Ani's P.O.V.
"When will we begin my training?"
"Tomorrow, I have things to attend to when we get back today, unfortunately."
Nodding to Kylo's answer, I keep up with his pace out of the hotel. We just finished breakfast, packing up, and changing to leave Cantina. He's in his normal attire today and has his helmet on. I'm wearing a long black dress that comes off my shoulders; it has long sleeves and a handful of strings tied in the back, showing my skin from behind. My hairs in another low messy bun since I don't know how to turn into anything else. The dress flows nicely from the thighs down, but the top of it feels rather tight. I had asked Kylo to tie them for me since I couldn't and I feel he made them as tight as possible. A man is walking in front of us with our bags and guiding us toward our ship. I'm glancing around at the skyscrapers before reaching our ship; I want to enjoy the beauty as long as I can before we fly back.
Because of last night's events, Kylo and I haven't discussed much. We've only been having secret glances at each other and quick jokes about one another from events during this trip. I feel a sense of peace and freedom around me because of last night. This will be the first time I'm going somewhere as a free woman. There's something comforting about it even if it's going to Starkiller base. My powers with the force are free. I'm free to train with Kylo alone, and I feel a sense of growth within me because of it. Not only that, but I feel a sense of growth in the light side around Kylo because of me. It makes me feel as if I'm going on the right track in life, even with everything happening around me. I haven't felt this close to Ben in over two years and I hope this continues with my training. I'm not a fool though, I know the training is to push me closer toward the darkside but that's Kylo's goal. Not mine. With time, perhaps his goal with change because of my own goal.
We're walking on the pavement and we're almost on the ship when Kylo stops. It makes me glance behind me to see what's stopped him curiously. I watch him kneel and pluck a flower growing between the cracks in the concrete. It's a light blue flower with a long stem. I frown at him for a moment at his action. Standing up, staring at the flower, he steps toward me and lifts his hand with the flower near my head. I stare at him in utter confusion before finding him putting the flower stem on one of my ears. My expression falls into an astonishment one from seeing him in such a out of character. When his hand drops and he says nothing, I can't help up shake my head, smiling up at him. It's a small piece of affection and I've never seen it in him with his uniform on. I can't see his expression, but I can sense he's admiring me with the flower next to my eyes. Wanting to return the affection, I step toward him and stretch out my hands to his helmet.
Taking his helmet off with ease, I find his soft expression and embarrassment in his eyes because he allowed himself to give me the single flower. Not wanting him to regret it, I step on his feet lightly to become taller and lean up to kiss him. I hear him chuckle from my own actions and wrap an arm around my waist to draw me against him. He takes his helmet from my hand and tilts his head to add pressure to my innocent kiss. I don't get off his toes and he doesn't seem to mind since he can tell I'm only doing so to be slightly taller for me to kiss him without him leaning over me. Resting my hands on his shoulders, I swipe my tongue along his bottom lip before parting from them and asking with no shame, "Why'd you do that?"
"It reminded me of you." He answers simply and my smile widens from how free he's being himself with me. Feeling butterflies in my stomach, I bite my bottom lip and can't help but consider him as Ben. It's as if the longer I'm with him the more I see the good in him and it only reminds me of what his grandfather told me months ago. I sense myself wanting to kiss him again; I find myself wanting to do it more and more nowadays. Before I can lean my head up toward his lips; his hand on my waist tightens possessively, and I feel him walking again toward the ship. I catch my breath, watching him walk with my feet still on his. Kylo's walking like my weight is nothing on him, he's not bending his knees to walk but somehow can still make long strides. I see his lips turn into a amused grin as my hands hold his shoulders tighter. Not helping myself, I giggle at him, saying, "You're just full of surprises today, aren't you?"
