt her current irritation pass as she gave him a brief nod. "I'll be ready."

"Goodnight, Rey." He retorted before he began to retreat from her door.

"Goodnight, Kylo." Rey stated as she was about to press a button on the keypad that would shut her door, but she stopped as soon as she heard Kylo call out to her. "Yes?"

"I just wanted you to know that I look forward to teaching you many things throughout your stay here, and that I also look forward to our next date that I definitely plan on making happen real soon. Sweet dreams, Rey." He retorted as casually as he could manage before he turned around in time to hide his amusement when he sensed her reaction to his words just as he entered his own room.

A date!? No. That's not what tonight had been! Or rather that was what she was going to tell herself since she didn't think she could deal with the fact that she had allowed herself to fall into a trap. She couldn't believe how stupid she was to think that he would invite her to a simple dinner and that it wouldn't affect the status of their current relationship. They were merely acquaintances at best. That's it.

That last thought alone gave her the right mindset to continue to stalk off into her room and make her way towards the bathroom, discarding of her clothes as she did so, whilst trying to ignore the fact that all the signs that should have alerted her to the fact that the dinner was meant to be something else had been right in front of her face the entire evening.

What have I gotten myself into? She grumbled as she went on to take a long and much needed shower.

~~

Rey emerged from the bathroom feeling much calmer than she could have thought was possible as she tried to towel dry her hair as best as she could manage before she placed the now damp towel down on something to allow it to air dry before she padded off towards where her bed was now awaiting her. The mere thought of curling up under the covers was so pleasing to her, especially after the very eventful day she had managed to survive through. It wasn't until after she pulled the covers back and intended to switch off the lights that she caught sight of something new resting on the bedside table.

The flowers she had been admiring in Kylo's quarters were now resting on the table in the same vase as she had seen them in not so long ago. She should have been infuriated with the fact that he had come into her room while she was showering, but against all odds, Rey felt a wave of amusement flow through her instead in response to giving him props for having the guts to leave her this parting gift even with knowing what could've happened if she had caught him in the act.

It was that almost comical thought alone that made the corner of her mouth tug up into a slight smile as she leaned forward, closing her eyes briefly as she inhaled the lovely scent from the flowers before she forced herself to take a step back in order to reach out to switch off the lights before she proceeded to climb into bed, allowing herself to enjoy the sensation of the subtle flutter in the depths of her belly in response to the realization that this had been the first real touching gift that she had ever gotten from someone that she may or may not have sincere feelings for. Only time would tell what was to happen after this.

~~

The following morning had started off just like any other day except for the fact that Rey actually had something to look forward to.

The thought of finally being able to do some sort of physical activity had her all but flinging herself out of bed as she went on to throw off the blankets before she padded off towards the bathroom to take a quick shower that she hoped would help wake her fully.

Not too long after she emerged from the bathroom did she go on to begin to rifle through her fully stocked closet, settling upon wearing the usual attire she chose for her training sessions, and made sure her hair was in a neat bun before she found herself wandering around the room as she tried to kill some time, whilst she waited for someone to come escort her to where she would be training at.

Just as she was beginning to grow restless with each passing moment, she spun around on her heel when she heard her door being opened, making her hold her head up high as she kept a blank expression as she waited for her company to walk further into the room. She wasn't surprised to see that it appeared to be several Stormtroopers that had been tasked to escort her, and soon she found herself striding forward in response to one of them giving her a curt order. What she hadn't been expecting though was how she noticed that none of them dared to speak to her or even attempt to be too close to her, which made her quirk a brow as she followed after the supposed leader of the group as she attempted to keep her senses on high alert as she surveyed her surroundings.

It wasn't until they rounded a particular corner that she finally realized where they were, recalling this area during her brief tour around the Finalizer. Her attention was back on the Stormtrooper that had spoken to her earlier when he told her to enter the room they stopped at. She gave him a nod of compliance as she kept reminding herself that she needed to be cordial with everyone in order to gain their trust and hopefully wouldn't have to deal with having to be heavily monitored all the time. It was that thought alone that gave her a slight wave of hope for that day to come soon as she then took notice that they had stopped at the cafeteria. The thought of having a cup of coffee almost made Rey let out a sigh of relief, but to her surprise she made sure to not show any emotion as she attempted to ignore the fact that someone was still shadowing her as she made her way to the front of the cafeteria with the hopes of getting her caffeine fix.