"Don't you remember this is how you learned out to dance, Angel." He mocks, and I burst into laughter from him, remembering when Han taught me how to dance with Ben. I kept messing up but Ben was a quick learner so Han had told me to just stand on his son's toes until I understood which way to move. Watching Kylo's smile brighten, he pushes his head down to mine again and pampers me with a simple kiss as he comes to a stop. Sighing to into him, I feel confident enough to claim, "I recall you complained about how sore your toes were after doing so."
"I've learned to accept the pain since then, Ani." Kylo admits innocently before informing me, "I've endured more pain than you on my toes... You can stand on my feet whenever you please."
"I'll take that into consideration from now on." I teasing back at him as I run down my hands down his chest whispering in amusement, "Is there anything else you can endure that I should know of?"
"I can endure your intoxication state towards me." He raises an eyebrow at me and tilts his head smugly. "It was extremely difficult with you calling me Mr. Ren all night... along with other things."
"Was it, Mr. Ren?" I hum out softly while glancing at his chest blushing and pointing out, "From what I can remember, you loved every second."
"I did. I won't pretend I didn't, Angel. I'm just hoping for you to do it again." I watch him giving me a smirk and turning me around to guide us into the ship. The man with our bags walks out quickly empty handed and tries not to make eye contact with us as we enter the ship. Gliding his hand down my back as we walk, Kylo adds with a charmed tone, "I'm still waiting to finish what we start that night, Ani."
"Really? I haven't noticed." I raise an eyebrow at him as I feel his hand on my back trace the ribbon holding my dress up from behind. He kisses my shoulder, and I let out a single chuckle before heading to the passenger seat to sit in. Inclining my head to watch him start up the ship, I wait for him to respond to my banter. He glances at me before sitting down and flips a few switches. I regard his lips curl up somewhat as the ship turns on and closes the entrance. My smile brightens as he lets seconds pass without answering me. Putting his hand on the steering wheel, his eyes dart to mine before turning back to the window and finally responding in a underlining tone, "Perhaps I could let the First Order wait to make you notice."
"Careful, Kylo." I giggle watching his suggesting expression turn into a shameful one, "Sounds like you're letting your feelings for me get the better of you."
"I have no doubt about that." Kylo burst out laughing without hesitation from me exposing him. "You are the only thing I have left to desire. So excuse me if my feelings get the best of me."
"You're excused." I mock with a playful expression. I watch him shake his head, smiling from my words. Without taking his eyes off the path we're taking in the sky, Kylo pinches my arm bantering, "You're lucky I enjoy you."
Biting my bottom lip, I turn back to face the sky as we fly into outer space. Relaxing in my seat, I can't stop myself from smiling. I have to keep holding it down by biting my lip. I sense Kylo peeking over toward me in the corner of my eyes, and it becomes even harder to not smile. The surrounding air is consumed by affection toward one another. It's the same affection I felt when we were both younglings. It has only deepened with time. When we were young, we'd always tease, banter and joke around with one another in that kind of manner. Our love language hasn't seemed to change much since then, even though we as individuals have changed. Somewhere along the line, we did both become completely different people than we expected. If someone had told us we'd be the man and woman we are today 15 years ago, we'd both laugh in their faces.
Yet, here we are sitting beside one another; completely different from one another now, holding onto the last bond we have for someone. Perhaps the reason Luke never granted us the rank of Jedi Master years ago was because of this bond and knowing it would cloud our judgment in the future. No matter what Luke's reasons were, I find myself glad I never truly gave up on my bond with Ben. Because sitting with him here now, I know without a doubt that whatever the future holds; I want to do it with him. I don't feel as if I'm flying back to base with Kylo, instead; I feel like I'm starting a new chapter with Ben. Just like he had said last night, we start this thing together and I can't picture a continuing this life without him.
~This Afternoon~
"Welcome back, Sir." Captain Phasma announces as she comes to greet us, "We restore your room as- Hands up, Kenobi."