Rey was hyper aware of the lingering stares she was currently receiving as she went about getting a tray before she went to stand in line with the few others that were in front of her, which gave her time to see what was being given out. Everything that was laid out in front of her was all too appealing to her empty stomach, but she knew that she needed to have something light before her training, making her settle upon some porridge that she went on to add some fixings to before she all but rejoiced as soon as her gaze settled upon a small setup towards the side that was used as a coffee station. Rey bypassed the people that were blocking her from the thing that she desired the most before she was left with making one last decision.

~~

A short while later, Rey found herself sitting alone in the corner of the cafeteria where she was enjoying her breakfast in her own peaceful little bubble as she was so grown accustom to doing, but it wasn't until she was taking her next sip of coffee that she noticed a subtle change in the atmosphere, watching as everyone around her suddenly appeared to have gone all rigid as they kept their heads down, making her arch a brow out of curiosity until she felt a subtle tug at the bond that tied her to her bond-mate, making her almost squirm in her seat as flashes of last night's events flowed through her mind so suddenly, making her set her mug down as she averted her gaze elsewhere, whilst silently praying that Kylo wouldn't notice her presence at all.

Rey dared to peek in his direction, watching as he paid no attention to anyone as he went on to go about his business, making her inwardly heave a sigh as she went back to finishing her coffee before she was going to have herself under the supervision of her temporary guards. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed that there was now a presence beside her until she heard someone clear their throat, making her look up at them, and when she caught sight of Kylo in his full attire and helmet, she refrained from cowering under his authoritative appearance and how much power was radiating off him and instead set her jaw in a stubborn stance as she peered up at him, waiting for him to break the silence first.

"Good morning, Rey." Kylo replied in a curt manner as he looked down upon her, feeling thankful that his helmet was veiling his face as his gaze traveled down from her head to her toes, taking in the clothing she had worn today. It made him feel rather pleased that she was wearing items that he had chosen specifically for her upon her arrival.

Her lips parted as she began to reply to him, but she stopped herself just in time before she called him by his name, because she knew she was supposed to address him with his proper title starting today, especially since there were so many witnesses around them. To say that Rey had to force herself to say what she did next was an understatement, but it needed to be done. Even it meant swallowing her own pride during the process. "Good morning, Master Ren." Rey retorted in what she hoped was a calm tone.

Kylo hadn't been expecting her to address him as she had, but that didn't stop him from feeling some type of way as those two words rolled off her tongue and were music to his ears. He had been longing for her to call him that for so long that it made him pause for a moment too long, causing him to suddenly clear his throat once again before he spoke in a neutral manner. "I only came to let you know that I won't be present for most of your first training session since something urgent has been brought to my attention. I hope that won't be a problem for you."

Rey had mixed feelings over what he had just said. She at first felt a little relieved that she wouldn't have him all but breathing down her neck during her training, but she also couldn't ignore the pang in her chest with knowing that he wouldn't be near her. She tried to clear her mind and keep herself centered as she went on to nod once. "Thank you for letting me know, and I assure you that I will be fine on my own."

Kylo attempted to get a read on her emotions as stealthily as possible, but he found that she was blocking him entirely from her, which shouldn't have surprised him since their last encounter with one another that hadn't ended as he was sure they both had wanted it to. "If you should need me for any reason at all, you know how to call upon me." He didn't bother to stay to see if she'd say anything as he turned on his heel and stalked out of the room as he inwardly chided himself for basically pleading for her to use their bond, because he felt her absence even more as he walked further away from her.

Rey was left feeling oddly confused when he left so abruptly, but she didn't have time to figure out why he was acting the way he was, because all too soon her guards were back at her side and informing her that it was time to leave. Rey rose up from her seat before she followed them to what was awaiting her at their next destination.

~~

Kylo's POV

To say that he was infuriated with himself was a complete understatement. His hands were curled into fists as he stalked down the corridor that would lead him to where Rey was currently located. He hadn't intended on being so rude to her this morning by keeping their conversation rather short, but in his defense it was only because he was upset over the fact that Hux had gone behind his back, and managed to convince Supreme Leader that it would be best that Kylo attended to other matters, whilst Hux so kindly volunteered to take full responsibility of Rey's training for the day, which only fed his hatred for the General even more.

So, instead of defying his superior, Kylo managed to find his center in order to have the right mindset to go through with the task he was given as quickly as he could manage in order to make it back in time to at least witness some of Rey's training to see what her strengths were and spot out her weaknesses for him to hopefully help her master to perfection.

Too soon he was removed from his thoughts when he finally reached his current destination, attempting to keep his presence unknown as he stepped into the room as his gaze immediately landed upon his apprentice. He came to an abrupt stop when he took in her current attire, noticing that she was missing one particular garment that she had been wearing the last time he had laid eyes on her, making his jaw almost hit the floor before he gained back his composure, gritting his teeth as a wave of anger suddenly flowed through him in response to her showing so much skin in front of the several individuals in the room, which also included Hux, who had his gaze upon Rey as well.

If he thought he had been frustrated earlier, well he was definitely wrong, and he knew this was the final straw. He wasn't going to be able to hold back the wrath he was surely to ensue at any moment.

~~

Rey's POV

Rey had been in the middle of a sparring match against her current opponent, feeling rather smug that she still had been able to dodge each of his attacks so far, but too soon after that unspoken thought passed through her mind, a wave of rage suddenly filled her entire being, which was enough to make her fumble with her movements, allowing her opponent to strike out at her with such force that sent her crashing down against the mat. She barely had enough time to choke back a cry as she tried to catch her breath, whilst she heard a chorus of applauds coming from those around her, but she'd be damned if she allowed them to view her as the weak girl they had been so kind to voice aloud many times during the course of this training session.

That thought alone was what allowed her to do what she did next, wanting to prove to everyone that she wasn't just some puny scavenger girl from Jakku. She used her current opponent's distraction to her advantage as she managed to kick his legs out from under him, watching as he fell to the ground with a loud thud before she ignored the protests of several sore spots on her body as she retrieved her favorite weapon of choice that had fallen from her grasp when she had been taken down, holding it tightly as she went on to straddle the guy, keeping him pinned to the ground as best as she could as he was in the process of recovering from her sudden attack before she proceeded to place the staff against his throat, adding just the right amount of pressure to make it uncomfortable for him, and soon enough he slammed his hand down on the mat to signal that he was giving up. Her breathing was ragged by this point as she stopped her attack before she forced herself to rise up to her feet as she inwardly prayed that her legs wouldn't give out on her in the process as she tossed the staff aside and proceeded to speak through clenched teeth as she peered down at her defeated opponent that was still lying on the ground trying to catch his breath. "Next time make sure that your opponent is properly taken care of before you get so smug, and allow yourself to become an open target instead." She spat before she was finally aware of the mirroring expressions of astonishment from nearly everyone in the room, but soon her attention was solely on the act of looking around the room in frantic manner, because it was now clear on who had caused her to become distracted at the wrong moment, along with knowing what usually followed with that wave of rage.

Hux was beyond shocked when Rey had somehow managed to take down one of his most skilled men, making him shake his head to clear his thoughts in order to speak to Rey in a calm and collected manner, and before he knew what he was doing, he had already rested his hand on her arm, waiting for her to bring her attention onto him. "You've done very well today, and have managed to surprise me with how skilled you appear to be, but there are still some things we need to work on during our next session before we can begin on the next part of your training, so don't let yourself get too smug."

Rey went completely still as soon she felt Hux's hand clasp over her exposed arm so brazenly, and didn't have time to be shocked by his semi approval of her overall work today, because her attention was now directed on the commotion coming from just behind him, and as soon as she saw a familiar figure stalking off towards them both, Rey only had a quick second to break out of Hux's hold before she put herself between him and the oncoming threat. She could practically feel Kylo's gaze burning into her through the confines of the visor from his helmet.

What was about to happen wasn't going to be pretty. It was that mere thought that made her release an exasperated sigh before she mumbled a string of profanities under her breath as she prepared herself to deal with the wrath that was sure to come from the infamous dark prince that had turned her life upside down from the very first moment they had set eyes on one another.