"Excuse me?" I blurt out in shock as she instantly raises her blaster at my head. The trooper carrying our bags steps away from us and I sense he's nervous of being in the crossfire. I take a step back as Kylo puts an arm out in front of me and states, annoyed, "Stand down-"
"Sir, she removed the wrist bands somehow." Captain Phasma claims and I glance at Kylo before looking to my wrist and realizing she can see they're gone, even with my long sleeves. Pointing a finger at Phasma, Kylo informs her, "I removed them. She's a quest and will be from now on, do you understand?"
"I will inform the First Order." She nods while lowering her blaster to her side again and informing, "Lord Snoke demands General Hux and you at once-"
Waving his hand to stop her from talking any further, Kylo withdraws his hand in front of me to my back. He then escorts us away from her with no response and without letting her finish. As we walk to the corner of the hangar, I glance behind us and find her still stiff as a board. It's only when we're almost to an elevator that she moves again, and I turn back to look up at Kylo. I mindlessly rub my wrists, wondering if I will have more problems, because I don't have the force restraints on me. We had just arrived back at base, and she had immediately noticed them gone. Kylo seems unbothered by it as he guides me into the elevator, but I become nervous for more people to see me without them. Once entering the elevator, Kylo has it go up to the floor of our room.
He's wearing his mask again; he put it on before we arrived. The ride back here was pleasant; we shared banter the way back along with old memories. During the ride I got the sense Kylo doesn't mind talking about the past as long as it's just me to hear it. With people around, he rather leave it unspoken. I'm alright with it because I can at least talk about it, well only parts of it that don't include certain names. When the elevator reaches a stop, the door slides open and we walk out together with his hand still resting on my lower back. We walk a little way to the door I recognize as his. When we reach the door, I notice the man holding our bags just now coming out of the elevator. Kylo waves his hand and our door opens, my eyes widen partially when seeing it in the inside of our refurbished room.
Walking in slowly and looking around, I find our bed not by the window anymore. There are still two long windows to see the hangar, but now there's a desk twice the size of the last one. My father's armor is hanging up into a glass container elegantly. There's a couch, a loveseat, and a low table in front of them. There's a large rug under the couches and table. The wall that used to be the cupboards is now a bookshelf. It has only a handful of books in it but has plenty of space for more. Glancing to the side, there's a tall table with two metal bar stools. The table has a chessboard neatly on top with all the pieces in place. Everything is it in shades of gray, black and red. I turn back to Kylo as he takes off his helmet and sets it on the desk. His eyes catch mine innocently, waiting for me to speak up. Scanning around the room once more, I finally say to him, "You... You did this for me?"
"I wasn't sure when I could let you walk around base freely so I... Request for a bigger remodel of our room." He explains, while leaning back on the desk. Tilting his head and staring around the room, he asks, purely intrigued, "Do you like it?"
"Yes..." I give him a smile and sense my cheeks grow red from his confession. Turning to the only double doors in the room, I question, "This must be our bedroom, yes?"
He nods slowly and folds his arms, awaiting me to step closer and open them. Gawking at him for a moment longer, I head over and open the doors. The moment there's a crack in the doors, Snips runs out and climbs up my dress. Grinning, I pick her up and pull her claws away from my dress; I hold her in my arms. She licks me uncontrollably, and I giggle, trying to pull my head away from her tongue. I smooth her fur with my hand until she's just resting her head on my shoulder. Nuzzling her closer to me, I finally peer into the bedroom. I push the doors open fully with my foot and walk in; the doors are heavy, leaving me to believe its precaution of something happening to our room like before. It's the same size as the den and just a spacious but with no windows.
The bed's centered across from the double doors; it looks bigger than the last one. There's a single red cushion chair in a corner with a small table beside it. There's a floor-length mirror in another corner of the room. The bed covers are completely red with a few decorative pillows on it. One wall has two doors on either end. Opening one, I see it to be our bathroom. It has two sinks along with similar tub, shower and toilet as before. Leaving the bathroom, I go to the second door to see what's inside. I hear Kylo shuffling in the other room as I glance inside. My eyes grow wide when peering through the doorway. It's a closet almost the same size as our bedroom; walking inside, I turn on the light to see the size better.
There's a cushioned bench in the center of the room and another mirror on the wall across from the door. One side has his clothes hanged up with his shoes on shelves and a small cupboard for his folded clothes. On the other side are all the dresses I've worn since living here. I always wondered what they did with them since I never got the same one twice. There're dresses hanging that I've never seen before as well on the rack. I have more shelves than Kylo for my shoes but the same size cupboard as his. Opening up the cupboard, I find my nightgowns neatly folded along with casual attire I've never worn before. Closing the door back shut, I look through my dresses I've never seen before. It's only when I push some to the side that I see another door hiding behind my clothes.
Setting Snips on the bench, I push all my dresses to one side to see the door completely. Frowning at the sight of it, I open it and look inside. There's nothing inside but a lock system on the side of the wall. Taking a step back, I hear Kylo entering the bedroom. I twist to glance his way and find him holding our bags and setting them on the floor beside our bed. When he stands up straight, he notices me near the door in the closet. Waving his hand at it boredly, he explains, "That room is in case we're in last-minute trouble. Nothing can get through it and no one can unlock it beside us."
"O-Oh..." I mumble and shut the door before pushing the dress back in its place. Turning around, I find Snips running to the bags. She tugs at one until it falls to its side and she and sniffs at the things inside before going through the other bags. I turn off the light in the closet and walk out to come in front of Kylo. He easily lifts his arm to rub his hand down mine as he asks, "I believe they did a superb job to our room."
"Yea, it's better for two now." I agree and glance around the room, "And it looks as if I live here."
"Well, you do in fact, live here, Angel." He teases while using his other hand to pull my hair out of its messy bun. Smiling, I roll my eyes and mess with the end of his shirt mindlessly. His hand in my hair falls to lie on my back and messes with the ribbon holding it together. Sense he'll be leaving soon, I unconsciously lean closer to him. He notices my change of mood suddenly and cocks his head to the side with a sympathetic expression. The next second it changes into a mischief one and he tugs at the bows on my back. I feel my dress loosen, and I shake my head at him. He only responds with a smirk before untying more. When I feel the dress about to fall down, I hold the front to my chest and point out knowingly, "Aren't you about to go to a meeting?"
"I am..."
He agrees simply without his devious expression leaving his face. Kylo undoes that last bow and the dress is only being held up by my hand now. His hand roams my back as his other goes to grasp my chin gently. He stares at me for a moment, and I see nothing but desire for me as he leans forward. Kissing me slowly, I relax in his warmth and the dress slacks down an inch. Prying my lips apart, Kylo uses his hand on my back to push me into him. His tongue slips past my lips and his hand on my chin keeps me in place for his enjoyment. I find his lips and tongue wanting me more impatiently after a moment, and I force my head away from his. Peering up to him, I watch him try to reattach our lips, making me prester more.
"Kylo, I don't want you to be late because of me."
I watch his eyes fall slightly, knowing I'm right, but not wanting to listen. It's only then I see his tiredness in his face from traveling back today. I sense he's wanting to stay with me longer before dealing with his other responsibilities. I peck his lips quickly before pulling back and staring at him deliberately to hurry and go. The sooner he goes, the sooner he'll be back. Glancing down at my hand holding my dress, he tilts his head before suggesting in a low tone.
"Why don't you get out of this dress and wait for me on our bed until I return."
"Kylo!" I blurt out and shove him back lightly with a flustered laugh. He sends me a look that only makes my skin grow hot under his gaze. Taking my hand away from my chest, the dress falls to my hips, and he instantly tugs it down my waist to drop on the ground before I could pull it back up. Catching my breath and watching his eyes wander all over my body as he lets out a dark groan. When his eyes find mine again he mentions with excitement, "You said the other night you could do that for me, Angel. Besides, it'll give me a reason to get hurry back here."
"Then you better get going now."
"Does this mean you will be this way when I return?"
"I guess you'll just have to find out."